“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
One day John saw Jesus walking toward him, and he said this. What does it mean? John was speaking to people who knew the Old Testament and this is where we must look for the answer.
1. The Lamb is a substitute.
“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering” (Gen. 22:2).
God tested Abraham, and he obeyed and went to the mountain with his son. But Isaac said, “We have the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (22:7). Abraham says, “God will provide for himself the lamb” (22:8).
Isaac’s life was spared because God provided a ram. It took Isaac’s place on the altar. It was a substitute. The death sentence fell on the animal instead of the boy. The story gives us a sense of what it meant for God to give up his only Son for us all (Rom. 8:32).
2. The Lamb is a sacrifice.
“They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses… And when I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Ex. 12:7, 13).
The story of the Passover, when the judgment of God swept through the land of Egypt where God’s people had been held captive, tells how God instructed his people to sacrifice a lamb and paint its blood on their doorposts. The lamb’s life was given; the lamb’s blood was shed.
John says, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” Jesus is the substitute who will stand in your place. He is the sacrifice whose blood was shed on your behalf.
What do you see when you look at the Lamb of God?
