Lamb of God
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29
-A Christian term for Jesus first used in the Gospel of John. It carries out the image of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus as a new Passover : a lamb was killed for the Jewish Passover, and Jesus himself, In the sacrifice of his death and Resurrection, is the lamb for the new Passover.
Dictionary.com
A lamb. The idea seems crazy to us today: Sacrificing an animal in exchange for our wrong doings, our sins.
Yet from the earliest of Jewish culture, the sacrifice of lambs played a significant part in everyday life, including Passover (See Exodus 12) and daily temple sacrifice (see Exodus 29:38-410).
The ancient prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah predicted and called Jesus the Lamb of God:
I was like a lamb being led to the slaughter. Jeremiah 11:19a NLT
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. Isaiah 53:7 NASB
It is hard to get our heads around it: The God of the Universe placed His son, this perfect lamb, on an altar (the cross) to die. The ultimate sacrifice for our wrongs.
This perfect One in place of imperfect us.
And what about us?
What does this mean for us this Christmas time? For those hurting and suffering in sin. We, the poor in spirit. The needy and the lost. Where does our future lay?
1 Peter 1:18-21 in The Message says:
Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God…He paid with Christ’s sacred blood… He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought… God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.
Because of Jesus, we have the promise of hope this Christmas. Because of this perfect lamb, we have a future in God.
May we, the poor, hurting and broken, come to Him this Advent. May we come to the One who was hurt and broken for us- no matter our sins.
Reflect:
- Spend time in prayer offering yourself to God in Thankfulness for the sacrifice of His Lamb.
- Our sin separates us from God. What does this mean? See Romans 6:23
Lamb of God,
Thank you for being the ultimate and perfect sacrifice. This Christmas, my gift to You- is me.
Amen
But oh, Lamb of God, oh, Prince of Peace
What tribute shall I bring to worship Thee
I have no gold to lay at Your feet
So, Lamb of God, I offer me
Nicole C. Mullen “Lamb of God”
“Lamb of God”
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