The Lamb of God

The Bible depicts Jesus Christ as the “Lamb of God” which means more than simply an object representing God, but an extension of God Himself. The first time John the Baptist laid eyes on Jesus of Nazareth he proclaimed, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He goes on to say that he did not previously know Him but “saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him.” (John 1:32). “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When they saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!’” (John 1:35).

Lambs have played a pivotal role in Jewish history and are a crucial element of the Passover. God’s power and His grace converged in Egypt when the Lord instructed Moses and Aaron to take year-old male lambs without defect and slaughter them at twilight (Exodus 12:5-6). “Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.” (Exodus 12:7). “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” (Exodus 12:13).

THE FIRST PASSOVER

This was the first Passover, when the Lord passed through Egypt and struck down every firstborn human and animal as a judgement against all the gods of Egypt (Exodus 12:12). The Passover marked a new beginning for God’s people and the month of the Passover became the first month of their calendar year (Exodus 12:2).

God also instructed the people how they were to eat the meal that night. He said they were to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person would eat, and if one lamb was too much for a house-hold they should share it with their nearest neighbor (Exodus 12:4). The lamb was to be roasted over the fire along with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast.

Further instructions included: “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord – a lasting ordinance.” (Exodus 12:14). Over time the Passover meal evolved to consist of unleavened bread, lamb and consuming four cups of wine symbolizing deliverance through: “I will bring out,” “I will deliver,” I will redeem,” and “I will take.” (Exodus 6:6-7).

During the meal, the meaning of each component is explained, and the story of the Exodus from Egypt is retold. The Passover meal came to be known as the Seder which means “order” or “arrangement” and each component of it is symbolic. Jesus repurposed the Seder meal as He established the New Covenant.

During the Last Supper, Jesus gave thanks and then proceeded to take the bread and break it. Instead of the traditional explanation for the lack of yeast in the bread, He told those with him, “This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19).  Jesus then took the cup, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:20).

Jesus established the New Covenant that God spoke of through the prophet Jeremiah, who wrote, “’The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares the Lord.”

This New Covenant facilitates a deep and intimate relationship with our Creator through the cross for all people. This is possible because of the resurrection of Jesus. The Bible tells us, “Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” (1 Peter 1:21). And 1 Peter 1:19 declares that our redemption is made possible not because of perishable sacrifices, “but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

Christians commemorate the Last Supper through the ordinance of communion. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:26, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” Jesus’s promise to return (John 14:3) is a central tenet of Christianity along with God’s promise to Abraham to bless all nations through him. God provided Abraham’s sacrificial lamb because of his faith and it is through faith in Christ as the Lamb of God that believers are saved.

THE UNBLEMISHED LAMB OF GOD

The virginity of Mary is paramount to establishing Jesus as the unblemished Lamb of God. The supernatural conception of Jesus is significant because no physical interaction took place, therefore, Jesus did not inherit the sin of Adam that has been passed down through the generations. And Joseph did not consummate his marriage to Mary until after Jesus was born (Matthew 1:24-25).

If Christ had not been supernaturally conceived, the gospel accounts would be untruthful and scripture would not be trustworthy. And if Jesus had been conceived by natural means, He would have inherited the original sin, making Him unacceptable to God as an unblemished sacrifice. Jesus was fully human and fully God because of the synergism infused by God into His conception.

Not only did Jesus live without sin (1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5, Hebrews 4:15, and 2 Corinthians 5:21), He was born without sin and was conceived without sin, making Him the one and only unblemished Lamb of God. He was sacrificed on Passover for the sins of the world.

In Revelation 5, John discloses that Jesus alone is capable of redeeming mankind. “Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?’ But no one in heaven or on earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’”

THEN I SAW A LAMB

“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out to all the earth. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when He had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:

‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’” The Lord’s power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Christ conquered death through submission to it (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

This was never God’s plan “B.” Paul taught this “as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Isaiah 53:7, written seven hundred years before Christ, predicted: “He was oppressed and afflicted yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away. And who can speak of His descendants? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He was stricken.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit found in His mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and although the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand.”

The blood of the Passover lamb was a foreshadowing of Christ and the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. In the same manner that the blood of lambs on doorframes saved the Israelites in Egypt, the blood of Christ saves all who believe in Him from their sins. In 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, Paul teaches, “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast – as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.”

If Jesus Christ was simply a man or an angel, He could never have ransomed the multitude of believers recorded in Revelation 7:9 and Revelation 19:6-8, that no one could count. He did this through one act. One sacrifice. And He alone is worthy of this sacred service, since He is the Lamb of God.