The Lamb of God

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.

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The Lamb of God.


Throughout the Bible a lamb is referenced as one kind of animal acceptable as a sacrificial offering to God. Why did God require animal sacrifices? Because sin is worthy of death and in place of men dying for their every sin an animal was used in place of man. A man was required to bring the lamb to be offered as a sacrifice and he would place his hands upon the animal symbolically transferring his sins to the innocent animal; the animal would then be slain. Sin warrants death. We often treat sin as of no consequence. We hardly call sin- sin any longer but rather just man's natural state of being and normal. To say something is sin we have to believe that it was a wrong committed against someone. If I steal from someone I've sinned against them. If I murder someone then I've sinned against them. A lot of sins are things we have in our society as wrongs- as things that are against our law. When someone transgresses that law then they have to pay a penalty for it. These are man's laws requiring penalties- God's laws are greater. The wages of sin are...


Ro. {6:23} 'For the wages of sin is death...'


Transgression of God's law is...


1 John '...for sin is the transgression of the law...'


Sin is transgressing the law- we have no qualms understanding this when we put it to our societies laws and yet we won't necessary say this or that person sinned, we simply say they broke the law. We don't like using the word sin. It's a biblical word, a word mostly reserved for those who believe in religion. Sure you might hear someone say... 'Oh, that's such a sin." When something bad happens. People will use it as slang, but the word sin means transgression of God's law, so it's easy to see why it's held in religious connotations even if the same law that a man breaks is one of God's law, such as stealing. While our courts may sentence a man to a year in jail, or give them probation, or perhaps a harsher sentence depending on the way the stealing took place, they won't tell a man he sinned. People have deluded themselves into believing that God isn't real, God doesn't matter, God is a figment, a fable, a non-entity, a fairy tale and then they pat themselves on the back for not being duped. Sin doesn't exist. Eternal life doesn't matter. God doesn't matter and they're all wrong.


God does matter. There is a moral standard that we can all generally adhere to and this moral standard exists in most human beings in a natural manner- it's not something that has to be taught to them. This isn't to say there aren't deviants from the norm, but the majority of the population world-wide adhere to certain standards and these standards exist not haphazardly but they were given us by a power much greater than we are, the same power that created us- created us with those standards. An animal hasn't these standards and everyone knows that tame pets can become feral once more under the right circumstances, either become feral of die in the whole survival of the fittest scenario that rules animal kind. We humans were created with morals, a gift from our creator.


The Creator gives man choices and if a man chooses to sin he chooses to break a law of his Creator.


There is a penalty for this choice.


Death.


Not wanting humans to be destroyed death was still necessary as a penalty for sin. God allowed the sin to be transferred to animal sacrifices and a true repented man could kill the animal instead of suffering death himself. This sacrificial system was in place and pointing to the ultimate sacrifice- the Lamb of God.


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.


The Lamb of God.


God provided the Lamb that could restore mankind to sinlessness. No animal sacrifice could do that, only God's Lamb, only God's offering to the world.


God provided the Lamb to be slain for all mankind. God provided the only man that could be slain as a sacrifice for sin, a sinless man. God stripped His Son of His divinity and His Son took on humanity, tempted in all ways as sinfilled man is tempted. Remaining sinless through manifold temptations the sinless sacrifice so much greater than any animal sacrifice could ever possibly be, was slain for us, to redeem us to God. The price was paid and we need to believe that through that amazing, undeserving sacrifice of the Son of God, the Lamb of God, we can become sons of God as well, adopted into His family.


May the Lord bless and keep us all. By the amazing love that goes beyond our comprehension may we lay hold of the grace and mercy offered freely to us and cling to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God slain for us.


Amen.