365 Days of the Great Names of God, Day 151: Lamb of God

Lamb of God

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'" (John 1:29 NKJV)

In the intricate, masterfully woven tapestry that is the Bible, Jesus is the best and most beautiful thread.

He is the One Who ties up all the loose ends...the One Who never unravels.

Almost from the very beginning, the thread of a lamb runs through.

In Genesis, we see the provisional lamb: "'The fire and wood are here,' Isaac said, 'but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' Abraham answered, 'God himself will provide the lamb'" (22:8). 

In Exodus, we see the Passover lamb: "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the door-frame....When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the door-frame and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down" (12:21-23).

In 1 Samuel, we see the pleading lamb: "Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the LORD as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the LORD to help Israel, and the LORD answered him" (7:9).

And in John, we see the Perfect Lamb: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (1:29).

God the Father loves His Son. Let us not think that just because God knew the ultimate victory Jesus would achieve that He did not ache with sorrow over the suffering His Beloved had to endure on the way to glory. 

If any earthly lamb had been enough to save us—enough to complete the tapestry of redemption—God surely would have woven it in instead. But every other thread that might have saved us had unraveled: every sacrifice, every king, every law. 

And so, in the most perfect of all fulfillments of the words spoken by an earthly father—"God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son"—God the Father provided the Lamb, His Son.

This is stunning in its completion. But perfect as it is, there is more to come. God's eternal tapestry is still being woven. The greatest beholding of the Lamb is still ahead.

"Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals....Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders....Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!'" (Revelation 5)

Then...then, we will behold Him.