Behold! The Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29 NKJV
The above Scripture was a quote from John the Baptist...
takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29 NKJV
The above Scripture was a quote from John the Baptist...
...when he saw Messiah Jesus coming towards him to be baptized in the Jordan River. At the time, John was out in the wilderness preaching his fiery message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Here multitudes of Jews would repent of their sins and would allow John to baptize them as an outward sign of genuine repentance, and as a symbol of what was happening in their hearts. And along with this large throng came Jesus himself.
Mixed in with the crowd and just thirty years of age, Jesus was yet to begin His public ministry. But there He was awaiting his turn to be baptized when John spotted Him. And with what was obviously a revelation from the Holy Spirit, John turned to Him and boldly declared, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."
So with the season of Passover now here, where Jews throughout the world, including myself, commemorate the time in our history when God used Moses to lead my people out of the land of Egypt after more than four hundred years of bondage and slavery, I cannot help but think how lambs played a huge role in our freedom. In an event known as the Exodus, and shortly before the Israelites were given permission to leave Egypt, God commanded every Jewish household to kill a young male lamb and place some of its blood on the front doorposts of each home so that when the "Angel of the Lord," went by, the firstborn son of every family would be spared.
This became known as the last in a series of plagues the Lord sent forth to humble Pharaoh and his people. As a result of the Angel's late night visitation, every Egyptian household lost their firstborn son, and this paved the way for the Israelites to flee Egypt in search of the Promised Land. But it was the young male lambs who had to die and shed their blood in order for this to happen.
This, therefore, made me think of Jesus' death on the cross of Calvary. Messiah Jesus shed His blood for my sins, and for the sins of the world so that those who place their faith in Him, shall have their sins forgiven, and shall receive God's gift of eternal life.
In essence, the Lord Jesus became our Passover Lamb. He died on the cross so that we could live with Him in heaven one day, which is the ultimate Promised Land. It's the final destination of every person who's been "born again." And John the Baptist was right, as well. Jesus was and is our Passover Lamb who took away all our sins, never to be remembered anymore.
D.B.
Mixed in with the crowd and just thirty years of age, Jesus was yet to begin His public ministry. But there He was awaiting his turn to be baptized when John spotted Him. And with what was obviously a revelation from the Holy Spirit, John turned to Him and boldly declared, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."
So with the season of Passover now here, where Jews throughout the world, including myself, commemorate the time in our history when God used Moses to lead my people out of the land of Egypt after more than four hundred years of bondage and slavery, I cannot help but think how lambs played a huge role in our freedom. In an event known as the Exodus, and shortly before the Israelites were given permission to leave Egypt, God commanded every Jewish household to kill a young male lamb and place some of its blood on the front doorposts of each home so that when the "Angel of the Lord," went by, the firstborn son of every family would be spared.
This became known as the last in a series of plagues the Lord sent forth to humble Pharaoh and his people. As a result of the Angel's late night visitation, every Egyptian household lost their firstborn son, and this paved the way for the Israelites to flee Egypt in search of the Promised Land. But it was the young male lambs who had to die and shed their blood in order for this to happen.
This, therefore, made me think of Jesus' death on the cross of Calvary. Messiah Jesus shed His blood for my sins, and for the sins of the world so that those who place their faith in Him, shall have their sins forgiven, and shall receive God's gift of eternal life.
In essence, the Lord Jesus became our Passover Lamb. He died on the cross so that we could live with Him in heaven one day, which is the ultimate Promised Land. It's the final destination of every person who's been "born again." And John the Baptist was right, as well. Jesus was and is our Passover Lamb who took away all our sins, never to be remembered anymore.
D.B.
