Full Sermon Jesus is the Lamb of God based on Exodus 12:1-13

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. “Agnus Dei” painting. A museum in Madrid, Spain, has a work of art that is considered a masterpiece. A Spanish artist by the name of Francisco de Zurbarán painted it from 1635 to 1640. He called the painting “Agnus Dei” – a Latin phrase that means “Lamb of God.”

Here is one person’s description of the painting: “The painting is simple: a wooly merino lamb is lying on his side on a grey slab. As we observe the picture, the lamb is facing the left. He has elegantly curved horns. All four of his feet are bound together above the fetlock with two strands of a cord. The knot isn’t visible.

With his feet tied together, the lamb’s back is elevated as he lies on the slab. His left eye (the only one we can see) is open, pale eyelashes delicately line his eye. We can see that the lamb is looking down, past his pink nose, at the grey slab. There is no blood in the painting so the lamb is alive—but the lamb won’t be alive for long.

“Still life paintings of the 17thcentury rarely displayed emotion. Not here. Not in the Agnus Dei. The lamb shows emotion—the emotion of resignation. He isn’t struggling to free himself. He isn’t kicking and screaming. The lamb is ready to die.

“Light shines down on the lamb from the upper left at a high angle, so that only a little shadow is thrown. Beyond the pool of light that bathes the lamb, it is all dark—very, very dark.” (Dr. Reed Lessing’s comments)

II. On this Good Friday, we will think about the Lamb of God and Exodus 12:3-5. We are looking into another part of the Book of Exodus in Exodus 12. Exodus 12:3-5 states, “Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old.” The lamb is not supposed to be crippled or lame or have any marks on him.

After choosing the lamb, the people were to watch over that lamb from the tenth day to the fourteenth day of the month. Then the people of Israel were to gather together at twilight. And do what? Kill the lamb.

III. Read Exodus 12:7 and comment. Exodus 12:7 directed them, “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.” The blood of the lamb would set the people of Israel free from their slavery in Egypt.

IV. Common problem of being curved in on ourselves with sin. We have the same problem today that the people of Israel and all people have. The problem is being curved in on ourselves as Martin Luther, the German reformer, liked to say about sin. That is what sin is all about. Sin points us to look at ourselves for the solution to our problems. Sin points us to be selfish and self-centered. Sin takes our attention away from God.

V. We tend to isolate ourselves. Rather than look outside ourselves for help, we tend to isolate ourselves. We tend to think no one else knows what we are going through. We tend to shut out the world. Sin curves us in on ourselves. That makes things even worse for us.

VI. Wish to enter into famous paintings. People sometimes wish they could enter into famous paintings. Take a walk in the Starry Sky painting by Vincent Van Gogh. Have a chat with Mona Lisa in the painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. What would we do if we could enter into the famous painting of the Lamb of God? We might want to untie the lamb. Set the lamb free. The lamb looks so innocent and loving. He does not deserve to die.

VII. Knot is out of sight. But the knot is out of sight. Why is that? The knot is out of sight, because the lamb cannot be freed. There is nothing we can do for this lamb. The lamb has to die and shed his blood, so that we can be freed from our sins of being curved in on ourselves.

VIII. Read Exodus 12:13. Exodus 12:13 tells us, “The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.”

IX. New Testament idea of a dying lamb. The New Testament of the Bible picks up on the idea of a lamb dying for us. Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God. In John’s Gospel, John the Baptizer pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). 1 Corinthians 5:7 states, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” 1 Peter 1:18–19 tells us, “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

X. Jesus, the Lamb of God, and blood. Jesus, the Lamb of God, prayed so intensely that His sweat fell to the ground like big drops of blood. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was crowned with a crown of thorns that caused more drops of blood to flow from His body. Even more blood flowed when Jesus, the Lamb of God, was whipped without mercy.

XI. Via Dolorosa, “the way of suffering,” and black stole. Blood continued to flow as He carried His cross on the Via Dolorosa, a Latin phrase that means “the way of suffering”, through Jerusalem. This route is thought to be the route Jesus walked to the cross. I bought this black stole I wear on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday on the Via Dolorosa around 30 years ago in Jerusalem. When He was nailed to the cross still more blood flowed. To make sure He was dead a Roman soldier pierced the side of Jesus and blood and water flowed out of His side.

XII. Saved by blood of Jesus. We are saved by the blood Jesus shed for us on the cross. By faith, we are washed clean in the blood of Jesus. That is the only way to free us from an eternity of being curved in on ourselves.

XIII. Blood was all Jesus had. In the end, at the very end, blood was all Jesus had. His disciples had left Him at the time of His arrest. His garments had been taken away. Even His Father in heaven had left Him to die. Blood was all Jesus had left, but the blood of Jesus is all we need. The blood of Jesus is all we need!

XIV. Conclusion. Isaac Watts, the great 17thcentury hymn writer, sums up the saving work of Jesus, the Lamb of God, with these words: “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.