The Lamb of God
Introduction
It is really interesting to see the funny names that people give pets, like dogs for example. Let me share four or five with you:
Bark Twain
Droolius Caesar
Hairy Paw-ter
Mary Puppins
And my favorite is Salvador Dogi.
Using animals as a typology for something else is interesting, too. In fact, using animals as a symbol is as old as the Bible. One of the most beautiful animal typologies in the world is that of the Lamb of God. Let’s look at that subject tonight for a few moments and allow God to speak to us. Note three examples which take us on a journey through the Bible.
I. Where is the Lamb?
In Genesis 22:6-7 we have the story of Abraham and Isaac. As you recall, Abraham had a promise from God that his descendants would be in number like the grains of sand on earth. Yet, Abraham and Sarah had grown old and had no son. Finally, God performed a miracle and gave the old couple a son named Isaac. What joy filled their hearts as they held that son, a son who could and would fulfill the promise of God! Yet, a strange thing happen when Isaac was a boy – God told Abraham to take Isaac and sacrifice Him on Mount Moriah.
I have no idea how many strange and troubling thoughts filled Abraham’s mind when he heard this order from the Lord. Whatever those thoughts were, Abraham’s obedience and faith overcame them and he took Isaac to place designated and they began the ascent to the top of the mountain. As they began to climb the hill, Isaac asked, “Where is the lamb?” You see, Isaac knew they were going up the mountain to make a sacrifice to God, but Isaac didn’t know that he was the required sacrifice.
Of course, we know the rest of the story. Once Abraham was ready to slay his won on the altar, an angel stopped his hand, and Abraham then saw a ram caught in a nearby thicket. Isaac was released from the altar and the ram was substituted for him. Abraham made the sacrifice, but it was not his son. God had provided the sacrifice, and it was a picture of the offering God made a Calvary when the Lamb of God took our place on the cross.
We need to remember in Genesis 4 that Abel's animal sacrifice was accepted by God, but Cain's sacrifice from the land was not. The land was cursed, and was a symbol of man's own effort. The lamb was God's way and will for a true sacrifice to be made. Abel was doing it God's way while Cain was seeking to come to God in his own way. We must always remember this truth – only God’s Lamb can provide a way for us to have a relationship with our Heavenly Father.
In Exodus we read about the blood on the door posts of the houses – blood which protected the firstborn among the Hebrews, and blood which led to their escape from slavery to the Egyptians. The blood of the lamb was their path of escape. Likewise, the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Lamb, provides the way for man to leave the shackles of slavery to sin and find freedom.
In Leviticus we read about the lamb that was slain and the blood poured on the Mercy Seat in the Tabernacle. Then the hand of the priest, with the blood still on it, was laid on a scapegoat and the goat was sent away into the wilderness. Thus, the scapegoat carried away the iniquity of the people because of the blood of the lamb. A goat wandering off into the wilderness brought no assistance to the sinners in the camp of Hebrews, unless that goat had the blood of the lamb upon it. You see, the blood of the lamb was necessary at every turn in order for the people to be forgiven.
Where is the Lamb? That question echoes down through history. Only Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb, is able to provide our escape from our on sins. All the lambs of the Old Testament are symbols pointing toward a hill called Calvary.
You might ask, “Preacher, are you sure that those lambs pointed to Jesus?” Look at Isaiah 53 and you will note that the lamb is mentioned as “him”. God laid upon “HIM” the iniquity of us all. The Lamb is not an animal, but a person.
So, where is the lamb? Look at the next point to be made.
II. Behold the Lamb
In our text for tonight we note that John the Baptist was baptizing people in the River Jordan when suddenly he turned and pointed to a man who was walking toward the water. That man was Jesus. John the Baptist stopped, pointed and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John the Baptist was referring to Jesus as the fulfillment of all the Old Testament figures and illustrations regarding salvation through the blood of a lamb. Jesus alone is that Lamb - the Lamb come to pour out His blood for our redmeption..
Jesus is unlike any person who ever lived. He is not the product of an earthly father, but is the Lamb of GOD. He is God’s Lamb – He is the Son of God sent into this world to redeem us from our sins. He came to bear our sins, like the scapegoat that carried away the blood of the lamb, and thus carried away the sins of the people in the Old Testament.
Look to Jesus and you will find the path to freedom from self, Satan and sin. He overcame by His death and resurrection all the evils of this world. He is the Lamb of God.
You must look to Him in order to live. No wonder John the Baptist cried out, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Only looking to Him, turning from your sin, placing faith in Him, and resigning from your self can you every be redeemed and receive abundant and eternal life.
But, there is one more thing to see…
III. Worthy is the Lamb
In Revelation 5 we look into heaven where all the redeemed will one day arrive. There a Lamb comes before the throne and the saints begin to sin, “Worthy is the Lamb.” The Lamb of God, our precious Lord and Savior, will one day receive our praises in the presence of all the angels in heaven. We will sing to Him because…
A. He is the Faithful Lamb
He came to the earth from the Virgin Mary’s womb. He lived here in a way no person every lived – without sin! What the first Adam did not do, Jesus did. The first Adam was in a perfect garden but sinned against God. The second Adam, Jesus, came into a sin-cursed world and did not sin. Thus, in His faithfulness He was able to take our sin to the cross.
B. He is the Forever Lamb
He rose from the dead and lives forevermore. He overcame death and the grave, and pulled the sting out of death.
“He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart.
You ask me how I know He lives,
He lives within in my heart!”
Yes, he lives in me and I live in Him. Because he lives, I can live forever.
Conclusion
You can know Him as your Savior today. Come to the Lamb of God who died in your place on the cross. Just as the ram in the thicket was a substitute for Isaac, Jesus is a substitute for you and for me.
All who know Him, can praise Him now and in eternity. An unknown poet wrote: