The Lamb of God

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

- John 1:29

After our long study in Exodus, we might catch John’s reference here. “The Lamb of God” reminds us of the Passover lambs, who died to protect God’s people from the last plague. Year in and year out, the Hebrew people would sacrifice Passover lambs to pay for their sins and remember God’s great rescue.

Though we might catch John’s reference, this scene and statement are still very unusual. John talks about a Lamb, not lots of lambs. And this is God’s Lamb, not a lamb that we raised and own. And this Lamb doesn’t just cover over sin, but actually takes it away. And this Lamb doesn’t just protect a small and particular group of people: it’s for the entire world.

One after one these unusual phrases pile up. But none of them is stranger than the fact that John called Jesus – a human man – “The Lamb of God.”

Throughout human history people have sacrificed animals to the gods. They believed the gods desired sacrifice. Even in the Bible, clear instructions were given for how to conduct animal sacrifices in order to ensure that sins were forgiven.

God’s desire for justice makes it impossible for him to just cover over sin with the wave of his hand. Sin damages our world and wounds people. God won’t ignore it. Someone has to pay for sin: The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

This is what Jesus has done for you, something that no flock of lambs could ever do. He has fully and finally taken away your sin. All we do is place our faith in him in order to receive what he has already accomplished.

Yesterday we talked about a number of obstacles that keep us from experiencing forgiveness. This is why we can push through all of the obstacles and face the sin in our lives: those very things we struggle to face are the very things Jesus rescues us from.

We’ll flesh this out more in our Devotionals on Wednesday and Thursday.

Leave a Comment

Comments for this post have been disabled.