Daily Bread

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and he said, Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

John gave witness to Jesus before Satan was allowed to tempt Him in the wilderness and now again after the temptation. Jesus was the spotless Lamb who was without sin before He went up into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Jesus also remained the spotless Lamb after the temptation to which John once again gave testimony. This examination by John was similar to the examination that the priest had to give to ensure that the offerings were without blemish. Jesus was not just any kind of lamb; He was the Passover Lamb. The Passover was used by Jesus to declare the New Covenant and in fact was changed by Him to be the occasion of celebrating the birth of the New Covenant. It is the Passover supper which is the model for New Testament communion (1 Corinthians 11:20-30). The fact that Jesus is represented by the Passover lamb of the Old Testament is further emphasized in that He was killed at the time of the slaying of the Passover lamb (John19:14, 31; 18:28; also Jub. 49:10, 19; m Pesach 5:1; Philo, Laws 2.145; R. Natan in Mek. Bo 5). Jesus was shown to be a Lamb without spot or blemish and His body was to be taken an eaten and not a bone was to be broken, a treatment specifically required of the Passover lamb (John 19:31-37; Exodus 12:26; Numbers 9:12). Paul taught that Jesus was the Passover Lamb in 1 Corinthians 5:7. "for Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." Peter also taught that Jesus was a "lamb without blemish and without spot." Finally, Isaiah the prophet called him a lamb (Isaiah 53:7; Acts 8:32). The blood of the Passover lamb represents the power that broke the yoke of the 10th plague and of the domination and trickery that Pharaoh exercised over Israel (Exodus 11:1). The Passover night was the time that God laid the sins of the people upon the firstborn. Only the blood of Passover lamb, which represented the blood of the firstborn, could expiate for a family that night (Exodus 13:2; 11-16). The blood of the Passover lamb represents redemption; for it was on that night that God redeemed all of Israel through their firstborn (Exodus 13:15; 6:6). It represents deliverance because God delivered Israel from bondage (Exodus 12:27). It represents the beginning ofGod's Covenant with Israel for it is "the beginning of months" and it is the event that set the covenant into motion that was promised to Abraham (Exodus12:1; 13:9; 6:4,7,8; Hebrews 8:9). The Passover represents the very day that Israel was born as a nation and, as such, the covenant people of God. Finally, it is the time that Israel was released from slavery to serve God and be His people (Exodus 13:3). The particular Greek word used for lamb in Exodus 12:5 is 'arnos.' This Greek word first occurs in Exodus 12:5 and then is used 33 times in the Septuagint afterwards. The Hebrew word that 'arnos' translatesis 'seh,' (lamb), which first occurs in Genesis 22:7 and 8 when Isaac askAbraham his father "where is the lamb" Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself a Lamb," a statement that can be easily understood as a prophecy of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. The offering of Isaac as a whole burnt offering unto God is the perfect typology for the offering of Jesus Christ by God the Father. Jesus said that Abraham saw His day, and it makes perfect sense that at the moment that Abraham was offering the ultimate sacrifice of His only begotten son on what would become the temple mount that he would have looked up and not only seen a lamb caught in the thicket but also the Lamb of God which John the Baptist announced in this verse.

Blessings

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
www.abidingplace.org