Judges 14:1-20; John 1:29-42; Psalms 102:18-22; Proverbs 22:10-12
NT: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ I didn’t know him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he rested on him. I didn’t know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The one you see the Spirit descending and resting on — he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”” (John 1:29-34 CSB)
Lambs carried great significance to the people of Israel. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and were clothed with the skin of an animal, many believe the animal that was sacrificed was a lamb. A lamb gave its life to cover the sin of mankind. When God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son, once Abraham proved his faith, God provided a substitutionary sacrifice through a ram (a mature male lamb). When the angel of death was sent to Egypt, God had the Children of Israel sacrifice lambs and paint the blood of the lamb on their door posts and lintel. The blood of the lamb saved them from death and ultimately set them free from bondage. I don’t know how much John the Baptist fully understood, but when he said that Jesus was the Lamb of God, he was saying a lot. He was saying that Jesus was no ordinary lamb… He was the perfect lamb given by God. He was saying that Jesus would give His life for the sin of mankind. He was saying that Jesus would be our substitutionary sacrifice and would die the death that we should die in our place. He was saying that Jesus’ blood, when applied it to our lives, would save us from eternal death and deliver us from the bondage of sin. John didn’t come up with that revelation on his own. The Lord told him that he would see a sign that would show him who the Lamb of God was. In a powerful moment, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit united as John baptized Jesus – identifying with His mission to die, be buried, and then rise again… and then John knew. Jesus was the Son of God, given to mankind as the Lamb of God.
Jamie Hicks 