And he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
John 1:36
In the last two days, we saw that Jesus is full of grace andtruth. Today and tomorrow, we’re beholding Him as “the Lamb of God” and “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5). Not only is He characterized as a Lamb, but also as a Lion. We cannot hold to the one and reject the other. We must take Jesus for who He is—in all His attributes.
As fallen human beings, we’re prone to have our own partialities. Years ago, I was part of a church that had a far greater emphasis on God’s grace than His truth. I’ve also been part of a church that primarily highlighted God’s truth and hardly emphasized His grace. Both weren’t wrong in what they preached, but there was an inordinate proportion of “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).
The Old Testament sacrificial system is a shadow of Jesus’ sacrifice. God’s people would bring a lamb to the priest for a sin offering: “If he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering” (Lev. 4:32). That was an essential part in their relating to God.
John the Baptist referred to Jesus as “the Lamb of God.” God, so to speak, came with His own Lamb. He brought Jesus in order to sacrifice Him for our sins: “And the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6).
Amazingly, God had planned and purposed His Son’s sacrifice from eternity. He’s “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8 NKJV). Behind the scenes of Jesus’ life, the Father was preparing and bringing Him to the cross, being His Lamb.
Jan Blonk
www.thecauseofchrist.com
Today’s devotional is from It’s All about Jesus, a one-year devotional about the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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