Christ's Name – Lamb of God

Frequently in the Old Testament a lamb was used in sacrifice and the sacrifice designed to show to the people the need for a sacrifice that would satisfy God’s wrath against their sins.  The first recorded animal sacrifice made by man is recorded for us in Genesis chapter 4 when Abel brought of the firstling of the flock and of the fat thereof for an offering and God had respect to Abel and his offering.  Similarly, we read of a prophecy made by Abraham in Gen. 22:8 “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.”

Moreover, in the Old Testament, we read of the Passover: Ex.12:3  “Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:” Then in Ex. 12:21 “Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.”   

Next, we read of the morning and evening sacrifice where a lamb was to be offered in the morning and in the evening:  Ex. 29:39 “The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:” 

With the testimony, prophecy, and ordinances the children of Israel should have been looking for one who would be called the Lamb of God and would be the atoning sacrifice to satisfy God’s wrath because of their sins. 

Direct references to Christ being that “Lamb of God” are made in 11 different scriptures in the New Testament:

1.  John 1:29 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”  

2.  John 1:36 “And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!”  

3.  Rev. 5:6 “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”  

4.  Rev. 7:17 “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”  

5.  Rev. 14:10 “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:”  

6.  Rev. 15:3 “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”  

7.  Rev. 19:9 “And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”  

8.  Rev. 21:22 “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.”  

9.  Rev. 21:23 “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”  

10. Rev. 22:1 “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” 

11. Rev. 22:3 “And 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:”

Christ's Name - Light

We read in John 1:4 “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”  

In this passage we see that the life of Christ is equated to light.  To be consistent the life and the light must be of the same nature.  If one is natural then the other is natural.  If one is spiritual then the other is spiritual. It should be obvious that the scripture is speaking to us about the spiritual life of Christ is the spiritual light of men. 

All men in their natural state are void of spiritual life until they are born of the Spirit of God.  In this condition they are darkness as they have no ability to receive the things of the Spirit of God or to understand them: 1 Cor. 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”  Moreover, in this condition they cannot seek after God or do good or fear God.  They are in a state of darkness.  As the above passage states: “the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” 

John was sent from God to bear witness of the true Light.  The Lord said of John in John 5:35 “He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.”  Yet John was not that Light.  

Two things are needed for the eye to function and see.  First, you must have an eye that is functional.  Second you must have light.  Without either a functional eye or light a person cannot see.  For us to have spiritual understanding we must have spiritual eyes and we must have the light of God’s words.  John was bringing to an understanding through his preaching and teaching that one was to come who would establish the kingdom of God, take away the sins of the elect world and reign forever in the kingdom of God.  However, Christ was a light far greater than John as he by his actions and teachings established the kingdom of God, taught the disciples those things about the kingdom and the need for Godly living and discipleship and how to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.  As he told the disciples:  John 9:5 “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”  

“That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”  The world under consideration is the world of his elect people.  Jesus is the one who lights every person who comes into the elect world.  They do not light themselves, but he, through the miracle of the spiritual birth makes them lights in the world.  He admonishes us: Matt. 5:14  “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” The Lord’s disciples are a light to give understanding unto God’s people outside the church kingdom of God.  They do this by both living and teaching the word of God.  When all the disciples in a local church do this they are as a city set upon a hill that cannot be hid.  The Lord has made us spiritual light and we are not to hide that light, but let is shine.  When we let our light shine we have a great lamp to help us in that illumination: That is the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.   

Moreover, each of us has at our disposal the word of God: We read in Ps. 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”  What a great blessing it is that the Lord has given us his word as a lamp unto our feet.  The word of God shows us where we are and what we need to do in our present circumstance.  Moreover, the word is a light unto our path, so that we can navigate life’s pathway and avoid many of the pitfalls that happen to multitudes of people who are not attuned to the light of God’s word.