By Elder Tim White
In John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”. John introduces us to the “Lamb of God”. Why would John use this name for Jesus?
Lambs were common in Israel, especially with those of the religious sect. The priests were to offer a lamb in the morning and a lamb in the evening every day. Exodus 29:38-39, “Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even”. Lambs were sacrificed for many different “offerings” in Judaism, among these were the peace, sin, trespass, burnt, and wave offering.
Perhaps the most common use of lambs was in the annual Feast of Passover. Passover commemorated the deliverance of the nation of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. God gave Moses specific instructions for that first Passover. In Exodus chapter twelve we learn, “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats”, “And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it”, “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you”. For hundreds of years, Jewish men had been teaching their families what the Passover meant. They had been fulfilling the commandment to observe this feast forever. They had been looking for the promised Messiah!
John now declares Jesus as, “The Lamb of God”. Lambs were used daily for sacrifice in Israel. Here is a lamb sent by God to be offered for man. All the lambs that had been offered before could not take sin away – they could only cover it. Here was a lamb that “taketh away the sins of the world”. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 5:7 that, “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us”. 1 Peter 1:19, “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”. The blood of the lamb was shed on the cross at Calvary. Ephesians 1:7, “We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins”. Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb”. “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus” – the sacrificial lamb – “The Lamb of God”.
