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For those of you who are unaware, we are currently working our way through the gospel of John, identifying characteristics of Jesus along the way; this week, week four, we skip a few verses but are still firmly grounded in chapter one! John 1:29 says 'The next day [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"'

So here's the truth for this week - as was said a couple of weeks ago, often the simplest language carries the weightiest doctrine, and this is no different: 'the Lamb of God'.

The Lamb in the Old Testament

Jesus' mention as the Lamb of God would have been significant to John the Baptist because he was a Jew, and would have therefore been very familiar with the Old Testament picture of the lamb, in reference to the Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7), and the sacrificial lamb (Ephesians 5:2, Hebrews 10:1-14). Leviticus 1-5 details a great deal of laws regarding burnt sacrifices but the essential important truth here is that the lamb, as mentioned by John the Baptist, is referring to the sacrifices made in the Old Testament by the Jews as a way of appeasing God's wrath against sin. As God's wrath is awakened at the existence of sin, blood was required to be shed; the lamb in the Old Testament was used as a substitute for the punishment we should have received.

This is mere speculation here, but please bear with me! In Genesis 3:21 we see that God's response to the first sin was to kill an animal to make clothing for Adam and Eve, who were suddenly ashamed of their nakedness due to eating of the fruit. I believe that the animal God killed in that instance was a lamb - the first ever death caused by sin was a lamb, to be mirrored in that the last ever necessary death for sin would be Jesus, the Lamb of God.

Jesus is the New Testament Lamb

As soon as one begins to look for similarities between Jesus' sacrifice and the Old Testament sacrifice of the lamb it becomes apparent that John the Baptist did not just make this up but that it was inspired by God! Isaiah's prophetic description of Jesus in Isaiah 53:7 describes Jesus as 'a lamb that is led to the slaughter'. Colossians 1:13-14 describes Jesus as granting us redemption, which is taken directly from the Jewish Passover account of God's people set free by the blood of a lamb from the oppression of Pharaoh. In addition Hebrews 2:14-15 describes Jesus as having destroyed 'the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil' and so we can learn that in Jesus' sacrifice Satan was defeated - more than that his very power has been destroyed! In Jesus' death and resurrection he declares that we need not be influenced by Satan, but have that freedom, that redemption from slavery to sin.

Building on this image we have the height of Jesus' glory as described in the New Testament in Revelation 5:6-13,7:17,21:22-23,22:1-3. Although that seems like a great deal of Bible verses to look up, Jesus as the all-powerful conquering Lamb of God as depicted in Revelation gives us a glimpse of Jesus as who he really is - not just as the man he humbled himself by becoming (Philippians 2:5-11). That should encourage us to grow in our fear of the Lord!

'...takes away the sin of the world!'

John the Baptist's description of Jesus is that he 'takes away the sin of the world'. This is enormously important. Right at the beginning of Jesus' ministry his true purpose was already being recognised; Jesus was not just a good teacher - he is the living God and the Saviour of the entire world! John, still writing his first chapter, has laid down the foundation that Christ 'takes away the sin of the world'. This declaration by John is just the beginning, prophesying that Jesus was going to the cross to die in our place - he was to become our substitute, to appease God's divine wrath in becoming the propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17).

The word propitiation may not be used in your Bibles but it appears in the original Greek; some Bibles translate it as 'sacrifice of atonement', some translate it (incorrectly) as 'expiation'. Effectively it means this: God's divine wrath should, justly, be poured out on us as sinners - we deserve death because 'the wages of sin is death' (Romans 6:23). However, Jesus took our punishment in our place; he received all our punishment and, on the cross, God died. God's wrath was satisfied and we go free. In Christ's resurrection we see his conquering of sin and death and know that we are born again, raised to new life with him, reconciled to God for all eternity!

'It is by grace we have been saved' (Ephesians 2:8). Whenever I consider this truth and even as I write this I am genuinely moved to tears by the love, the humility, the grace, the mercy and the compassion of God. I deserve nothing - we deserve nothing! God is marvellous; when was the last time we truly dwelt on that amazing truth?

"Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life" from Tom Kelley

Winning in Christ Jesus