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!
Today’s name comes to us from the book of John, but has a long and rich history stretching back to even before Egypt when Passover began. It goes all the way back to Abraham and his son Isaac. Abraham took his son Isaac, who was born to him and Sarah late in life and dearly loved, up the mountain to sacrifice him as God had required. Abraham obeyed, trusting God regardless of how difficult this command was, and God provided a lamb at the last minute (Genesis 22:6-8).
To review Passover, the Jews sacrificed a lamb and put the blood on the doorposts so that when the angel of death came to claim all of the firstborn sons, it would pass over their home. The Jewish people were to remember this and celebrate Passover each year.
Lambs were required by the Law given to Moses as a sacrifice for their sins. But they had to continually offer sacrifices because we are all sinners and one sacrifice was not enough to atone for that fact.
But God had a plan for atonement, for forgiveness and restoration. And John the Baptist recognized this plan when he called Jesus the Lamb of God. For all of the Jewish people, this would have painted a vivid mental picture since they had all brought sacrifices for themselves in the past. Of course, they did not understand HOW Jesus was the Lamb of God, since He had not yet died for their sins. But He would!
Today let’s pause to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us. He is our Lamb, and His blood saves us from sin and separation. By His blood we are made new, healed, redeemed, restored.
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