“Behold!  The Lamb of God…”

                 John had been preaching for months.  Pharisees, Sadducees, soldiers, tax collectors and many others came out to hear him, and well they should.  Israel had been without a prophet for 400 years!  Now they had one again.  God was moving, John was baptizing, and everyone talking in Jerusalem.

But John the Baptist was not the center of attention.  He even said so.  “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose” (John 1:26-27).  Someone better?  Absolutely!  “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (v. 29).

Lambs are interesting animals.  As a general rule, they don’t hurt anything.  They don’t do a lot either.  They don’t seem to demonstrate a high intelligence for animals.  When they grow into full adult sheep, they can get top-heavy and roll upside down and not be unable to get up!   So it is interesting that the Scriptures would call Jesus a lamb.  Why is that?

More than anything else, lambs are known for their innocent appearance.  They became synonymous to an offering to God.  The first time the word lamb is mentioned in Scripture is when Abraham took Isaac up to worship God in Genesis 22.  Isaac asked his father, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”  From the earliest days lambs were equated with sacrifice.

But how can a lamb take away sins?  As we have just seen, they can’t do much for themselves, let alone for someone else.  But Jesus was God’s lamb.  “He was oppressed and He was afflicted. Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).  Thus “the things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27).  By themselves lambs can’t take away sins.  But this lamb can … and did!

Moving on to the book of Revelation, the word lamb is used 27 times, more than in any other book.  All but one speak of Christ.  As a lamb Christ does more interesting things that other lambs don’t do.  Lambs have neither followers (14:4), nor apostles (21:14), nor a Book of Life (21:27), but this Lamb does!  Other lambs don’t have wrath (6:16) or fight in war (17:14), but Christ does.  Other lambs don’t produce light (21:23), have a throne (22:1) or a song (15:3), but this Lamb does!  Other lambs don’t have a bride (21:9), nor do they call her to attend his marriage supper (19:9), but Christ does … and this Lamb includes you and me in that invitation!

What an incredible Lamb we find in the Bible, unlike any other!  Glorified in Heaven, assuming His rightful place on His throne, we at last see the center of the universe:  “You [the Lamb] are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth” (5:9).  Then an innumerable amount of angels, elders and living creatures loudly declare, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (5:12).  Finally “every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying, ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!’ ” (5:13).

Have you worshipped the Lamb of God today?