And when a sojourner sojourneth with thee, and would hold the passover to Jehovah, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and hold it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
The Passover chapter closes with rules about who may eat the meal. Verse 48 answers the question of the outsider: the door stands open to him, but one condition guards it.
The rules could have shut the outsider out. Instead they make room for him, and the way they make room is the point.
These rules also make room for the stranger — for people who were not Israelites, but who were living among the children of Israel. God is God in every age, and His heart, not yet free to act in righteousness, was always longing to bless. So a man with no claim of his own, an outsider to Israel and a stranger to God's covenant promises, might still keep the Passover to the Lord if he wanted to. He only had to keep it the way God had commanded... And notice this early sign of the day of grace to come. The stranger was never ordered to keep the feast. If he wanted to, the way was open. But he had to meet the one requirement, just as the children of Israel did.
That open door tells us something about God Himself.
God kept a door open for the stranger who would submit to Israel's law. He asked no harder conditions of him than of those born in the land. It is beautiful to see how every line of separation gives way before the faith that asks whether He is the God of the Jews only, and not of the Gentiles too. What can the answer be but that He is the God of the Gentiles as well? It is man that has fallen away from God, not God from man; it is man who puts distance between them and builds barriers. God's choicest gifts are His most universal gifts.
The chapter names more than one group who could eat, and one condition covers them all.
Three groups might keep the Passover: the Israelites, their servants bought with money, and the stranger living among them. But the condition for all of them alike was circumcision. No one could have a place at the Passover table without it. Only in this way did they come within the terms of the covenant God had made with Abraham (see Gen. 17:9-14). That covenant was the ground on which He was now acting, bringing them out of Egypt and taking them to Himself as His people. A hired servant might not eat, but a servant bought with money might, if he was circumcised. This feast had the character of a household. A servant bought with money became part of the family, so he was included; a hired servant had no such place, and so had no share in the feast.
Circumcision was no formality. Commentators tie it to what must be true of a person before he can feed on Christ with understanding.
Circumcision had to come first, before anyone could eat the Passover. In other words, the sentence of death must be written on our nature before we can feed on Christ with understanding — either as the ground of peace or as the centre of unity. What circumcision pictured, the cross fulfils. Only the male was circumcised, and he stood for the female. So at the cross Christ stood for His Church... "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Rom. 8:8)
The same condition also flattened every human advantage.
A man's advantages of person or position did not matter in the least. He could have no part with Israel until he submitted to that cutting of the flesh. A circumcised beggar was nearer to God than an uncircumcised king. It is the same now. There can be no share in the joys of God's redeemed except by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. That cross sweeps away all pretensions, levels all distinctions, and unites everyone in one holy congregation of blood-washed worshippers.
The verse promises the stranger that he will be "as a native of the land." That welcome carries both sides of belonging.
When the stranger settled among them and was circumcised, he was then "as a native of the land." Exodus 12:49 insists on one law for the native-born and for the stranger living among you. There was to be no double standard. The stranger had the same privileges as the native-born, and carried the same responsibilities.
- Door. No stranger was ordered to keep the Passover. If he wanted to, the way stood open — an early sign of grace reaching beyond Israel.
- Condition. That door had one requirement: circumcision. It was the same for Israelite, bought servant and stranger alike.
- Meaning. The requirement wrote the sentence of death on nature. Commentators point to the cross of Christ as what it pictured.
- Leveller. The condition cancelled every advantage of rank. A circumcised beggar stood nearer to God than an uncircumcised king.
- Result. Whoever came through that door stood as a native of the land — same privileges, same responsibilities, no double standard.
One law shall be for him that is home-born and for the sojourner that sojourneth among you.
The Passover rules end with one line about who they cover: the Israelite born in the land and the outsider living among them stand under the same law. So how does an outsider get in, and where does he stand once he is in?
The verse closes the case set out just before it. A stranger who was circumcised counted "as one born in the land."
When the stranger stayed among Israel and was circumcised, he was then "as one born in the land." Exodus 12:49 insists on it: "There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you." There was to be no double standard. The sojourner came into the same privileges, and under the same responsibilities, as one born at home. No different rules could apply in either case.
The feast belonged to Israel. Yet the law that fenced it also named a way in.
First, the foreigner was to be excluded: the Passover feast was to be for Israel alone. The seed of Abraham, the family of faith, alone can commemorate a deliverance which they only have known. Yet God kept a door open for the stranger who would submit to Israel's law. God asked no harder conditions of him than of the "home-born." It is beautiful to see how all the dividing lines give way before the faith that asks, "Is He the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also?" What can the answer be but, "Yes, of Gentiles also"! It is man who has fallen away from God, not God from man; it is man who puts distance and builds barriers.
Notice what the text does not say. God does not command any outsider to keep the feast. The way just stands open to anyone who wants it.
This is one of the striking early hints of grace that keep appearing even in the age of law. Such hints are a clear announcement. God was always looking ahead to the time when His grace could travel out in the gospel to all the world: "Let the one who desires take the water of life without price." And notice this foreshadowing of that blessed time: here there was no command to the stranger to keep the feast. If he desired to do so, the way was open. Only he must have the qualification for it, the same as the children of Israel.
That qualification was circumcision — the cutting of the flesh. It brought a man inside God's covenant with Abraham, and it applied to everyone at the table.
Three groups might keep the Passover: the Israelites, their servants bought with money, and the stranger staying with them. But the condition for all these alike was circumcision. No one could have a place at the Passover table without it. Only this way did they come within the terms of the covenant which God had made with Abraham... Circumcision is a type of death to the flesh. What it pictures finds its fulfilment in the death of Christ.
The one condition was the same for everyone. So rank and background counted for nothing at the door. One writer sees the cross doing the same work now.
It made no difference what advantages of person or position a man had. He could have no part with Israel until he submitted to that cutting of the flesh. A circumcised beggar was nearer to God than an uncircumcised king. So too now, there can be no share in the joys of God's redeemed except by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. That cross sweeps away all pretensions, levels all distinctions, and unites all in one holy congregation of blood-washed worshippers.
One law for all did not mean everyone ate. The same passage names who was kept out and who could come in.
Foreigners were shut out — those with no interest in the country Israel was bound for. So was the hired servant, whose link with Israel rested on set wages. And no uncircumcised person belonged in the company of those entitled to eat. By being bought and circumcised, the servant might take his place. The stranger, identifying himself completely with the nation by circumcision, became "as one born in the land." So it is clear that when it came to sharing in the memorial feast, the Lord defined with the greatest clarity and precision who should and who should not take part.
- One law — the native and the sojourner stood under one rule. Same privileges, same responsibilities.
- One door — the feast belonged to Israel. Yet God kept a way in for the outsider.
- One qualification — circumcision. It pictures death to the flesh, and the death of Christ fulfils it.
- One level — that one condition erased rank. The cross now sweeps away every distinction the same way.
- One anticipation — no command was laid on the stranger; the way was simply open to whoever desired it. Commentators read this as grace showing early what the gospel would say plainly: "Let the one who desires take the water of life without price."