Christ As The Lamb Of God

by Scotchbrook, A. J. | Category: General | Jul 1995

When John the Baptist made his great declaration on the banks of Jordan, 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world', he was using language which was familiar to his Jewish audience. Yet few would understand the implication of what he was saying, even though since the time of Cain and Abel the importance and necessity of animal sacrifice had been made clear.

'By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain and through it he being dead yet speaketh' (Heb. 11:4).

Indeed, earlier still, when Adam and Eve sinned and God clothed them with animal skins, the necessity for animal blood to be shed was being emphasized. In those beginning days God was declaring the truth which He later spelled out in Leviticus, 'the life of the flesh is in the blood... for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life' (17:11).

That precious scarlet thread is woven throughout the Old Testament Scriptures until it leads us to Calvary where the perfect Lamb of God was sacrificed to take away the sin of the world. Never again would it be necessary for a lamb to be slain to cover human sin temporarily, for at Calvary He 'put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself' and then 'sat down on the right hand of God' (Heb. 9:26; 10:12).

The problem of sin and its resultant depravity is universal: the sacrifice of Christ is the remedy which God has provided. But how can the sacrifice of

One avail for the sins of all? it might be asked; the answer is in the worth of the One who made the sacrifice. When the Lord Jesus gave Himself as the Lamb of God: it was not an ordinary man who died, but 'the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself up for met (Gal. 2:20).

In the book of Revelation the Lord Jesus is portrayed as the Lamb no less than twenty-eight times and the word used in the original, as well as emphasizing the sacrifice of Calvary, describes Him as the exalted Lamb in the dignity and majesty associated with heaven's throne, so linking the suffering with the glory. One day all who love our Lord Jesus will join in the eternal anthem of praise, 'Worthy is the Lamb that bath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and glory, and blessing' (Rev. 5:12). What a glorious prospect!

Scotchbrook, A. J. | Jul 1995
General