“All Honor and Glory to the Lamb”

Scripture: Exodus 12:1-13, 5; John 1:29-31; 1 Peter 1:18-21; Revelation 5:6-14

The earliest mention of using lambs for a purpose other than the obvious, is found in Genesis 21:22-34, when Abraham and Abimelek come to an agreement over the well that Abraham had dug, and he gives Abimelek 7 lambs as a sign of his oath. But the most general use of lambs has always been in sacrifice for forgiveness.

In Exodus 12:1-13, as we read of the last of the ten plagues of Egypt, Israel was to take an unblemished lamb, sacrifice it, smear its blood on the doorframes of their house, and eat the roasted lamb, leaving nothing as leftovers for the next day. That night, the Angel of Death would visit Egypt, taking the life of all first born males, sparing only those who were in a house containing the sign of blood. This would become the primary symbol for Passover.

Over the years, many different animals would be used in sacrifice, but the lamb and its blood would continue to be Israel’s most prevalent sign of God’s love and forgiveness.

Read John 1:29-31

We remember that John the Baptist’s father was Zechariah, a priest. John knew, full well, the significance of a lamb in Israel’s religious life. The lamb was a daily sacrifice in the temple for the sins of the nation, and was an acknowledgment, on behalf of the people, that they could only be worthy of Jehovah God through his forgiveness.
The lamb and his blood were seen as the means of God’s forgiveness and their worthiness. But John doesn’t just refer to Jesus as the sacrificial lamb – he calls him “the Lamb of God”! The lamb of sacrifice was innocent and pure, and died on the altar at the hand of Israel. But through John’s statement, this blameless and gentle Lamb – Jesus – is being united with the power and mercy of Almighty God. I believe that this was a new concept for the nation – that the lamb was actually an instrument of God, and not so much as that of the nation. This Lamb would serve God’s purpose for salvation.

But the remainder of that sentence, “who takes away the sins of the world!”, would have appalled the Jews. Jehovah God had chosen them, not all the rest of “them”! Jehovah God would accept their sacrifice, not the offering that the rest of the world lifted up. Jehovah God would forgive them, and no one else! The rest of the world would, deservedly, be condemned. But would they?

The statement in verse 30 would also be seen as cryptic, but John was saying that Jesus may have come into the world after he had, but that he had existed long before John was ever conceived. This Lamb was far more than just the lamb of Passover – he was the sign of God’s oath, he was the gentleness and love of Almighty God, he was the authority of God, and he would soon become the means of finding forgiveness in God. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is God.

In Genesis 12:1-3, the Lord tells Abraham that, among other things, he is being blessed so that all the people of earth could be blessed through him. Jesus was bringing, and enabling that blessing to the world, but before the rest of earth could know him, he had to be revealed to all. John’s baptism of the people, which were predominantly Jewish, was their, and our, introduction to God in Christ.

The promise, the covenant of God, is revealed to us in Jesus Christ, by the meek and gentle Lamb, as well as by the power, the majesty, and the authority of our Eternal God. Can the promise of hope get any more certain than that?

Read 1 Peter 1:18-21

Abraham Lincoln has been called the Great Emancipator for his commitment in freeing the American slaves. But as much as Lincoln detested slavery, he still never quite came to a decision for racial equality. He would be polite and compassionate toward the freed slaves, he would work with them in any cause, but it has been written that his primary purpose for the Emancipation Proclamation was to save the Union, and not specifically for the destruction of slavery. He had to bring about freedom, but he never actually saw the need for equality.

Jesus, on the other hand, came to win freedom for the people of earth and to guarantee them the opportunity for a friendship with him. In 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, Paul writes that there are many parts in the Body of Christ, but that every part, regardless of the honor that each may receive, are equally important in God’s plan for the ministry begun by Jesus and continued by us. The gifts of the Spirit are given according to the ability of each and every person to carry them out effectively.

The Civil War required the surrender of hundreds of thousands of lives, their blood was spread over many states, from the north to the south, and the war has had a profound impact on our nation ever since. On the other hand, Jesus’ sacrifice was of his life only, and his blood only saturated the ground at a few places in the city of Jerusalem. But think about the impact that his life, and his death, and his blood, and his resurrection have had on lives throughout the earth for 2 thousand years?
Slavery began when the first African was abducted by slave traders, and its downfall began when the first European was sickened by the practice. But the end has yet to come - the final outcome of freedom and equality for African-American lives continue to rest in the dedication of all people around the world.

Freedom from sin and death was planned by God long before creation, and before the couple in the Garden chose to ignore the word of the Lord. But unlike human slavery, slavery to sin and its resultant death, was destroyed when the Lamb of God was sacrificed at Calvary. Freedom was won, once and for all, and the sacrifices made by the hands of humanity would be supplanted for all time.
And even though our freedom has absolutely been won and guaranteed for all who will believe, the forces of evil will continue to cause doubt, the false prophets of earth will continue to spread lies, the prince of darkness will not surrender, and human denial of Christ’s living gift of freedom will continue until the Day of Certainty arrives with the return of the Lamb of God.

And on that Day, the Lamb who had been sacrificed will sit on the Throne of Judgment with the full authority to judge the hearts and souls of all. But there was still much to come before that Day could come to fruition.

Read Revelation 5:6-14

But this chapter of John’s vision wouldn’t be the end – it was only the beginning of the end. As we continue to read through this book, we discover that the Lamb of God begins opening the seals of the scroll, one at a time, and that the seven years of Tribulation would begin. This will be a time of unprecedented persecution and agony, and a time of incredible witnesses, first the 2, and later the 144,000, to give the people one last chance to come to the way of God.

The Lamb of God is upon his throne, awaiting that time to begin. And no, I don’t believe that we are there yet, but I also have no idea as to when that time will arrive. But the one thing that I am certain of is this – that the time for us to wait until the “right time” comes, is over. Today is the day when all who have yet to claim the saving grace of Jesus Christ must discover that they can no longer depend on their own understanding. Now is the time to give our condemned and sinful lives over to salvation - the salvation that can only come through faith in the Lamb of God, for there is no other hope but in him!