Why did the Passover lamb have to be roasted with fire rather than boiled or eaten raw?
The Passover lamb was roasted with fire because fire signified judgment. It foreshadowed Christ, who endured the fires of judgment on the cross to accomplish salvation. Eating it raw or boiling it in water would not picture that judgment; roasting alone illustrated the sin-bearing, sacrificial death.
Les explains that the roasting with fire was not merely a cooking instruction but a picture of judgment. The lamb was kept up and observed for three days to see if it had any blemish, poor health, or defect. Only if it was whole could it be killed for the Passover sacrifice. In the same way, Christ spent three years up and down the land of Israel under scrutiny by religious authorities and ordinary people, yet no one could accuse Him of wrongdoing. He was without spot, without blemish, and blameless. After the lamb was proved, its blood was struck on the two side posts and upper doorpost. Then they ate the flesh that night, roasted with fire, not raw and not boiled in water. Les sees the fire as indicative of judgment: just as Christ went through the fires of judgment as He hung on the cross to bring about salvation, the Passover lamb was roasted with fire. It could not be fixed any other way because this method indicated judgment. Israel’s later sacrifices on the brazen altar were also burned with fire, the place where sin was being judged.
And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
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