Jesus: The Lamb of God
Luke 2:7-11
For centuries, sacrificial lambs were raised in the fields outside Bethlehem. At Passover, those lambs would be slaughtered. How fitting that there, God’s perfect Lamb was born. (Read Luke 2:7-11; See also Micah 5:2.)
The Lamb of God was Prophesied
In Exodus 12, God had a plan to redeem His people from slavery, and that plan was wrapped up in a lamb—a Passover lamb.
One blemish would disqualify a Passover lamb. (See Exodus 12:5.) At three o’clock on the 14th day of the month, the father of the family would cut the lamb’s throat, and catch its blood in a basin. “They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it….And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:7,13b).
Then the lamb was roasted. (See Exodus 12:8.) The Jews were to eat it—all of it (Exodus 12:10).
The Lamb of God Came
Moses’ lamb prophesied Mary’s Lamb. When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming, he said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29b).
During Passover, just before the crucifixion of Christ, on the same day priests examined the Passover lambs, the authorities tried to find some fault in the Lamb of God. But Pilate had to confess, “I find no fault in this Man” (Luke 23:4b).
Jesus was brought to the cross on Mount Moriah—where God told Abraham, “I will provide Myself a sacrifice.” (See Genesis 22:13-14.) At three o’clock in the afternoon, priests were cutting the throats of the Passover lambs. At that time, the Lamb of God cried, “It is finished!” (See John 19:30; Mark 15:33-39.)
And at the Lord’s Table, we feed upon the Lamb. (Read 1 Corinthians 11:23b-25.) When we share the Lamb, we do not mourn a corpse—we hail a conqueror.
The Lamb’s Victory
And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals….And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (Revelation 5:1,6).
This scroll represents the right to rule the Earth, the heavens, and the netherworld. The angel told John to look, and here is what he saw:
The Lamb of God still bears the marks of the nails. Though He laid down in death, He is now standing, interceding for us. He has seven horns, which in the Bible are emblematic of power. Seven is the emblem of perfect power. He has seven eyes. He is omniscient—He knows all.
“Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne” (Revelation 5:7). What right does He have to take it? The right of creation—He made it all. The right of Calvary—He shed blood for it. The right of conquest—He was raised from the dead.
“You are worthy to take the scroll,And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9b-10).
To read more on this topic, click here.
