Do you know about the Lamb of God? Do you know who He is, or what He stands for? Though it may seem elementary to many, to others, it can be a source of confusion, so today we will take a look at the person known to the world as the ‘Lamb of God.’

John 1
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’
31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

It is an amazing thing that is written here. We know that John was teaching repentance and he was baptizing with water for repentance (Mt. 3:11) but here we learn that John came to baptize so that the Messiah could be revealed to the people of Israel! What happened at the baptism of Jesus was a sign to Israel to assure them that Jesus was the Holy One of God! So what happened at His baptism that was so special, you ask?

32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.
33 I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”

John knew who Jesus was because ‘the one’ who sent him told him what would happen when the Lamb of God was baptized. Who was ‘the one’? That is never actually revealed to us in the Gospels, but it was likely an Angel of God, if not God Himself. Just as God had always done before, He made a way for others to know what He was up to. That way came in the form of John the Baptist, who’s calling was to declare the arrival of Jesus.

Thinking of Jesus as the Lamb of God, we can see how He is declared as such when we remember that He was sacrificed for our sins. Lambs were commonly used as sacrifices in the Jewish religion, although they were symbolic and of no value in the eyes of God. Jesus, on the other hand, was God’s own Son. Such a sacrifice is incredibly difficult to imagine.

There is another great sacrificial story in the Bible from the twenty-second chapter of Genesis. It is vital, because it stands as an example of how much God loves us, and how much He wants us to love Him.

Genesis 22
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

Abraham went about doing as God asked the very next morning! His love for God was so great that without question he was willing to sacrifice his only ‘true’ son – meaning, the son God promised to Sarah – simply because God asked. There was no debating. There was no negotiating. There was only action. This is the kind of love God wants from us, meaning that there should be nothing on this earth that we put before Him – whether it be material items, family or friends. Jesus taught us this very same lesson in many of His teachings, but I can already hear some of you raising protest. What kind of God would demand our children in sacrifice – you ask? Perhaps you should read the rest of the story.

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,
7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
”The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time
16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

And indeed, through Jesus Christ we are all blessed. God gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice to us, just as Abraham was going to do for Him – though He had compassion on Isaac and did not demand his life.

The point is, the Lamb of God was the sacrifice for our sins, and now that you know who that Lamb is, maybe His sacrifice makes more sense to some of you. This is just one of the many reasons we should follow the Way of Jesus , and hopefully, it is one of the most compelling.

God Bless and Happy Jesus Day!