The Lamb of God

Did you ever wonder why Jesus is called the “Lamb of God”?  John the Baptist, in speaking of Jesus, said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” What did he mean, the Lamb of God?  Where did he get that name for the Lord Jesus?

Blow the dust off your old King James Bible and look at Genesis 22.  In obedience to his God, Abraham is on his way to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his only son Isaac (the son of promise). Abraham tells his two servants, “Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” Somehow Abraham knew in his heart (that is, he believed) that even if he followed through in sacrificing his son, God would resurrect Isaac in time to return to the servants when they were expected. “I and the lad will (…) come again to you.”

As the two make their way up the mountain, Isaac wonders where the lamb is. He knows they need a lamb, a pure, innocent lamb, in order to approach the living God in the prescribed manner, for, “without shedding of blood, there is no remission.” Abraham replies, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.”  Did you see that? God will provide HIMSELF a lamb!  You are familiar with the rest of the story, how that Abraham lays his son on the altar and is just about to kill him, when God calls out to him to stop. Isaac gets down, and they find a ram caught in a thicket. Here God provided a lamb FOR himself. That sacrificial lamb took Isaac’s place. But some 2000 years later, God provided HIMSELF, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb, to die in MY place.  “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Isn’t that awesome?!?!

I have soooo far to go, but this great love that God had for me at Calvary compels me to find out how I can please him. “If ye love, me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15.  I am grateful to the Lord for his grace and his longsuffering as I grow in Christ. May I eventually be able to say with Jesus, “I do always those things that please him.”