Behold the Lamb of God

John the Baptist said of Jesus Christ

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“Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29

What could he mean?

The lamb’s place in the religious history of Israel was clear enough. Lambs were around for sacrifice. At Passover, one of the greatest religious feasts in Israel, a pure, male lamb was slain. Its blood was sprinkled on the doorposts, and the lamb was then eaten along with a carefully composed meal. It commemorated the time in Egypt when God delivered the Israelites out of slavery and bondage there.

John says Jesus was the Lamb of God—“who takes away the sin of the world.” What did John mean? He meant that Jesus had come to die. Jesus would offer Himself as our Passover Lamb. By His blood, Jesus would free us from the just wrath of God, and we would be freed from bondage to sin.

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We know how John regarded Jesus, then. But how do you see Him? It will not do if you only think of Him as a great Teacher, or just a good example to follow. He is that, but He is so much more. As the Lamb of God, Jesus is our Savior! He is the one provided for us by God Himself. God the Father cares for us and has sent us Jesus. How well did Robert Robinson put it in his hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” :

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood.”

©The Parson, 2011-2012. All rights reserved. Originally published in the Flemingsburg Gazette.