Lamb of God

 LAMB OF GOD

 

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

JOHN 1.29 (ESV)

 

For most of Jesus’ disciples, the word “lamb” would have conjured images of bloody sacrifices brought to the temple. But let’s take a step back. Why would God require sacrifices in the first place?

Sin requires punishment and atonement. The sacrificial system was instituted by God Himself to satisfy His righteous wrath, turning it from those who deserve it to the object being sacrificed. Think of the first sacrifice recorded in Scripture. God slaughtered an animal to clothe Adam and Eve, covering them and their sins at the animal’s expense.

We find many significant sacrifices in the Old Testament. When God tested Abraham’s love, calling him to sacrifice his own son, Isaac, Abraham assured his son that “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering” (Gen 22.8). And God did provide, the ram Abraham found at the top of the mountain was killed instead of Isaac. This episode foreshadowed God’s provision thousands of years later through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Another momentous sacrifice was the Passover lamb. After nine horrendous plagues sent upon the Egyptians in order to secure the Israelites’ freedom, God sent a final one, meant to kill each firstborn son. But to protect the Israelites, God instructed them to sacrifice a lamb and brush its blood on their doorposts, “The blood will be a sign … when I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Ex 12.13). Here, the Passover lamb points toward Jesus, whose blood would cause God’s wrath to pass over those covered by it.

Throughout the Bible, sacrificial lambs were killed in order to bear the burden of people’s sins. Sin was transferred from the guilty party to the animal. The person was declared innocent while the animal bore sin’s just punishment: death.

This sacrificial system, instituted by God Himself, was limited in scope, the sacrifice of atonement was required every year. But it was all meant to foreshadow Jesus. The Lamb of God came to fulfil and supersede the sacrificial system. His death on the cross atoned for all of humankind’s sins once and for all, through faith in Him.

This is not blind forgiveness but violent justice, not cheap grace but costly grace, not temporary oversight but eternal reconciliation. God doesn’t ignore our sins, He acknowledges them and makes provision for them through His own Son. The Lamb of God makes possible our relationship with God.

 

Prayer 

 

Jesus, how can I ever thank You for taking my sins away? I deserve the wrath of God, but You bore that punishment and gave me Your righteousness. Take my life and let it be consecrated to You alone.

In Jesus’s name, Amen 

 

If you want to read more 

 

Isa 53, Jn 1.29, 1Cor 5.7, Rom 3.25–26, Rev 13.8, 17.14