The Plant Nobody Notices
“And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.”Exodus 12:22 (KJV)
Hyssop is a small, plain plant. Nobody would paint it. But it shows up at two of the most important moments in the Bible.
On the night of the first Passover, God told Israel, “ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood.” Hyssop put the blood on the door.
Centuries later, on the cross, Jesus said he was thirsty. “Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.” Moments later he said, “It is finished.” The same little plant is there at the start and the end of the story of the Lamb.
David prayed, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” He knew cleansing came through the blood the hyssop carried. So does ours.
Read it yourself
Read Exodus 12:21–23 and John 19:28–30. What did the hyssop carry each time?
What small detail in Scripture has surprised you by pointing to Christ?
Lord Jesus, purge me with hyssop. Wash me in your blood, and I shall be whiter than snow. Amen.