Jesus Christ: The Lamb of God

Introduction

During this Christmas season we again turn our attention to the birth of our savior and again we consider what the scriptures have to say with regard to Jesus Christ.

Last week we saw Jesus Christ as the Living Word, the very expression of heart and mind of God and the one in whom was extended grace and truth to all mankind.

Today we continue in the book of John as we come to the following day and hear the declaration of John the Baptist the forerunner who would be responsible for preparing the way for the savior as he points men to Jesus as “the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.”

The picture that John paints would have been a recognizable one for any Jewish person. It would have immediately provoked images of sacrificial lambs and especially of the passover which was celebrated annually in Israel.

As the Lamb of God Jesus Christ is the:

Sinless Sacrifice-

In the passover scene found in Exodus 12 God gives clear instruction that each man or each house was to choose out a very specific lamb.

Exodus 12:5 KJV 1900

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

This was a picture of the lamb of God which would be without blemish or spot.

1 Peter 1:18–20 KJV 1900

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

This was the sacrifice which God required to make atonement for the sins of humanity. It must be a perfect sinless sacrifice and this was exactly what Jesus became.

He lived just over 33 years upon earth and yet never once did He commit sin or disobey the will of the father.

2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV 1900

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Hebrews 4:14–15 KJV 1900

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

What you and I could never do, Jesus Christ the Son of God came in human flesh and accomplished for us. We were hopelessly condemned because we could not live a life that was without sin.

The lambs which had been offered now for generations were lambs marred by the curse of sin being offered up by sinful men but now we come to a lamb that is provided by God and which is perfectly suitable in God’s sight and which would give Himself a ransom for the redemption of humanity.

As the Lamb of God Jesus Christ was also the:

Suffering Servant

This was a term which was often used to describe the one which the scriptures spoke of in the prophetic book of Isaiah in chapter 53.

This may very well have been in the mind of John as he declared Christ to be the “Lamb of God” but even if it was not we find that the connection had definitely been made by the time that we arrive in Acts 8 where Phillip witnesses to the Ethiopian Eunuch who is confused with regard to whom the passage speaks of.

Acts 8:26-35- from Isaiah 53 Phillip preaches to this man Jesus.

Isaiah 53- Jesus Christ is the clear fulfilment of this passage of scripture. Specifically as the Lamb of God we see Him embody Isaiah 53:7 as He willingly goes to the cross knowing the suffering and agony that will befall Him there and yet being willing to bear it to redeem sinful men.

He suffered the punishment which was due unto us. Our iniquities were all laid upon the precious lamb of God and He voluntarily took the penalty which we rightly deserved.

Jesus Christ suffered so that you and I could be redeemed and reconciled to God. He bore our sins so that we might be forgiven and that we might inherit eternal life.

He bore the shame the scorn the rejection of men and counted it a joy for the wonder that it would make redemption possible for you and I.

Hebrews 12:2–3 KJV 1900

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

The joy was in what Jesus knew His death and subsequent resurrection three days following would accomplish.

As the Lamb of God Jesus Christ was also the:

Supreme Savior-

Blood sacrifices had been offered up for many generation in Israel by this time but the blood of bulls and goat and literal lambs could never take away the sins of the world.

Hebrews 10:1-10- what the blood of bulls and goats could never do Jesus Christ accomplished once for all when He willingly laid down His life as the sacrifice for the sins of the world.

This brings us back to the fact that John points out regarding Christ as not simply the Lamb of God but the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.

Jesus upon the cross effectively conquered sin and made redemption possible for all of mankind if they would only believe upon Him.

This singular verse eliminates the possibility of a limited atonement and asserts definitively that Jesus Christ died for all. The atonement was unlimited in its scope. The only limit is that some refuse to believe.

This very event had been in the mind of God from the very foundation of the world but only now is it finally and fully realized.

Revelation 13:8 KJV 1900

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Jesus Christ as He cried out from the cross “It is finished” was stating that the work had been accomplished and that sin and death had been defeated.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Twenty-One: “Even the Death of the Cross” (John 19:17–42)

Many of the Old Testament types and prophecies were now fulfilled, and the once-for-all sacrifice for sin had now been completed.

Jesus Christ as the spotless Lamb of God had made the payment for sin and now the debt which you and I and all humanity owed was marked PAID IN FULL!

John even from the very beginning apparently recognized Jesus as the savior which had been promised and correctly identified Him as the “Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world”

Have you received the free gift of salvation which the Lamb of God purchased for you? Your sins can be forgiven, you can be reconciled to God, you can become a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ!

Conclusion

For those who are believer, who have already recieved the forgiveness of sins through faith in the Lamb of God will we do as John did and point men to Him.

Notice that once John had glimpsed the savior he immediately cried out “Behold” arresting the attention of those around him and pointing them to the Lamb of God.

He immediately began to elevate Christ to His rightful place and began to intentionally step into the background. He saw and then he bare record. When will we do the same.

Would you like John say today “He must increase, but I must decrease” and allow our lives to be consumed with pointing men to the Lamb of God and drawing attention to and magnifying HIM!