BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD “The next day John seeth Jesus comingunto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, It is commonly believed that Christianity began some two thousand years ago.After all, we are living round about A.D. 2000; A.D. being the abbreviation forannodomini, “the year of the Lord,” which we know refers to the birth of theLord Jesus Christ. This understanding, though it does point to the historicalreality of the birth of Christ, is not entirely accurate. It is not true thatChristianity began 2,000 years ago. No, Christianity began way back from thefoundation of the world, and the first two believers, or at least professingbelievers, were Adam and Eve. When Christianity first begun, it was very much afamily religion and the churches were the immediate family units with the headof households as the pastors; so there was the church of Adam, the church ofSeth, the church of Noah, the church of Shem, the church of Abraham, untileventually we reach the family of Jacob, also known as Israel. From then on, wefind that the church was no longer contained in individual family units, butbegan to take the form of a nation, so that the entire nation which descendedfrom Jacob became the Old Testament Church, or the Church under-age becauseChrist had not been revealed yet. But it was a church and there were genuinebelievers in this church; they believed in Christ, which means “the AnointedOne,” which in the Hebrew language was “the Messiah.” The history of Christianity during this primitive time was recorded in what weknow today as the Old Testament. As the Old Testament drew to a close, we findthe last writing prophet of the Old Testament Church, namely Malachi, tellingthe people to expect the Messiah soon, and that this Messiah would be usheredin by another prophet. We read, “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shallprepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come tohis temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, Heshall come, saith the LORD of hosts” (Mal 3:1). And again, “Behold, I will sendyou Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of theLORD” (Mal 4:5). That was about 430 B.C. For the next 430 years or so, the Lord did not send anyprophets. And so between the Old Testament and the New Testament, there was aperiod of silence equivalent to the days when the Jews were in Egypt! Whathappened during this period? We do not have any biblical records, though theevents were prophesied by the prophet Daniel (chapters 7–8), and secularrecords have confirmed the prophecies to be true. In a nutshell, this periodwas a time of great political turmoil for the nation of Israel. Before Malachibegan to write, Israel or, more specifically, Judah had already been conqueredby the Neo-Babylonians who sent most of the Jews to exile. Now, the Babylonianswere captured by the Medo-Persians, who then allowed the Jews to return tobuild Jerusalem. Malachi wrote during this time; but soon the Persians wereconquered by the Greeks led by Alexander the Great and so Palestine (includingIsrael) came under the Greeks. After the death of Alexander, there was somepolitical struggle, and eventually the Jews came under a Greek general by thename of Antiochus Epiphany. This man hated Judaism and he set up a statue ofthe Greek God Zeus in the temple of God and sacrificed a pig on the altar. Thisangered the Jews who then revolted and for a brief period enjoyed independency.This did not last long, for soon, Jerusalem was conquered by the Romans. Such was the political climate as the New Testament opens with the Gospelaccounts. It was in this situation that John the Baptist began to preach. Johnthe Baptist was the prophet that Malachi spoke about. He was the Elijah ofMalachi’s prophecy. Malachi was not referring to the Elijah who had been caughtup to heaven, but to one who would come with the spirit and power of Elijah.But most of the Jews did not recognise him. Worst still, the people did notrecognise the Messiah when He came. Thus John the Baptist declared: “I baptisewith water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, whocoming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy tounloose” (Jn 1:26–27; italics mine). The Jews did not recognise Him because they were not expecting Him. They wereexpecting a political messiah to deliver them out of bondage to foreign powers.So they were looking in the high places and among the powerful and influentialfamilies. But they were not expecting the son of a carpenter to be the Messiah.No doubt, John himself said that he did not recognise Him and that God had toconfirm who He was by sending the Holy Spirit to descend on Him in bodily form(vv. 33–34). But John was looking out for Him. He knew that his ministry was toprepare the way for Christ, the Messiah. Once he had identified the Lord, John pointed Him out to the people andexclaimed: “Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”(Jn 1:29; see also v. 36). This ascription of the Lord Jesus Christ is greatlysignificant and instructive. It would do well for us to examine it carefully. He is called a Lamb The Lord Jesus Christ is called a Lamb because there are severalcharacteristics of a lamb that would quite fittingly describe Him. In the first place, a lamb is often associated with meekness, and we know thatthe Lord Jesus Christ is meek. He said: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn ofme; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls”(Mt 11:29). And He demonstrated His meekness by never ever complaining evenwhen suffering greatly. Secondly, a lamb is also known to be gentle, and we know that the Lord Jesuswas gentle. We are told: “A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flaxshall he not quench” (Mt 12:20). And He demonstrated His gentleness in Hisdealings with the most immoral sinners, such as Mary Magdalene, or theSamaritan woman at the well, or even to Paul before his conversion when he waspersecuting the Church. And so the Apostle Paul testified of His gentlenesswhen he wrote to the Corinthians: “I Paul myself beseech you by the meeknessand gentleness of Christ” (2 Cor 10:1).
He is the Lamb of God He is Lamb of God because He is the Lamb provided by God as the ultimatesacrifice which the whole of the Old Testament was pointing to. In Genesis 4, we have the first recorded act of worship. Here we read of Abeloffering a lamb unto the Lord—for he was a keeper of sheep. Cain his brotherwho was a farmer offered a sacrifice from the ground. But his sacrifice wasrejected whereas Abel’s sacrifice of a lamb was accepted. Why? Because thewages of sin is death, and that sin must be paid for. Since the sinner cannotpay for his own sin because whatever he does will be sinful, God has appointeda Lamb to pay for their sin, and so when the Old Testament saints worshipped,their worship was only acceptable if they sacrificed a lamb or an animal—thatpoints to the ultimate Lamb of God that God Himself will provide. And thus, a couple of thousand years later, when Abraham was bringing Isaac,his only son, up to the mountain to have him sacrificed, Isaac asked him:“Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”(Gen 22:7) Abraham answered: “God will provide for himself a lamb for a burntoffering” (Gen 22:8). Was Abraham telling a lie—for he knew that God had askedhim to sacrifice his son? No, Abraham was referring to the fact that there ishope of eternal life because God would ultimately provide Himself a Lamb, sothat all who die in faith will not really die but live forever. Now coming to Exodus 12, about 500 years later, we have recorded for us theinstitution of the Passover. The Jews were in Egypt and Lord was about to smiteEgypt with the last plague—the plague which would kill the first born of Egypt.And the Lord instructed the Jews, through Moses, to have every household totake a lamb of one-year-old, without blemish. They were to keep the lamb forfour days to prove that it was without sickness, and then they were to kill it,and they were to smear its blood over the door frames of the houses. If theyfailed to obey, when the Lord passed over the house, the first born in thehouse would be killed; if they did, he would be spared. What was required ofthe Jews may sound very strange to us who live in 20th century Singapore, butit was richly symbolic. What was this lamb symbolic of? It was symbolic ofChrist. The Apostle John, who recorded the declaration of John the Baptist, tells us inthe same Gospel that the legs of Christ were not broken by the soldiers (Jn19:33). You see, in those days, the Roman soldiers would often break the legsof those who were being crucified so as to hasten their death by asphyxiation,especially when they should discover the criminal still alive the next day. Butwhen they came to Christ, they found that He was already dead, so they brokenot His legs. This is significant because God had instructed the Jews that noneof the bones of the Passover lamb was to be broken (Ex 12:46). And so we have aclear scriptural declaration that the Passover lamb, the Lamb of God wasChrist. This became even clearer in Isaiah 53:5–7: But he was wounded for ourtransgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of ourpeace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep havegone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid onhim the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet heopened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheepbefore her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. For the first time in the Old Testament, we are told in clear that the Lamb ofGod would be a man. And He would come to bear the sin of many. He would be pureand innocent as a lamb, and yet He would bear the iniquity of His people. Who is this man? He is the same man the prophets have prophesied andanticipated for centuries. He is Shiloh to whom the sceptre belongs, He is theBeloved, the Branch of David, the Prince of Peace, the Counsellor, theeverlasting Father, He is Jehovah Tsikenu—the LORD our righteousness, He is theMessiah, He is the virgin-born Immanuel—God with us. He is the mighty God, Heis the eternal Son of God. Is it not then remarkable that John the Baptist called him the Lamb of God? Hebecame man to be the Lamb of God, though He is the eternal Son of God. This iswhy the Apostle John declares Him to be “the Lamb slain from the foundation ofthe world” (Rev 13:8). So the author of Hebrews, referring to the eternal Sonof God, said: “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice andoffering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me” (Heb 10:5). Herein must lie the difference between the two Greek words for “lamb”: amnosand arnion. Amnos refersto the Lamb readied to be sacrificed, who came into the world,—taking the fleshof man,—for this purpose. When John the Baptist introduced Christ, He wasthe amnos of God, the Lamb of God being readied to die onbehalf of His people. Christ did indeed fulfil that work when He was eventuallyled to the Cross to be crucified. And because He completed His work, He becamethe arnion—the Lamb already sacrificed and raised, and triumphant. He is the Lamb of God that Taketh Away First take note that the verb “taketh” is in the present or continuous tense inthe Greek. Thus there is no limitation in time. He is “the Lamb slain from thefoundation of the world” (Rev 13:8). He is the Lamb that taketh away the sin ofthe world through all ages. And thus even the believers of the Old Testamenthave theirs taken away by Christ. Whose sin does Christ take away? He taketh away the sin of the world. But whois the world or the cosmos in the Greek. The word cosmos has many meanings: InJohn 15:18 it refers to the unbelieving world: “If the world hate you, ye knowthat it hated me before it hated you.” In Ephesians 1:4, it refers to theentire universe: “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundationof the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” InRomans 11:12, it is the Gentile world which does not include the Jews: “Now ifthe fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them theriches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?” In Luke 2:1, it is theRoman world: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decreefrom Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.” In Romans 3:19, itthe world without exception: “Now we know that what things soever the lawsaith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped,and all the world may become guilty before God.” What is the meaning of cosmos here in John 1? It cannot refer to the worldwithout exception—which would include every sinner. For if that were the case,then there will be no hell, because Christ would have taken away the sin ofeveryone. God would not be a holy and just God if He still punishes anyonewhose sin has been taken away. Some one may say, but it depends on the faith ofthe individual whether he believes. But if that is the case, then, friends, weare saying the blood of Christ, which the Apostle Paul says is the ‘blood ofGod’ in Acts 20:28, is not sufficient to take away sin and there must beco-operation on the part of man. Well, if that be the case, then we are all doomed,hopeless in this world and hopeless in the world to come, because according tothe Scriptures all our righteousness are as filthy rags in the sight of God.How can our faith ever be acceptable to God that we may contribute to oursalvation? So then, the world in John 1:29 must be referring to the world withoutdistinction. The Jews had always taught that salvation belongs to them alone,and that God loves the nation of Israel alone. They were wrong, patheticallywrong. So John the Baptist tells them that Christ is the “Lamb of God thattaketh away the sin of the world.” Christ taketh away not just the sins of theJews but the Gentiles as well. And so the Lord told Nicodemus: “For God soloved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believethin him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:16). God does notlove only the Jewish elect, but also the Gentile elect; and whoever, whetherJew or Gentile, believe in Christ, he will have everlasting life. So theApostle John, after recording the salvation of the Samaritans that came aboutafter Christ spoke to the woman at the well, declares that Christ is indeed“the Saviour of the world” (cf. Jn 4:42). But the question immediately arises in our minds: If Christ takes away only thesins of Christians, or believers or the elect, why does John the Baptist notsay, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of all who believe, orall the elect”? Firstly, remember that John the Baptist was preaching to theJews, and he had to disabuse their minds of the idea that the Lamb of God isonly for the Jews. Secondly, remember that John was preaching to believers andunbelievers. Some of the unbelievers could be the elect of God, but they wouldnot know they were elect until they are brought to believe in the Gospel. Thuswhen John tells them to “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of theworld,” he is telling them that Christ alone can take away sin. No one else inthe world can take away sin but Christ and Christ alone. The Lord Himself said:“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but byme” (Jn 14:6). And so Peter declared before the Jewish Sanhedrin: “Neither isthere salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given amongmen, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). And thus John declares that Christis “the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sinsof the whole world” (1 Jn 2:2). Conclusion Behold the Lamb of God! This call of John the Baptist is for you too: Beholdthe Lamb of God. Are you a child of God? Never forget that you are what you aretoday because of what Christ has done for you. Praise Him with the elders and angels in heaven: “Worthy is the Lamb that wasslain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, andglory, and blessing” (Rev 5:12). Hope and trust in Him “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shallfeed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shallwipe away all tears from their eyes” (Rev 7:17). Christ became a Lamb that Hemay be your Shepherd—tempted like as you are, yet without sin. For that reasonChrist understands all the trials and temptations that you are going through,and He able to succour you. Cast your anxieties upon Him because He cares foryou. Love Him and serve Him with your heart, soul, and mind because He was slain toredeem you with His precious blood and to wash you from all your guilty stainsso that you may have life eternal. Though He is God, He condescended to liveamong sinful men for you; and He was slandered and tortured for your sake. Hewas nailed on the Cross of Calvary to shed His blood for your sake. It was yoursins that nailed Him there. For your sake, He wore the crown of thorns. Foryour sake, He died a slow and painful death. But thanks be to God that He rosevictorious and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, thereinterceding on your behalf. Are you yet living in unbelief? Will you not acknowledge that you are a sinnerdeserving damnation, and repent of your sin, and seek and believe in Christwhile He is being presented to you as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sinof the world? The Word of God tells us what you can expect if you are notcovered by the blood of Christ when judgement comes upon you, for we read inRevelation 6:15–17: And the kings of the earth, and thegreat men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, andevery bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocksof the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide usfrom the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of theLamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? Now is the time of salvation, now is the acceptable time. When the great day ofwrath come and it will come for you when you leave this present life, then youwill not meet Christ as the meek, gentle, pure and harmless Lamb of God, indeedyou will not even want to meet Him because your sin will expose you to thewrath of the Lamb and you will have nowhere to hide.
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