Advent Flow #18 - NAME OF GOD: Lamb of God

"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’”

– John 1:29 ESV

NAME OF GOD: Lamb of God

by Kara Helland

Lamb of God- it sounds so personal, so loving, so safe…

I love this name of Jesus, it reminds me that God is not some unreachable Higher Being in the sky, but He is a humble and loving Father - He is the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God name for God is timeless - as we will see, it is used frequently, from the Old Testament throughout the Bible all the way to Revelation. Today, let’s take some time to look at some Bible verses that pertain to Jesus being the Lamb of God.

“Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His, we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” - Psalm 100:3 ESV

“For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” - Revelation 7:17 ESV

Psalm 100:3 reminds us that not only is Jesus the Lamb of God, but we as Christians are also considered God’s sheep. Since Christ died for us, we can be considered unblemished before our Father. God loves us so much, and He has displayed His love by finding a way for us to be included in His family as His sheep. At the same time we see from Revelation that Jesus is not only The Lamb of God, but He is our Shepherd. He is both man and God, both Lamb and Shepherd.

“Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, ‘Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb.’” - Exodus 12:21 ESV

In the Old Testament days, a lamb would have been a common sacrificial animal. Calling Jesus the Lamb of God displays how He is the Perfect Lamb who died in our place. We no longer have to follow the procedures of sacrificing animals since Jesus has covered our sin once and for all. This is an evident example of how the Old Testament speaks of the King to come - Jesus.

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” - Revelation 21:22

When Jesus is called the Lamb of God, it shows that He is the final offering. Not only does the Old Testament point to Him as being the Lamb of God and therefore the ultimate sacrifice, but Revelation shows us that Jesus is the eternal Lamb of God who lasts forever.

“And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.’” - Revelation 5:5-6 ESV

Lambs are completely helpless and vulnerable animals. When a Lamb senses danger, he flees since he has no other way to defend himself. Likewise, when Jesus came to earth, He made himself helpless for us. We also see in verse 5 that He is referred to as “the Lion of Judah” which sounds anything but defenseless. It’s like He took His Power, and He set it aside for us.

Questions:

   •   What do you first think of when you hear Jesus being referred to as the Lamb of God?

   •   How does “the Lamb of God” reflect Jesus’ character?

   •   Reflect on how Jesus is able to be both the Shepherd and the Sheep; Lion and the Lamb.