The Lamb of God

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

In today’s passage we find John the Baptist introducing Jesus to two of his disciples as "the Lamb of God." “Look,” he says, “here is the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35). The day before, Jesus had come to John to be baptized. And as Jesus approached him then, John had said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Why did John refer to Jesus as a lamb? Why was he God’s lamb? And how could a lamb take away the sin of the world? To understand this we need to look at some Old Testament traditions. 

The Israelites made many offerings made to God — burnt offerings, grain offerings, offerings of well-being. They also made an offering in atonement for their sins. This was known as the sin offering. Once a year, the penitent sinner would go to the priest with an animal that was “without blemish”. This animal would be sacrificed by the priest on behalf of the sinner (see Leviticus 4:35). Why was an animal required to be sacrificed? Because the wages of sin is death (see Romans 6:23a). For our sins we deserve to die. But God doesn’t want us to perish, so he allowed for a substitutionary sacrifice: an animal. 

“But why?”, you may ask. “Why can’t God just forgive?” Because God is just. And justice demands retribution. “So, why does blood need to be shed?” As Scripture says, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22) because “life is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). Now, these sacrifices of the Old Testament were a temporary covering of sin. A better, more permanent way was necessary. 

Enter Jesus, the “Lamb of God”. By coming to live with us as a human, and leading a life “without blemish” — without sin! — he became the perfect sacrifice of love. And not only did he secure forgiveness for all time, he also gave us the power to lead lives without sin through his Holy Spirit.

There are many other references to lamb in the Old Testament. A notable one is the tradition concerning the Passover lamb. If you recall, the Israelites were slaves of Egypt. After many years of captivity, God sent Moses to Pharaoh with the message to let his people go. Despite several signs, Pharaoh refused to listen. Finally, God told Moses to have each family kill an unblemished lamb and paint the door posts with its blood. That night, the Angel of Death “passed over” these homes, but took the lives of the first born unprotected by the blood of the lamb. Because of this, Pharaoh finally gave the Israelites their freedom. Now, think about Jesus again, and see what this might mean to us as Christians.

Let me end with a reference to a lamb by the prophet Isaiah. “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 its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). 

Remind you of anyone?