Many people find it hard to understand why Jesus is called the Lamb of God as a lamb is easily intimidated and is a powerless creature. When we call Jesus the Lamb of God we see Him as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the people in the world.
The first time we see a reference to lambs being sacrificed for taking away the sins of the people is in the Old Testament. We see the lamb again in the story of the Passover when the Israelites are told to slaughter a lamb and apply its blood on their doorways. The blood of the lambs saved God’s people.
In the New Testament, Jesus is called the Lamb of God by John the Baptist and in Revelation, Christ again is referred to as the victorious Lamb who was and is to come.
Here are 5 reasons why Jesus is called the Lamb of God in the Bible:
1). Jesus the sacrificial lamb
John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God as he was the son of a Levite priest and so was well versed with the practice of sacrificing lambs for a sin offering.
The baptism of Jesus that was recorded in John 1 represented dying to oneself in the water and the rising up was the new life that we received from God.
He declared Jesus as the lamb of God to the people there at the scene of baptism in John 1:29, but the people did not receive that word the same way, as we the church receive it today.
2) Jesus a Jew from Bethlehem
The priests would grow the lambs in Bethlehem and sacrifice them in the temple. They were those shepherds who first saw Jesus when He was born.
How amazing it is that the priests received the announcement of Christ’s birth first but most probably they did not understand the great honor that the Lord bestowed on them.
Bethlehem is also called the house of bread and Jesus said that He is the Bread of Life. Our God is a God of the details and we can find that throughout the Bible how God has worked the details in the birth of Christ and life here on earth.
3) Jesus is the lamb without spot or blemish
Jesus lived a spotless and sinless life on earth and that is why He is called the Lamb of God. He was without any sickness, disease, or skin spots and His character too reflected that. He was harmless and blameless and always defended Himself with the word of God.
4) The lamb brought to Jerusalem
As was the custom of those times, all the sacrificial lambs had to be brought to Jerusalem from Bethlehem to be offered to the high priest and Jesus too entered Jerusalem riding on a colt and went to the temple where He was prepared as a perfect sacrifice for all our sins and wickedness.
5) Abraham and Isaac’s story was completed by Jesus
Abraham took Isaac to be sacrificed and when he asked him about the sacrificial lamb, Abraham said that God would provide. Yes, God provided Jesus as the sacrificial lamb to die in our place on the cross. Isaac had to carry the wood on his back to the slaughter, and Jesus carried His cross on his back to be crucified.