JESUS SAVIOR, LAMB OF GOD What does it mean when we say that Jesus was the Lamb of God? In this 5-day devotional, Dr. Jerry Vines sheds light on the sacrificial system established by God in the Old Testament and Jesus our Savior laying Himself down on the Cross the perfect and ultimate sacrifice God provided as atonement for the sins of His people. Devotionals are drawn from the Living the Message articles in the Vines Expository Bible. Day 1: Silence of the Lamb Day 2: Atonement Day 3: The Lamb Day 4: Today in Paradise Day 5: A Glorious Exception
Day 1 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. Isaiah 53:7
Day 1 Silence of the Lamb Author and pastor W. A. Criswell used to tell about going to Chicago to tour the Armour meat-packing factory. He went into the slaughter houses where the cattle were being killed. He said he could hear the loud moaning and lowing of the cattle as they were slaughtered. Then he went to where the pigs were slaughtered. There he could hear the loud squealing of the pigs as they were being killed. Finally, he went to the place where they were slaughtering the lambs. It was silent. He said a man would take a long knife and slash the jugular vein of the lamb, and the lamb would watch its own blood pour out on the ground and die without making a sound. The only sounds in the slaughter house of the lambs were made by the workers and the moving of the machinery as it hauled the carcasses out. The New Testament presents the Lord Jesus as the Lamb especially in the Book of Revelation (twenty-eight times). Actually, the theme of the lamb flows through the whole Bible, from the Old Testament through the New. The first mention of the lamb in the Old Testament is where Isaac said to his father Abraham, Where is the lamb for a burnt offering? (Genesis 22:7). You can follow all the way through the Bible the search for the Lamb. You get to the Gospel of John, and the first time in the New Testament where the Lamb is mentioned is where John the Baptist sees Jesus coming to the Jordan River and says, Behold! The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29). The Old Testament says, Where is the lamb? The New Testament says, Behold! The Lamb! He is the Lamb. Jesus is the precious Lamb who gave Himself without complaint, who gave Himself without a word. How willingly He died for us!
Day 2 If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish. Then he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill it as a sin offering at the place where they kill the burnt offering. The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. He shall remove all its fat, as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering. Then the priest shall burn it on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire to the LORD. So the priest shall make atonement for his sin that he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him. Leviticus 4:32-35 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. Hebrews 10:12-14
Day 2 Atonement In the Old Testament, every time one of the sacrifices was offered, it was to make an atonement. We find this word throughout these chapters (see, for example, Leviticus 4:20, 26, 31, 35). The word atonement means to cover. Not put away or get rid of, but to cover them over and roll them toward the Cross. The Old Testament believers were saved by looking forward to what the Lord Jesus would one day do on the Cross. In contrast, you and I are saved by looking backward to what Jesus did on the cross. Hebrews 10 helps us see how all of this points toward Jesus. It says, For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). All the Old Testament offerings did was cover sin and push them toward Calvary. It wasn t possible that they could take away sin. has perfected forever those who are being sanctified (10:12, 14). The countless sacrifices of the Old Testament were temporary reprieves charged against what Jesus would eventually accomplish on the Cross. You have to come to God with an offering. What are you going to bring? Are you going to bring something you ve done? Are you going to bring the life you ve lived? Or are you going to put it in the words of the old hymn: Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling. Salvation means that by faith you have laid your hands on Jesus and have claimed His death and His shed blood for your salvation. Only then are your sins forgiven. Only then can you enter into the presence of a holy God. The writer of Hebrews continues: But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.... For by one offering He
Day 3 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. Now 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 the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:5-13
Day 3 The Lamb The Passover lamb was special. First, it was a substitutionary sacrifice. The lamb s blood was intended to cover the Israelites and protect them from the plague of the death of the firstborn (Exodus 12:12, 13; see also 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:18, 19). The significance of blood can be seen throughout Scripture (for example, Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:7 25). Because of the blood, we are protected from sin s penalty. But the blood had to be applied. The doorposts had to be smeared with blood (Exodus 12:7). Second, the lamb was a selected sacrifice chosen before it was slain. Scripture speaks of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). God s Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, was planned before He even created the world! Third, the lamb was also a spotless sacrifice without blemish (Exodus 12:5). One who had sin of his own could not be the atonement for the sins of others. Hence, Jesus was God s flawless sacrifice for sin. He paid what we could not pay. We are saved because of Him (Matthew 27:4; John 18:38; Luke 23:41). Jesus is God s spotless Lamb. Have you personally trusted in God s spotless sacrifice to save you from your sin? Fourth, it was a supreme sacrifice (Exodus 12:5 13). A living lamb could not save. The lamb had to forfeit its life. We are not saved by following Christ s perfect, sinless example. Instead, Christ had to offer His life. The Lamb had to be slain. Consequently, Jesus paid the wages of sin owed by us. Death must fall upon an innocent substitute. And, in Scripture, God always provided the substitute (for example, Abraham offering Isaac: Genesis 22:8, 13). Finally, the lamb was a symbolic sacrifice (Exodus 12:14) a perpetual reminder as to how God saved Israel. And through a Lamb, God would save all people from their sin. John the Baptist got it right when he declared, Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) Through God s perfect sacrifice, Jesus paid for our sin, reconciling the world to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:17 21).
Day 4 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us. But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong. Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. Luke 23:39-43
Day 4 Today in Paradise Imagine these amazing words if you were hanging on a cross beside Jesus, without hope, dying: Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:43). That is a tremendous word of hope for an old thief who deserved to die and go to hell. He barely made it. Think about it. This man was minutes from death. One minute he was on the road to hell; the next minute he was on his way to heaven. One moment, time had meaning; the next moment, time would have no meaning. We can preach about heaven s beauty and glory and its streets of gold. But what really makes heaven paradise is that Jesus will be there. Suppose you had been separated from a loved one for a long time. You thought you would never get to see that person again and then you get a call from the White House: We ve located your loved one and have arranged for you to be reunited here at the White House. They usher you into one of those lovely rooms. I can imagine looking at the amazing surroundings: gorgeous carpet, dazzling chandelier, priceless paintings. But when the door opens and your loved one walks through, the opulent trappings won t have much meaning to you anymore because you will be caught up with the sight of your loved one. One of these days when we go to heaven, we will be overwhelmed with the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ. That morning, the thief had breakfast with the devil. That night, he had supper with Jesus.
Day 5 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean. Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed. Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them. Matthew 8:1-4
Day 5 A Glorious Exception Here is the glorious exception to the principle that has been established on a human level. On a human level, we cannot transmit holiness, but we can transmit contamination. On the human level we cannot transmit cleanness, but we can transmit uncleanness. Jesus is the exception. As Jesus walked this earth, He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus never did sin. In fact, Jesus said one time, Which of you convicts Me of sin? (John 8:46). No one in the universe past, present, or future could ever convict Jesus of sin. Remember what happened when Jesus saw that leper (Matthew 8:1 4)? The leper came to Jesus with the putrid corruption of leprosy eating away at him. Lepers had to put a rag over their faces and shout Unclean! Unclean! when people came near. A leper couldn t sit on a rock because somebody else might come and sit there and become unclean through transfer. This man came running to Jesus. Everybody around Jesus ran from him because they didn t want that leper to touch them. But here is what Jesus can do. Jesus touched that old corrupt, filthy, polluted, unclean leper and He didn t get his contamination. Instead, that leper got Jesus holiness; Jesus made him pure and saved him. That s what Jesus can do for you. You are filled with the corruption of your sin. But the pure, spotless Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, can come where you are and touch you. When He died on that cross for your sins, He took all of your uncleanness, all of your sin, all of your damage and He put it on that old cross. Now he says, I ll give my cleanness to you.