In our blog this advent season we consider some of the titles given to Jesus of Nazareth, whose birth we celebrate this time of year. Consider with me the title “Lamb of God.”
This term is used in dramatic fashion by the forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptist. In John 1:29 he exclaims:
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John’s ministry has one of its most significant moments when Jesus is seen while John is baptizing people. He testifies to the saving work of Jesus by calling him the Lamb of God. He defines the work of Jesus as the one who takes away the sins of the world. Even at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry John points to the coming cross of Jesus, where he will pay the full penalty for the sins of his people.
Seven times in the Revelation of John, Jesus is referred to as the Lamb. I will give you a comment on one of these, but it’s obvious even in heaven that Jesus’ work of saving us from our sins is still remarkably important.
The Scapegoat of God?
The term scapegoat is a biblical term. Leviticus 16 describes a process where a priest lays his hands upon two goats and sends one away as a scapegoat t- one will bear the sins of God’s people and, as it were, carry the sins away from the assembly of God’s saints
And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness. (Lev. 16:21-22 ESV)
Jesus’ death outside of the city of Jerusalem in a sense pictures the fulfillment of this process. He carries our sins outside the city and pays for them. But John doesn’t call him the goat of God, or scapegoat of God. It doesn’t seem as compelling as Lamb of God, but it wasn’t marketing that caused John to say what he said.
Jesus is more akin to the Passover lamb whose blood was smeared on the doorposts. The blood atoned for the sins of the family so that the angel of death would pass over the houses of God’s people. Jesus is the full and final Lamb of God, so that no more sacrifices will ever need to be made for our sins. Hebrews makes this point very clearly. Thus, both John the Baptist and the beings in Heaven describe him as the Lamb of God!
The Meaning of Lamb of God
What does it mean for us? First, remember there is no Christmas without Easter, no Easter without Christmas. Jesus came to be the Lamb of God. The cross was no accident of history. He came to live a sinless life, and die a death for our sins. He rose that we too might live a new life (Rom 6:4). The coming of the Lord Jesus is not only significant in that he had to be born, but he was born the Son of God - born of the virgin Mary. God came to Earth - God the Son. This had to be so that he might be our perfect and sinless sacrifice.
Next, guilt and shame can be attacked by believing the Jesus is the Lamb of God. I sin and am guilty, and feel ashamed of what I have done. What’s the answer? Jesus, the Lamb of God, has taken away my sins. Confess, repent, and believe the gospel.
More important than forgiving yourself for your wrongs (often the advice we give others) is believing that you are actually forgiven by God. If you believe God, that his promises are true, when you accept his forgiveness for even a recent sin, true forgiveness will shatter your guilt and erase your shame. You might struggle enough with guilt and shame that another Christian (or even a counselor) might need to help you learn to believe the gospel regularly so as to “shame your shame,” as I said a few months back.
The Lamb of God is ever our comfort
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Rev. 7:16-17 ESV)
Even in heaven, the Lamb of God is our comfort. Even in heaven he still loves us and cares for us. He will lead us to have all our needs (thirst) met forever. He will ever be your faithful savior. Indeed, “Behold the Lamb of God.”