The Lamb of God

​A question is posed at the beginning of the song "Wonderful, Merciful Savior."  "Who would have thought that a Lamb could rescue the souls of men?"  But that is what was done by the Lamb of God!  We see foreshadows of the Lamb of God throughout the Old Testament beginning in Genesis when Adam and Eve sinned.  By eating the forbidden fruit their eyes were opened and "they realized that they were naked." (Genesis 3:7)  Another way to say this is that they experienced shame, so much so that they tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves.  But man could not cover his own sin.  God had to provide them with "garments of skin." (Genesis 3:21)
 
Specific instructions were given to the Israelites in Egypt when God was going to deliver them from bondage and death.  "...On the 10th day of the month each man is to take a lamb for his family...The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect...Take care of them until the 14th day of the month when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.  Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs." (Genesis 12:3, 5-7)  The blood of the lamb was the covering that was needed to protect the children of Israel from the plague of death.
 
It was on Mt. Moriah that Abraham took his son, his only son, whom he loved, and offered him as a burnt offering at the request of God. (Genesis 22:2)  At the moment he was about to slay him, God provided a ram for the sacrifice.  The binding of Isaac is called "the Akedah" in Hebrew and the story is retold in synagogues across the world on Rosh Hashanah.
 
In Isaiah 53 we read the foretelling of the substitutionary atoning sacrifice of the Messiah.  Verse 7 compares him to the sacrificial lamb:  "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth."
 
When asked by the priests and Levites who he was, John the Baptist told them, "I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'" (John 1:23) John was the one who prepared the way for Jesus and identified Him so that all the world would know the call of God on His life.  "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)  Those who practiced animal sacrifice so that those who violated the Mosaic law could approach God must have been shocked by the statement of John the Baptist.  How could John compare Jesus to the sacrificial lambs?
 
The Passover season is upon us.  The Jewish people will be remembering how each Israelite household in Egypt brought a perfect lamb into their homes from Nisan 10 to 14.  Imagine how each family must have become attached to their lamb as they lived with him, only to turn around and kill him as a sacrifice to protect them. Christians are remembering the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem this weekend. To fulfill what was spoken by the prophets, He entered riding on a colt of a donkey.  Crowds followed Jesus shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" (Matthew 21:9)  Afterward, Jesus entered the temple where He would be questioned and scrutinized.  For four days, "The Lamb of God" was examined.  He was then chosen as the Sacrificial Lamb.
 
It is the love of God that nailed Jesus to the Cross.  He was the sacrifice that purchased our souls.  He is our Redemption.  The Lamb of God is described in Revelation 5:6, 9-10.  "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders...And they sang a new song, saying:  'You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and with Your blood You purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.  You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."  We are those that Jesus purchased for Father God.  We are part of God's Kingdom and priests to serve Him.  It is ordained that we shall reign in victory.  How can we not praise Him?