Jesus Christ The Lamb of God 

Book of John and Genesis

Scripture Lesson John 1:29-34                 Exodus 12:1-51

John the Baptist’s witness about Jesus Christ is one of the greatest witnesses ever given by man.  John was unmistakable in His proclamation of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus did not back off of His mission, nor the anointing on His life. (Luke 4:18-19).

Jesus Christ, The Passover Lamb of God: Jesus Christ is the "Lamb of God." Down through the history “the Lamb of God" has been one of the most cherished references to Jesus Christ held by believers. There are four reasons for this.

1. The Lamb is a picture of Christ our Passover who was sacrificed for us.

"For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians. 5:7).

Historically, the Passover refers back to the time when God delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage (Exodus chapters 11and 12). God had pronounced judgment on the Egyptians (World), God had said the judgment would be the taking of the firstborn, upon the people of Egypt for their injustices.  As He prepared to execute the final judgment, the faithful, those who believed God, were instructed to slay a pure lamb and sprinkle its blood over the door posts of their homes. The blood of the innocent lamb would then serve as a sign that the coming judgment had already been carried out.  When seeing the blood, God would pass over that house. Those who believed God applied the blood to their homes and were saved, but those who did not believe did not apply the blood to their homes and their firstborn were destroyed.

The Passover pictured the coming of Jesus Christ as the Savior. The lamb without blemish pictured His sinless life (John 1:29), and the blood sprinkled on the door posts pictured His blood shed for the believer. It was a sign that the life and blood of the innocent lamb had been substituted for the firstborn.

The eating of the lamb pictured the need for spiritual nourishment gained by feeding on Christ, the Bread of Life. The unleavened bread (bread without yeast) pictured the need for putting evil out of one's life and household.

The major point to note is this: it was the blood of the lamb that saved the people. The lamb was sacrificed; that is, its blood was shed as a substitute for the people. The lamb symbolized Christ our Passover who was sacrificed for us. If we believe and apply His blood to our hearts and homes, He saves us. If we do not believe and do not apply the blood to our hearts and homes, we are destroyed. It is the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for us; it is His blood which saves us.

Discussion Point: Does this give you cause to check yourself, to make sure your election is sure?

2 Peter 1:1-21

2. The Lamb is a picture of the precious blood of Christ which redeems us.

"Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things....but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Historically, two lambs were sacrificed "day by day continually...the one...in the morning; and the other...at even" (Exodus 29:38-39). The sacrifice of the two lambs, the shedding of their precious blood, became a substitute for the people. The people knew their sins had separated them from God and that their sins had to be removed before they could be reconciled to God. The sins of the people were removed from the people and placed upon the two animals. The animals, without blemish and without spot, had the sins of the people placed upon them; and they bore the judgment of sin, which was death. They were sacrificed for sin, and by their death, they set the people free by redeeming them from their sins. (But note a critical point. It was not the deed that caused God to remove the sins, but the faith of the person in God's Word that He would remove the sins.)

This is a picture of Christ. ( Isaiah 53:6-7; Jeremiah 11:19; Acts 8:32; 1 Corinthians. 5:7; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 2:22-24; Rev. 5:6; Rev. 6:1; Rev. 7:9; Rev. 12:11; Rev. 13:8; Rev. 14:1; Rev. 15:3; Rev. 17:14; Rev. 19:9; Rev. 21:22.)

Jesus Christ is...

•the perfect Lamb of God, without sin (blemish or spot).

•the One upon whom the sins of the people were placed.

•the One who bore the judgment for sin, which was death.

•the One who was sacrificed for sin.

•the One whose death sets people free by redeeming them.

•the One whose blood is counted precious both by God and believers.

Know that Jesus Christ willingly offered Himself as the sacrificial Lamb, as our substitute and sin-bearer; and God willingly accepted the offering and sacrifice of His Son for us (John 10:17-18). God is satisfied with the settlement for sin that Christ made. Isaiah 55:8-13. If any person really believes the blood of Christ to be precious—really believes that the blood of Christ covers his sins—God will take that person's belief and count it as righteousness. That person is counted righteous by God.1 John 2:1-2).

3. The "Lamb of God" is not of men, but of God (tou theou G2742). The idea is that the Lamb belonged to God; that is, God gave, supplied, and provided the Lamb for sacrifice. Just like he provided the lamb for Abraham as a substitute for Isaac. Genesis 22:8

This action by God the Father towards His Son is a glorious truth a speaks tremendously of:

•the unbelievable love of God for man (John 3:16-17; Romans 5:1).

•the great sacrifice and humiliation Christ underwent for man (Phil. 2:6-8; 1 Peter 2:24).

•the forgiveness of sins and salvation which came from God's grace and not from man's resources and works (Ephes. 2:8-9; Titus 2:4-7).

•the deity of Christ, His being of God).

4. The "Lamb of God" takes away the sin of the world.

a. The phrase "takes away" (airōn G 3891) means to lift away, to carry off. It means to bear in behalf of one, as one's substitute.  Jesus Christ was the sacrificial Lamb of God who bore our sins.  He lifted our sins off of us and bore and carried them away.

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).

"So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:28).

b. The word "sin" (hamartian G3570) is singular, not plural. All the sins of the world are taken and placed into one package. The whole package of sin—all the sin of every man who has ever lived—was laid upon and borne by Christ.

 
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

c. The world is looked at as a whole. Christ bore the sins of the whole world, not the sins of just some men. No matter the depth and ugliness of a man's sin, Christ bore the sins of the whole world.

"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1-2).