The flawless lamb

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Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29b (ESV)

A lamb is a young animal in sheep or goat. Among my best childhood memories are two newborn brickyards. My mother took them to the children's room early in the morning. Very carefully, we children took her in our arms and stroked these kids. One of the two became my favorite animal, it has two bobbles at the throat. We had great fun when they drank from the udder of the mother goat and then made their boisterous jumps.


1. Lambs as sacrificial animals

Encyclopedia of the Bible:

Lambs were offered as sacrificial animals very early on. In 1. In Genesis 4:4 we read that Abel slaughtered one of the first lambs of his flock and offered the best pieces of meat to the Lord as an offering. In 1. Genesis 22:7 Isaac asked his father Abraham, "We have fire and wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?

In the law, the sacrifice of male one-year-old sheep was part of the Passover, which was instituted before the Exodus from Egypt.

The tenth and final plague, namely the killing of all firstborn, is intended to persuade the Egyptians to finally let the Israelites go. In order for the Israelites to be spared from this calamity, every Israelite householder had to slaughter a lamb and smear the frame of the front door with the blood. The meat of the lamb is roasted and eaten together with bread and bitter herbs by the household.

The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:13 (ESV)

The annual slaughter of the Passover lamb on the Passover thus became an unforgettable reminder of the redemption from the "slave house of Egypt" and at the same time a prospect of redemption through the sacrificial lamb Jesus Christ.

The lamb is an image of innocence, of infallibility, of lack of contradiction, which falls silent before its shearer. An excellent example of Christ, the Lamb of God.

2. Christ the Lamb of God is announced

At the age of 30, Jesus is introduced to his earthly mission by a great prophet "John":

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29b (ESV)

• John makes it clear that this Jesus who passes by there is the sacrificial lamb of God.
• He wanted to say: Here passes the one whom God has chosen to be sacrificed as a sacrificial lamb for the sins of men.
• Jesus performed great miracles, healing the sick, freeing the possessed, and helping the oppressed. After only three years of service, he becomes the Passover lamb himself.

3. Christ the Lamb dies

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. Isaiah 53:7 (ESV)

John emphasizes one thing in particular: "Jesus, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world." The Greek word for "carry" has a double name: it means "to put underneath" or "to carry away". Jesus did both. After the scourging and condemnation, Jesus took the cross and carried it up to Calvary. There He took upon Himself the sins of the world and thus removed them from our lives.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 1. Peter 2:24 (ESV)

When the Baptist said that Jesus bore the sins of the whole "world," the "cosmos,"

then he signifies the range of the redemptive power of his blood. It's actually enough for the whole world for you, me and for everyone! But it is another question whether all the "world" will accept it. Whoever does not accept Jesus as the Redeemer in faith will be eternally lost despite the death on the cross.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. Ephesians 1:7 (ESV)

4. Summary

Here on earth there is no other sacrifice that would be enough to increase our sins. - No animal could be a fully valid sacrifice to man. It took a perfect, flawless man to be sacrificed as atonement for man's sins. Jesus is this perfect man, this flawless sacrificial lamb.

At the church in Werden an der Ruhr is located at the top of the ridge of the roof

a little stone sheep chiseled out without any other ornaments. The situation is as follows: A roofer once sat at his work in the same place; but the rope that held his basket broke in two, and he fell down into the depths. Because the church was being built, there were stones and beams everywhere on which he could have broken his neck. But the roofer got up safe and sound, because he fell on a sheep that was grazing between the stones. The poor animal was shattered by the fall, but it saved the man's life with its death. As a thank you, he had it chiseled in stone and the stone set high up in the ridge. Is it not a symbol of the Lamb of God, who died for us and thus acquired eternal life for us?

He also died on the cross for your sin. Have you already thanked him today for that. He laid down His life for you as a sacrificial lamb, that He bore away your guilt and sin?

He expects a reaction, an answer, from us humans to his great offer. It could be as follows:

• Jesus, you died for me
• I believe in you
• I confess my sins to You, please forgive me my sins
• I do penance (repentance and change of heart)
• I accept you as my Savior and I always want to belong to you

Author: Egon Waechter
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