The Theology of the Lamb of God

Well, as we continue to prepare for the Passover this year, I believe that it is important for us to survey an identification that Jesus Christ has that runs throughout the entire Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation. This identity, this attribute that Jesus Christ was and is, and I might add will continue to be, is represented by an animal. And that animal is a sheep. And when a sheep is a year old or less, it is called a lamb. And we may not fully appreciate why Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God.

How prophecy pointed to the fact that he would be the ultimate Passover, the fulfillment of the Passover as a Lamb of God, and yet the role he will play as Lamb in the future. You know, sheep have a lot of negative qualities. I haven't been a shepherd. I've had cats, and they even have more negative qualities than sheep. But sheep have negative qualities. I was reading about sheep the other day, and it says they can be very stubborn.

It says they often stray without leadership. They easily stray away, and they get themselves in trouble. It said all they do is eat, eat, eat. They are eating machines, and when they don't get their way, they have a pathetic bleep that gets on your nerves. You know, meh! That just gets on your nerves. They're not easy to deal with. Isaiah 53 portrays straying sheep as illustrating human sin. We'll look at Isaiah 53 in just a little bit.

Ezekiel 34 uses the life of the sheep and the shepherds to picture God's relationship with His people and their rulers. In the fact that we heard in the fine sermon at this morning, when you have weak leadership, when your rulers are weak, that it affects entire society. It affects everyone. We know about Matthew 25 in which the shepherd separates his sheep and the goats to illustrate final judgment. In Luke 15, Jesus talked about the search that God's love is so deep that He would search for one lost sheep.

That reflects God's love for His people. In John 21, Christ commissioned Peter to take care of His sheep, because sheep do need care. Without a shepherd, they tend to get in trouble. Very easily, they're very vulnerable. However, when Christ is symbolized as a lamb, it's a little bit different of an analogy with no negative qualities and consequences. Think about what it means when it says Jesus Christ is a lamb. A lamb, to be sacrificed, is docile. It's not violent. A lamb, compared to other animals like a lion, is gentle. It's not ferocious. It doesn't fight back.

A lamb is vulnerable to suffering and a violent death because it has no physical defenses. It doesn't have sharp teeth. It doesn't have huge, ferocious horns to protect itself. By its very nature and personality, it is not a violent animal. These are the qualities of a lamb. The positive qualities of a lamb that Jesus Christ, that our Messiah, represented when it refers to Him as the Lamb of God. Let's go to John 1 and verse 24 and see where this phrase, the Lamb of God, came from. John 1 and verse 24.

At this point in the ministry of John the Baptist, many people are coming to be baptized by water. And of course, wherever you found a crowd and wherever you found the latest fad, you would find the Pharisees wondering who was cutting in on their territory. It says here beginning in verse 24, Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. They came to check out John because they heard that so many people were coming to him to be baptized by water. And they asked him, saying, and this is meant to be sarcastic, Why do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?

They're saying, Who do you think you are, John? You're not a man of authority. You're not a great man. What gives you the right to baptize with water and to attract all of these people to your message? Let's pick it up here. John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, but there stands one among you, meaning in our culture, our generation, whom you do not know. It is he coming after me is preferred before me, whose sandals strap I am not worthy to loose. That's pretty humble, pretty humble remark that he makes.

He's not drawing attention to himself, aside from the fact that he was just sarcastically offended by a comment from the Pharisees, verse 28. Then these things were done in Bethara. That's just another word for Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We could redefine that by saying, Behold, the Lamb of God who was the fulfillment of the Passover, who by shedding his blood will redeem us and take away our sins.

Continuing, he says, This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me. Christ has eternally existed. Verse 31, I did not know him but that he should be revealed to Israel. Therefore I came baptizing with water. He didn't understand the role that Jesus Christ would have. Verse 32, John bore witness, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he remained upon him.

I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, Upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God. So he refers to Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God and the Son of God. Verse 35, again the next day, John stood with two of his disciples and looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God.

It's a powerful statement and we understand what the Passover means. We understand the rich significance of why we continue to observe the Passover every year, even though I think we also understand that in most people in the world who are religious in a Christian way, do not keep the Passover. They have been told, they have come to believe that the Passover was fulfilled in Christ, that the role of the Passover Lamb is completed, fulfilled, that there is no reason to observe the Passover, that that was something the Jews did.

That was only a requirement for Jews and that the complete fulfillment of the Passover Lamb has occurred. Is that true? Well, we'll see a little bit later if that indeed is true. So what John is saying here is that Jesus Christ would come to earth as a gentle servant. That's what a lamb is.

A lamb is docile. A lamb is gentle. A lamb is not violent. This illustration of Jesus Christ being a lamb is represented throughout the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. It's a continuing thread that we're going to survey today. Let me ask you a question. Where do you think? Is the first reference in Scripture that Jesus Christ was a lamb and there would be a need for a Redeemer? You might say, well, Exodus 12.

I mean, that's easy. The original Passover. Well, that's true and we'll touch upon that today, but it's earlier than that. You might say, oh, I recall it's that event with Abraham sacrificing Isaac. Well, that's true and we'll touch upon that today, but it's even earlier than that. It is so early that it's remarkable. Let's turn there to Genesis 4, beginning in verse 1. Because it wasn't very long after Adam and Eve had sinned and were forced out of the garden, they could no longer enter the Garden of God.

They were barred from entering the Garden of God, that God wanted to give them hope, that God wanted to understand that there was a plan involved behind all of this, and that someday a lamb who would represent his Son would shed its blood, would be the firstborn of God, shed its blood, and make it possible that mankind could once again enter that Garden and have a relationship with God. Genesis 4, now Adam knew his wife Eve, and they conceived and bore Cain, and said, I have acquired a man from the Lord, and she bore again.

This time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep. I want you to notice his profession. This isn't an accident, brethren. As I said last week, Albert Einstein said, God does not play dice. God has a plan, and everything he does is symbolical. And everything he does points to what Jesus Christ has done, is doing, and will do. And that thread is continually throughout Scripture. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Abel represents righteousness. He represents people who fear God. He represents people who want to have a relationship with God.

Cain, on the other hand, represents wickedness. He represents carnal, human, nature, selfishness. It's all about me. It's all about living a minimalist life. How little do I need to do to get by, to get away with things. So it came to pass, in the process of time, it came to pass, that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground of the Lord.

It doesn't even say that it was the first fruit. It doesn't say that it was the best fruit. It just says that he brought an offering of fruit. Again, representing how mankind today wants to have a relationship with God from an arm's length. Mankind has an attitude of entitlement. Mankind does not really want a God. Mankind wants to have a genie. And like a Disney character, mankind wants something that they can call upon to come out of the bottle when they're ready to die or when times are tough.

They want to rub it three times and have the genie appear and solve all their problems. But they don't want to have a relationship with God. Verse 4, Abel also brought of the first born. That's his most precious. The first born of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel in his offering, but he did not respect Cain in his offering. And Cain was very angry and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why is your countenance fallen?

If you do well, will you not be accepted? He's saying, Look, I'm not playing favorites with your brother. Your brother thinks that as his creator that I'm precious. Your brother has offered to me the best that he had. You have offered me some stuff, not even the best of your crops, the best of your fruit of what you have. If you act like your brother, then I will favor you as much as I love and favor your brother, because then your attitude will be right.

And we too can have a relationship. So again, he says, If you do well, will you not also be accepted? And if you do not well, in other words, if you continue to let this resentment and anger build inside of you, sin lies at the door. You're going to hurt your brother. You're going to lash out. You're going to do something violent. And its desire that is sin is for you. But you should rule over it. Unfortunately, he didn't, and he killed his brother. But by this time, the time of this event, mankind has been cut off from God and barred from entering the original garden.

And why did God respect Abel's offering? Because it was a lamb. Because it represented the sacrifice that God the Father himself would someday allow of his own firstborn, Jesus Christ, the firstborn of many brethren. Even as early in Scripture as this, early in the book of Genesis, the fact that there needed to be a lamb, spiritually speaking, that we understand is the Passover lamb that would be sacrificed and its blood would be shed to cover sin, to cover transgressions, and to bring reconciliation possible between humankind and its God.

This is how early that started. This is a prophecy. And it's a beautiful picture of what would be required of Jesus Christ when the right time had come. Now let's go to Genesis 22. I gave a complete sermon on this topic, this story of Abraham and Isaac in March of 2011. So I'm certainly for the sake of time, I can't go into detail today like I did then, but that is still in our church audio archives if you'd like to hear the sermon on the beautiful theology and the analogies that are here in this scripture. But we'll go through it quickly. Genesis chapter 22 beginning in verse 1.

We're going to see another prophecy that looked forward to a time when Jesus Christ would be the ultimate fulfillment of the Passover as a lamb. It says, Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and he said to him, and he said, Here I am.

And he said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac. Isaac was the one son of promise. You may remember his older brother was born by disobedience to what God's plan was. And the woman who bore that child and also that child were sent away. So in God's eyes, the only legitimate son that Abraham had was Isaac. Your only son Isaac whom you love. And go to the land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I tell you. And Moriah, if you'll go to any Bible dictionary, will tell you that later on that would become known as Jerusalem. Same location where Jesus Christ was crucified.

It says, And offer him as a burnt offering in one of the mountains which I shall tell you. So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son and he split the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place that God had told him.

So Abraham obeyed willingly and he begins his journey towards Jerusalem. This journey is going to take three days. I want you to notice something about Abraham. I want you to notice that the next morning he got up early to do what he was told. Remember our sermon last Sabbath and we talked about obeying God enthusiastically? Now many of us, I'll tell you what Greg Thomas would have done. He would have gotten up about one in the afternoon. He would have spent a couple hours having some coffee, reading the newspaper, and then about four o'clock told God, It's going to be dark in an hour and a half.

Why don't I just go tomorrow? You see, but Abraham wasn't that way. God commanded it. Abraham even got up early to fulfill the command that God had asked him to do. And from the time of this command, when he tells him to go, from the time of this command, Isaac is as good as dead because when God says something it's a done deal. Let's pick it up in verse 4. And then on the third day, so there, take a journey.

First day goes by, second day goes by, third day goes by. On the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes and he saw the place afar off where he was to do this offering. And Abraham said to his young men, Stay here with the donkey, the lad and I will go yonder and worship and we will come back to you. Interesting use of words. It sounds like faith to me. God says, Take your son and sacrifice him. And Abraham says confidently to these two servants that represent angels, he says, We will come back to you.

Continuing, Sir, Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and he laid it on Isaac, his son, kind of like a backpack, and he took the fire in his hand and a knife and the two of them went together so they're walking together to this spot where this sacrifice is going to take place. But Isaac spoke to Abraham and said, My father, and he said, Here I am, my son. And he said, Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?

Now, this is highly symbolic. Isaac represents the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Abraham represents God the Father in this event. And Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the old covenant offerings, including the burnt offering, which this was to be a burnt offering. The split wood represents the stake or the cross that Christ was secured to when he died. But he asked the young man, asks the question, Where is the lamb? In verse 8, Abraham said, in another act of faith, My son, God, will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering.

So the two of them went together, and they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order. And he bound Isaac, his son, and he laid him on the altar upon the wood.

Just like Jesus Christ, when he was crucified, was tied with rope on wood. Now, brethren, we are saved by grace through faith. That's Ephesians 2, verse 8. And Abraham confidently tells his son that God will provide for himself the lamb. Did he know exactly how? I doubt it. Because that's what faith is. Faith is just hope. That God is going to work this out according to his will and the way it should be. Did he know for sure that Ram would be caught in the thicket and God would stop him at the last second and say, do this?

Did he believe that he would slay his son and God would resurrect his son from the dead? I don't know. But what I do think is very obvious here is the faith that Abraham had that God must be true to his word.

That the God that he loved and worshiped surely would not allow his son of promise to die. So, again, Abraham does something and I believe perceives the future moment in time that this is representing. I think he gets it. He understands why God made this unusual request. Because it pictures something that is yet to occur. Something significant in the history of humankind. Isaac is bound and he is laid on the altar and just as Jesus again would be bound to a wooden tree or a cross. Now, let's take a look at verse 10.

And Abraham stretched out his hand and he took the knife to slay his son. But the angels of the Lord called to him from heaven, Abraham, Abraham. So he said, here I am. And he said, do not lay your hand on the lad nor do anything to him for now I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. He knew he could read Abraham's heart and he knew he was ready to plunge that knife and sacrifice his son because that's what God had asked him to do.

He passed the test and God stopped him. Verse 13, and Abraham lifted his eyes and looked and there behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.

And Abraham called the name of the place, very powerful, the Lord will provide. He got it. The Lord will provide his son someday as the lamb of God to be sacrificed and to shed his blood for the sins of the world. The Lord will provide as it is said to this day, on the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.

So God stopped Abraham because he could see that Abraham passed the test. He was willing to do what the Father himself must allow to be done to Christ almost 2,000 years later. Abraham got it.

And that's why Jesus could say in John chapter 8 and verse 56, he said, Your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day. He rejoiced to see the day when I walked on the earth and I fulfilled my ministry and I became the ultimate fulfillment of the Passover. Your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. That's what Jesus said in John chapter 8 and verse 56. Let's go to verse 15. And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven and he said, By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, blessing I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore and your descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies.

And of course we know the history of Israel, including modern Israel and those descendants. But oftentimes we don't emphasize enough verse 18, which is a separate promise. Verse 18, in your seed, and Paul pointed out that singular, in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice. And sure enough, Jesus Christ himself, you go back far enough, was descended from Abraham. That is a blessing and a fulfillment of the role of the Passover. Again, this is a prophecy. And because of Abraham's obedience and because of his faith, from his seed a descendant would come someone who would bless all the nations of the earth, and that's Jesus Christ, because he would become the Passover.

What we've seen here is another prophecy about the Passover of Jesus Christ. And again, I gave an entire sermon on this on March 19, 2011, so if you want to see more detail on the theology, that is still in our congregational archives. Now, let's go to Exodus 12. The event of the original Passover, that ancient Israel, was commanded to keep as the instruction of God through Moses, Exodus 12. As we continue to survey, Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. Exodus 12, beginning in verse 3, speaks to the congregation of Israel, saying, On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household, and if the household is too small for a lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of persons according to each man's need, you shall make your count for the lamb.

So if there weren't enough people to consume a whole lamb themselves, join together with someone else. That's a good thing. We call that fellowship, and that's a wonderful thing. Continuing verse 5, Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year.

You shall take it from the sheep or from the goats. So these are the instructions for the original Passover that we believe occurred around 1445 BCE, and the animal was to be without a physical defect and a young lamb because it was to represent Jesus Christ.

Verse 6, Now you shall keep it into the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight, that is the time of a day between sunset and the small period of time after that before the land truly gets dark.

That's known as twilight, between the two evenings, is the Hebrew phrase. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two-door post and on the lentil of the houses where they eat it, then they shall eat. The flesh on that night roasted in fire with unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs shall they eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire, its head and its legs and its entrails. You shall, let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. Again, all of this is theological. It all represents a quality of Jesus Christ. The time between the tenth of the month and the fourteenth pictures the three-and-a-half-year ministry of the Messiah. The shed blood that was put on the door post of the homes offered the Israelites physical salvation from the death angel. And we know spiritually that the shed blood of Jesus Christ offers us spiritual salvation from death. It offers us the gift of eternal life. It offers us the grace of God and His mercy. Most of all, it offers us reconciliation and an opportunity to be one with God and to speak to Him personally and have a relationship with Him. The unleavened bread pictures the fact that the Messiah would be sinless and bitter herbs represented the bitterness and harshness of slavery. Verse 13, Now the blood shall be a sign for you in the houses where you are, and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. So this day shall be to you a memorial and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. So He says, this blood that I see will pass over. And anciently in ancient Israel, sure enough, when the death angel, when that spirit came and it saw the blood and the door post and the lentil, it did not go in that house. It did not strike the firstborn. You and I are the firstborn of many brethren.

And because of what Jesus Christ did, ultimately as the Passover, we have the protection from God. Our promise is assured. We have a guarantee of eternal life. No matter what happens to us physically, we have that guarantee of divine protection from God and that offer to be in His family for all eternity. So Jesus Christ was the ultimate fulfillment of the Passover, offering as He was for all of the offerings. And you and I are set apart in this world because the shed blood of Jesus Christ redeems us. That's what sets us apart. That's what makes us holy in God's eyes. Those who have not yet accepted the shed blood of Jesus Christ are still slaves to the God of this world. People who have not accepted Christ and His shed blood are still in bondage to the spiritual Pharaoh who is alive today called Satan the devil. They still live in a world. They are immersed in a world of wickedness and sin, modern Egypt, that exists in our society so prominently, again, as we heard about in our sermonette today. But I want you to think about something. Passover is something that we do once a year and it's very meaningful to us. Something we do because we know who and what it represents. But did you know there were other offerings regarding the Lamb? Let's go to Numbers 28 and verse 2 and see something that you may not have realized that was required of ancient Israel and involved lambs. Numbers chapter 28 and verse 2.

God instructs Israel through Moses. Numbers chapter 28 verse 2, command the children of Israel and say to them, My offering, my food for my offerings, shall be made by fire as a sweet aroma to me, and you shall be careful to offer to me at their appointed time. So he says, when you burn those offerings by fire and that smoke rises up, he said, it's pleasing to me. It's like a pleasant aroma. So he gives them this explicit instruction. Verse 3, and you shall say to them, this is the offering made by fire which you will offer to the Lord. Two male lambs in their first year without blemish day by day as a regular burnt offering. He says, from now on, every day, day after day, I want you to sacrifice two lambs. Why? Because we know what those lambs represent.

Why? Because every day they pointed to the rule that Jesus Christ would fulfill as the Lamb of God, as the Passover, the ultimate Passover. Verse 4, one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer in the evening, and one tenth of an epoch of fine flower as a grain offering mixed with one-fourth of a hen of pressed oil. So there was a more liquid grain offering that was mixed with these lambs as an offering for God. Verse 6, it is a regular burnt offering which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord. Verse 7, and its drink offering shall be one-fourth of a hen for each land, in a holy place you shall pour out the drink to the Lord as an offering. That was just the morning lamb. Verse 8, the other lamb you shall offer in the evening as the morning grain offering and its drink offering, and you shall offer it as an offering made by fire a sweet aroma to the Lord.

But as they say on telemarketing infomercials, but that's not all. Verse 9, and on the Sabbath day, two lambs in their first year without blemish, meaning two lambs in the morning, two lambs in the evening, on the Sabbath day because it was a special day. Why? Because the Sabbath day was when Jesus Christ rested from all of his labors. The one who would become known as Jesus Christ rested from his labors and ordained the Sabbath day and made that day holy. Again, the lambs always pointed to something that Jesus Christ has done, is doing, or will continue to do.

So, verse 9, it says, a sweet aroma to the Lord. Flour is a grain offering mixed with oil, with its drink offering. This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering. Again, these lambs were to be offered daily, even a double portion on the Sabbath, and they all represented what Jesus Christ did by shedding his blood for you and for me. Now, in time, as we continue to do this survey, even the prophets wrote about the coming sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Let's go to Isaiah chapter 53 in verse 1.

The prophet Isaiah gives us a prophecy here, and it's kind of interesting because it's written from a first-person perspective of someone who's a religious Jew, as if he's pondering what the ministry of Jesus Christ was all about. It's as if he's looking back in the events of the ministry of Jesus Christ and putting the puzzle pieces together and beginning to understand that Jesus Christ the Messiah was truly something special. Isaiah chapter 53 in verse 1, and again, this is a prophecy that pointed to Jesus Christ as being the Lamb of God. The prophet writes, Who has believed our report or our message? Just like a newscast, who could believe what I'm about to tell you? And to whom has the arm of the Lord, that's God's power, been revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as the root out of dry grass, He has no form or comeliness, and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. The Messiah is going to be born and look like a human being. There's no special charisma.

There is no Hollywood good looks about this individual. He just looks like anyone else. From physical appearance, you couldn't tell the difference between the Messiah and anyone else. Verse 3, He is despised and rejected by men, and indeed, most of the leaders of Israel rejected Jesus Christ and His ministry. And many people followed Him, but many others didn't follow Him, just ignored Him. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. It was a man who grew up at the time in the Roman Empire when Jerusalem was under domination from Rome. And every day, what did Jesus Christ see? He saw suffering. He saw people suffering with empty lives, people suffering from disease, people suffering from poverty. And when He observed the condition of people, it gave Him grief and sorrow. It continues here, and it says, And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him. He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He died for us. Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. That word, esteemed, means that we thought it was God's will. When we saw Him stricken, we said, oh, it must be God's will that He's stricken. Verse 5, But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him. He was chastised so that we could have peace of mind, so that we could not live in fear, so that we could understand the promises of God and have eternal life.

So we cannot be afraid of anything on this earth, so that we could live a life of confidence and peace of mind. That's why He was chastised. And by His stripes, we are healed. Because He accepted that beating before He died, and the blood that was shed through that beating, we can have spiritual healing. We have access to the throne of God to ask for physical intervention for our diseases. We can go to God and ask for emotional healing from those events in our lives that have hurt us so badly, that have given us personal struggles throughout our lives. Verse 6, All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to His own way. And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Again, this is speaking about the rule of Jesus Christ as the Passover.

And He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth. If you go to Matthew's account, Matthew 27, around verse 12, it says that the religious leaders peppered Him with questions. And Matthew says that He didn't say a word. Then Pilate peppered Him with questions in this account.

And it says, Jesus kept silent. Again, fulfilling this prophecy. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. Jesus wasn't violent. He didn't resist. He didn't rage. He didn't get angry.

And as sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. In another account in John chapter 19, Pilate asked Him a question and it says Jesus didn't answer Him. And Pilate went into a rage. Don't you know that I have the authority and the power to set you free or have you crucified? Don't you know who I am? And Jesus did respond to that very patiently and delicately. He said, you have no authority to do anything unless it were given to you by my Father. Unless you were allowed to do it by the will of my Father. But it says He opened not His mouth. Verse 8, He was taken from prison and from judgment. He went through a very terrible artificial kangaroo court trial. And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgressions of my people, He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked. He died between two sinners, two thieves. But with the rich at His death, He was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, who was a rich man and gave up his own tomb in a special part of the cemetery. It says, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. Why? Because it had been ordained from the foundation of the world. And Jesus Christ must go through these events and must shed His blood as the creator of mankind, so that all the sins of mankind could be eliminated. All the transgressions could be removed because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He has put Him to grief. When you make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed. He shall prolong His days. In other words, He was involved in a resurrection. He shall see His seed. He shall prolong His days.

And the pleasures of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. So again, Jesus Christ was a mere physical man. He was living as a Jew in occupied Jerusalem that was dominated by Rome. But He accepted His fate without violence or resentment, and He became sin by accepting our transgressions.

Now let's move to the New Testament. Those were the prophecies. And we know from the events of the Gospels that Jesus Christ fulfilled those prophecies. But let's see what Peter had to say after the event, 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 13. Again, 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 13.

Peter wrote, therefore gird up the loins of your mind. What in the world does he mean by that? Well, when you gird up your loins, you were ready for service. You strapped on your work belt, and you were ready to go to work. And he says, I want you to gird up the loins of your mind, meaning I want you to be prepared for service. Be sober and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lust as in your ignorance. In other words, not living like you used to live before God called you. Verse 15, But as he who called you as holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. For it is written, and this is from Leviticus chapter 11, this is written from the law of God, Be holy, for I am holy. And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear. So as long as you live, as long as you draw breath, respect God and respect what he wants you to do and how he wants you to live, and that is as a disciple. Verse 18, Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by the tradition of your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot. So Peter says that Jesus Christ fulfilled all of those prophecies that we looked into that pointed to what Jesus Christ would do as the ultimate Passover. Let's go now to 1 Corinthians chapter 5, and see where Paul also confirms it. We see that Peter confirms it, and we're going to see that Paul confirms it. 1 Corinthians chapter 5, and we'll pick it up in verse 4.

I think we understand this was written around the spring of 55 AD, either before or during the days of Unleavened Bread. Paul was upset because he heard that incest was going on in the Corinthian congregation. Because the Corinthians were just so talented, they had so many spiritual gifts, and they were so talented, they'd become vain. They'd become puffed up.

Paul says here, beginning in verse 4, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, so when you assemble the worship, along with my spirit, with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. He says he needs to be disciplined until he repents. He needs to be disciplined until he understands that committing incest is unacceptable to God. It violates God's law, and he needs to be put outside until he repents and realizes he needs to clean up his act. Continuing here, verse 6, he says, your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore, purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump since you truly are unleavened. They were unleavened for two reasons. First of all, this was written around the time of the spring holy day, and also they were unleavened because the blood of Jesus Christ had forgiven them of their sins and transgressions in God's eyes. They were an unleavened righteous people, not because of who they were, but because of Jesus Christ who lived within them. For indeed, he says, Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us. So again, Paul, agreeing with Peter, says that Jesus Christ was the ultimate fulfillment of the Passover. 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. So he says we will continue to keep the days of unleavened bread in a new covenant way. That means without offerings, without shallow ritual, we will continue to keep it, but in a new way of sincerity and spiritual truth. So Paul understood clearly that Jesus Christ himself was the Lamb of God at the Passover. Well, so far in scriptures, we've seen how the role of Christ was prophesied in advance as the Passover Lamb of God. And secondly, we've seen that it was fulfilled by the role that he played in about 31 AD, as testified by both Peter and Paul. But what about the future? Is it true that there's no reason to keep the Passover anymore? That the role of the Lamb of God is fulfilled and therefore that it's been done away?

That it no longer needs to be observed, needs to be respected? Has the identity or the role of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God ended? Has it been fulfilled? Well, we saw what Peter and Paul had to say. Let's now go to the book of Revelation, something yet to occur, and see what John said. And we'll let John answer this question. Revelation chapter 5 and verse 6. I think we understand the book of Revelation is a vision that John saw of future events. Revelation chapter 5 and verse 6. John writes, And I looked and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb, as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out to all the earth. This is kind of remarkable because in the frightening events of these end-time images, perhaps you might have expected to behold a kingly and ferocious lion.

But that's not what John sees. Instead, he turns and he observes a Lamb. This is the Greek word our neon. And the Greek word means not just a Lamb, but a small, young, tender Lamb. That's exactly what that Greek work means. And you know what? This Greek word, Jesus is called the Lamb in the book of Revelation 29 times. Not once, not twice, 29 times. As a matter of fact, Jesus is identified as a Lamb in this book more than any other title or description. And I know that many folks like to turn to Revelation 19 and the warrior king riding on the white horse. And the whole theology of their lives is built around this warrior king riding on a white horse. And their whole image of who and what God is is this stern warrior king riding on a white horse. But the truth, brethren, is that Jesus Christ is only a conquering king when rebellion calls for it. His natural identity, his native instincts are to be patient and gentle and serving. And that is why 29 times John refers to him not as a conquering warrior on a white horse, but as a Lamb.

So in this vision, John sees the Lamb of God. While he's obviously alive, he's obviously also exhibiting the marks of a sacrifice because he still has scars. What did he tell Thomas, remember?

After he was resurrected, come touch, look at the scars in my gut, put your finger in the wounds in my body. And here in this very vision, John sees this Lamb that still has the marks of being sacrificed. And he has been dead, this Lamb, at one time, but he is now alive. The seven spirits, of course, are symbolic of complete supremacy. Jesus Christ has complete supremacy as the Lamb of God. The horns are symbolic of power and authority. Eyes are symbolic of insight and comprehension. And what John is saying is that the seven, which is the number of completeness, represents the fullness of his omnipotence, all powerful, that's the horns, and omnipresence, all seen, all watchful, knowing what's going on in the entire universe. Our final scripture, Revelation 22 and verse 1. Revelation 22 and verse 1, our last scripture for the day, as we contemplate what Jesus Christ is yet to do and say and how he is symbolized when he says these things. As a warrior king, no. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street and on either side of the river was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, and each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Just think, Adam and Eve, representing all mankind, were barred from the tree of life when they rejected it. And finally, the world comes full circle because of the Lamb. The tree of life is once again offered to each and every human being. Verse 3, there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. And they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads, and it will be a family name, the family name of God. His name shall be in the foreheads of His servants. That's you, and that's me. They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord gives them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. Then He said to me, these words are faithful and true, and the Lord God and the holy prophets sent His angels to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is He who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. Once again, identified at this beautiful time in history as a Lamb. So here's the conclusion today. The Lamb of God is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and in just a few weeks we will be observing the Passover because His work of salvation has not ended. This year in the Cleveland congregation alone, four new individuals will be observing their first Passover service because God is still calling children, and because the blood of the Lamb is still redeeming sinners and calling them the repentance each and every day. His work, and the Father's calling of new disciples, is still going on, and it's going on right here in our beloved little congregation. So knowing that, and knowing that Jesus Christ is still the Lamb of God and still calling people to repentance and still offering people forgiveness and salvation, let us give thanks and praise and honor to the Lamb of God for all that He has done, for all that He's presently doing and will yet do to bring many more sons and daughters to glory in that magnificent family of God. Have a wonderful Sabbath.