Lamb of God, the gift of God to all mankind, given in the form of Jesus Christ. As we approach Easter Sunday, take a look with me at why God chose a lamb.

2MefromHim Devotional

Lamb of God

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

Why a lamb?

Four days before the Passover, Jewish families would buy a lamb and take it home to be certain it had no defects and would make an acceptable sacrifice. By Passover, the day to sacrifice the lamb, the pet they fed, cared for, and played with lost its life for their sins.

The village of Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus, was where first-born male lambs, destined for sacrifice in the temple in Jerusalem were born. Shepherds who visited the Christ Child left these special flocks on the hillsides, hurrying to do the angels bidding and visit the child born to take away their sins as the lambs they cared for could never do.

Colossians 1:15 says, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” The blood of sacrifices enacted year after year at the temple had no ability to save men from sin, but the death of the Son of God is another matter. Hebrews 9:14 tells us, “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”

John the Baptist told his disciples that Jesus was the Lamb of God. Some of them began to travel with Jesus. They talked, laughed, ate, and slept with him, becoming the best of friends. When the Jewish religious leaders handed Jesus over to the Romans for crucifixion, they felt all hope was lost. Their friend was dead.

Later, they realized what John meant when he called Jesus “the Lamb of God.” Paul wrote that Jesus, “our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Peter says, “It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” And with that faith and hope, the fear of death and hell is replaced with the certainty of eternal life and heaven.

Why a lamb? Because God loved you and me so much that He was willing to allow His only Son to die, bearing the guilt of our sin, so that we might have eternal life with Him.

© Copyright by Norma Gail Thurston Holtman

About the Author:

Norma Gail is the author of the contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, winner of the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 40 years. They have two adult children.

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Website: www.normagail.org

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