Today marks the beginning of a series I’m going to preach in the weeks leading up to Resurrection Sunday, that will explore the Symbols of Eastertide. We’ll talk about the cross, we’ll talk about the crown of thorns, we’ll talk about lilies, and we’ll talk about palm branches, but today we’re going to explore the symbol of the lamb. Why do we associate lambs with the season of Easter and the celebration of Resurrection Sunday? Of course, you probably will be familiar with some of it, but maybe some of it will be new, or you’ll find a new connection this morning, and I hope that this will be a reminder of the forgiveness of sins we have in Jesus, the Lamb.
I’d love for you to join me in Scripture this morning, in Luke 2:8-12. It’s a passage we’re familiar at during the Christmas season, but it’s a good place to begin exploring the symbolism of the lamb as well. “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (NIV)
The angels heralded the good news to the shepherds. Shepherds…who tended sheep. These men were quite familiar with the husbandry of sheep, or what is required to care for a flock of sheep. And of course, that would’ve included how to care for newborn lambs.
Here’s the sign they are told about: that they would find A BABY WRAPPED IN CLOTHS AND LYING IN A MANGER. Have you ever wondered about this sign? Why is that a sign? What is it a sign of? Would this just signal to the shepherds that they had found the right child? Was there a huge influx of babies being born in stables and they would need to know which one was the one they were told about?
No. They didn’t need to which child lying in stables was the one they were looking for. This is a sign for something else…something shepherds would have been very familiar with. Often, when we think of the manger, we think of this odd little wooden looking crate…but actually it would have been a carved stone. And this wasn’t to feed animals, it was to place newborn sheep, lambs, specifically, newborn male lambs that were being considered for a sacrificial lamb. They would take the newborn male lamb, and wrap it in swaddling cloths, and place in the manger to keep it safe while they examined it for blemishes and defects.
Shepherds would have been very familiar with this process, and so it was sign to them, that when they found this newborn baby, wrapped in swaddling cloths, and lying in a manger, that this would be the baby that would be God’s sacrificial Lamb. This baby would be the Lamb of God.
Many times throughout Scripture we read that Jesus is the Lion of Judah, the conquering King, the One who has the victory, but right from the moment of His birth announcement to the shepherds, we see His full purpose: that of the SACRIFICIAL Lamb. But why do we need a sacrificial lamb?
Well, it’s an old requirement, found in the Old Testament, going all the way back to the beginning in Genesis, and given the name: the Day of Atonement, found in Leviticus. Let’s go to Genesis first, in chapter 22, verses 2, 4, and 7-8.
“Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.” (NIV)
There’s a few really striking things about this passage I want to point out. The first, is that it’s very clear that even though this is the first time we read about Abraham making a burnt offering sacrifice to the Lord, we can see that Isaac is familiar with the idea of doing a burnt offering sacrifice to God. He knows that it requires that lamb be sacrificed. We see a lot of things that foreshadow the atonement sacrifice, both the Old Testament atonement and the New Testament atonement. We see that it is the only, beloved son that is to be sacrificed, which foreshadows the sacrifice of God’s only, beloved son. We see them going to a mountain, a foreshadowing of the sacrifice on Calvary’s mountain. We see the idea of three days being important to the atonement sacrifice. We see Isaac looking for a lamb to be sacrificed, which was what became required for the atonement sacrifice in the Old Testament. So even before the Day of Atonement is established, we start to see the idea of a sacrificial lamb being needed to cover sins, or to take away sins.
We see 3 chapters into Genesis that mankind became sinful. We chose not to obey God, to go our own way, to do things on our own, and to do what is evil rather than what is good. Genesis 8 says that every inclination of the hearts of humans is evil all the time. Since our hearts are evil, we cannot be with a good, holy God. Romans 6:23 says that the price, the penalty for choosing evil, which we all do, is death. That’s the price we must pay for sin, which we all do. Death is required when we sin. God does not every turn a blind eye to sin, it always has to be dealt with, and blood is the price.
Then we get to Leviticus, and we see several passages that talk about the atonement sacrifice and the requirements of the sacrificial lamb. And what we see in these passages is that God, very early on, even from Abraham’s time, made a way for us to have our sins covered over, by sacrificing a lamb instead of us. Maybe you've heard the term, “scapegoat”? That’s a Biblical idea. The idea is that once a year, God’s people would gather, and take two male goats that became our substitute. One goat would pay the price, the debt we owed, for sin. It would be a perfect lamb, unblemished and without spot or defect, and its blood would be spilled to pay the debt of sin. The second goat would then have all the sins of the people symbolically placed on it, and it would be driven outside of the camp where the people lived to take the sins of the people away from them. So you have one goat that pays the price by shedding its blood, and one goat that takes the sin away.
So you have all these elements of the Day of Atonement, the day that the Lord commanded to sacrifice one lamb to pay the debt of sin, and one goat would take the sins of the people away from them. Of course all this is a symbol in the Old Testament. There is not true forgiveness of sins in the Old Testament because these are sheep. They are a substitute for us. They can’t do the job completely, because they’re not human. But this is the Old requirement, commanded in the Old Testament.
But, “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Jesus, is the New way of fulfilling the Old requirement. 1 Peter 1:18-19 says this, “For you know that 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, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (NIV)
Just like the Old Testament lambs to be sacrificed had to be perfect, without blemish or defect, Jesus also, was perfect, without blemish or defect, so He fulfills that requirement. But, what we often fail to remember is that He also fulfills the role of the scapegoat. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says this, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin [a sin offering] for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (NIV) He became sin, the sin offering, and carried the sins of the world, past, present, and future, to the cross with Him, and crucified those sins along with His body. Just like the scapegoat that took on the sins of the people and took them away from the people, Jesus took on our sins and took them away once and for all.
Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him (that’s Christ!) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (NIV). Instead of a lamb, we have the Lamb of God. Instead of a wood altar, He was slain on a wood cross. Instead of just symbolically taking the sins away from the people or covering them with blood, we have the forgiveness of sins for all eternity, a clean slate, made righteous, and best of all…able to be in relationship with God the Father again.
This whole process, this requirement of paying the price of sin (which is death) is called propitiation. 1 John 2:2 tells us this important truth, “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (NASB) He, Jesus, is the PROPITIATION for your sins. That’s why He came, and that’s why it was a sign to the shepherds that He would be wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. That was to signify to the whole world that He is the sacrifice to pay the price of sin…death. That is why He came.
I want to read one final passage this morning, to really get the point of the Lamb. Join me in Romans 3:21-26, “But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 He did it to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” (NIV)
In the Old Testament, the requirement, the law was atonement. This requirement didn’t change, but it was fulfilled in a new way in the New Testament in Christ. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law of righteousness. God made the law of righteousness known to us, the way to be righteous, and it’s through faith in Christ. He made this possible by Christ being offered up as the sacrifice, the price for our sins. He could only do this if He Himself, Christ Jesus Himself, was righteous. An unrighteous person could not pay the price for our sins. But the fact that Jesus could and did, was further proof that He is righteous. And because He is righteous, Paul tells us, that He JUSTIFIES those who have faith in Jesus. That means that because He is righteous, and paid our debt, which was death, then His sacrifice makes us righteous, and it restores us to that relationship with the Father that we were created for.
And that is the Lamb. That is why the Lamb has become a symbol associated with the Easter season. This is what the Lamb came to do. This is why the Lamb is so important to us, because He is the forgiveness of sins, for us, and for the whole world.
Questions to form your quiet time this week:
1. Look at Matthew 27, at the scene of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. How do different people respond to the betrayal, trial, crucifixion, and burial of Jesus? How do you respond when you remember His sacrifice was for you?
2. Read Revelation 5:6. How is the Lamb described? What is He doing? What an odd sight to think about…but why is it important to your faith to know these truths about the Lamb?
3. Have you fully placed your trust in Jesus, alone, to be the payment for your sins? If so, has that trust and faith become so real that you can’t go a day without being in His Presence? If not, make a commitment to spend at least 10 minutes in His Word and in His Presence through prayer every day from now until Resurrection Sunday and rekindle that fire you have for the Lamb of God!