Names of Jesus: Lamb of God

When John the Baptist sees Jesus, he declares that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is an essential point of the Christian faith, and there is so much beauty and depth to this fact all who call on the name of Jesus should know and believe. John the Baptist was born with the mission to prepare the way for the coming of the prophesied Messiah. When John saw Jesus, he saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus, which was the sign John had been told would reveal the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God, the coming Messiah, was a promise the Israelites had been waiting for many generations.

²⁹ On the next day John^[a] saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God^[b] who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am,^[c] because he existed before me.’ ³¹ I did not recognize^[d] him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.”^[e]

³² Then^[f] John testified,^[g] “I saw the Spirit descending like a dove^[h] from heaven,^[i] and it remained on him.^[j] 33 And I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining—this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have both seen and testified that this man is the Chosen One of God.”^[k]

³⁵ Again the next day John^[l] was standing there^[m] with two of his disciples. ³⁶ Gazing at Jesus as he walked by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”^[n]

John 1:29-36 NET

Jesus is the lamb led to the slaughter

The prophet Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah who would be a lamb led to the slaughter. This lamb would be a great sacrifice, would not fight his death sentence, and by His stripes, all who believe in Him would be healed. Jesus came to earth, the Only Begotten Son of God, to live a sinless human life fully God and fully man, and then go to the cross to die on behalf of all mankind. His brutal torture and death on the cross fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah.

⁴ Surely He has borne our ^[a]griefs
And carried our ^[b]sorrows;
Yet we ^[c]esteemed Him stricken,
^[d]Smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was wounded^[e] for our transgressions,
He was ^[f]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes^[g] we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord ^[h]has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.

Isaiah 53:4-7 NKJV

The Sacrificial Lamb

Back in Genesis, we see Abraham obediently take his son to be sacrificed. Abraham had been promised that his descendants would fill the earth and “be as numerous as the stars” (Genesis 22:17). This son God had just commanded him to take and sacrifice was the son God promised to Abraham to fulfill His promise, yet Abraham trusted God and took his son in faith. When Abraham gets to the place God told him to go and make the sacrifice, Abraham tells his son God will provide the lamb for the sacrifice. As Abraham lifts his blade to sacrifice his son, God stops him – and gives him a lamb to sacrifice in place of his son.

⁷ Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”

And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”

Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide^[a] the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together.

Genesis 22:7-8 CSB

This is a picture of what Jesus did for us as our sacrificial lamb. The penalty for sin is death, and for sin, there must be a blood sacrifice for redemption. To be forgiven, blood must cover the debt. In the Old Testament, the people would travel to attend the annual Passover Festival where a sacrifice would be made on behalf of the sins of the people for that year. Every year, the blood of an innocent lamb must be spilled for the people to be forgiven of their sins.

When Jesus came and died on the cross, He was the last lamb, the final sacrifice, and His blood was spilled for all the sins of all the world for all time. There became no more need for annual sacrifices, but instead, faith in Jesus as the Lamb of God and the blood He spilled on your behalf is what leads to salvation and the forgiveness of sins.

Death of the lamb for the redemption of mankind

Salvation is not obtained through money, good works, or anything else we could possibly do. Salvation is only obtained through faith in the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, whose blood was spilled for your sake. By believing in the divinity, sinless life, brutal death, and incredible resurrection of Jesus Christ you will be saved from the penalty of your sins because Jesus already paid the price of your debt. Nothing else will bring you into a relationship with God, give you the gift of eternal life and forgiveness of your sins, and nothing else will break the chains of wickedness that have kept you away from the Lord for so long.

¹⁷ If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during your time living as strangers. ¹⁸ For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb. ²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times for you. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

1 Peter 1:17-21 CSB

For those who have entered into a relationship with God through faith in the Lamb, you are also given the gift of the Holy Spirit to help you live according to your faith. His Holy Spirit also teaches you to persevere toward the ultimate day of salvation when Jesus will return again to defeat sin and Satan once and for all, and unite His bride to Him for eternity.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

Revelation 19:9 NKJV

The Lamb was slain for us to be saved from sin

The Holy Spirit is given to all who believe in the Lamb of God. He teaches us how to live according to our faith, and how to please God with our whole lives. Once we are saved, our faith should transform us from our former selves who remained in sin, to our new selves who have been made spiritually alive through Jesus. This spiritual life causes believers to live in ways that follow Jesus, glorify God, and prepare us for eternity with Him.

⁶ Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? ⁷ Therefore ^[a]purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed ^[b]for us. ⁸ Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 NKJV

As the Lamb of God was sinless, we are called to live worthy of His sacrifice and resist the temptations of sin in our lives by the power of Christ that now dwells in us. We are now to live set apart for God, and not continue in the same ways we once lived before we knew Christ. Christ calls on us to repent, not harbor sin in our lives, and not remain in relationships that keep us in bondage to our sins. We are to be in the world but not of the world, and instead, be the light of Christ in the lives of others.

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

We are not only blessed in this life by our faith in the Lamb but there are eternal promises awaiting those who believe in Jesus as their Passover Lamb. Jesus is the only One who is worthy to receive blessing, honor, and glory. As the One who defeats sin and death, He is the One we should worship, and should be the reason for all that we do. Our whole lives should be with the Lamb as our focus and cornerstone, and with eternity with Him in mind. Our reward is not here in this life, but in Heaven with Him at the end of the age.

⁸ Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
¹⁰ And have made ^[a]us kings^[b] and priests to our God;
And ^[c]we shall reign on the earth.”

¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

¹³ And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:

“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ^[d]ever!”

¹⁴ Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the ^[e]twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped ^[f]Him who lives forever and ever.

Revelation 5:8-14 NKJV

⁷ And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸ but they ^[a]did not prevail, nor was a place found for ^[b]them in heaven any longer. ⁹ So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. ¹¹ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. ¹² Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

Revelation 12:7-12 NKJV

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, and all who believe in Him will have their names written in the Book of Life. Jesus will advocate for those whose names are in the Book of Life declaring their sin debt paid in full. By His blood, we will be sealed for eternity, forgiven of all sin, and dwell in the House of the Lord forever. There is no more curse of sin and evil – only the goodness and glory of God because of the Lamb who was slain.

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. ¹² I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. ¹³ Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works. ¹⁴ Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:11-15 CSB

¹⁹ And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, which are written about in this book.

Revelation 22:19 CSB

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