The Lamb –
Matthew 26:17-25
We began with the serpent – the forked tongue the devil used
to inject the poison of sin into our world through Adam and Eve’s
participation. But that very serpent who
is crushed by the seed of the woman who is lifted up on the cross.
We’ve considered the donkey – a humble beast of burden, a
kingly steed in time of peace, fit to carry the Son of David who bears the
burden of our sin, humbly, to the cross.
We’ve looked at the pigeons – the sacrifice of the poor who
couldn’t afford a lamb or bull. And
we’ve noted the sacrifice of nobler blood than all the beasts on Jewish altars
slain – Jesus – the sacrifice for all poor sinners like you and me.
We saw the rooster – the herald of Peter’s betrayal, and of
our own. But also the voice to mark the
morning and a reminder of God’s mercies in Christ which are new every
morning. Peter is restored, and so are
we, in Jesus.
And the dogs – a slam against the gentiles – like those who
surrounded Christ as he died, those outside of the lost sheep of Israel. But those who come in faith – like the
Syro-Phoenecian woman, faithfully waiting for crumbs to fall from the master’s
table. Even the smallest share in Christ’s
mercy is a banquet of blessings.
Now, finally, the lamb.
In a way, this is perhaps the easiest our of animal examples
to discuss. Scripture is chock-full of sheep
and lambs. Shepherding was the vocation
of Abel, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, David, and so many other figures. The Bethlehem shepherds watching over their
flocks by night were the first to hear the news of Christ’s birth and come to
worship. Jesus calls himself the good
shepherd – and we have a whole Sunday in the Easter season that we call “Good
Shepherd Sunday” – which meditates on the grand biblical metaphor of shepherd
and sheep.
Whole books have been written about the Bible’s use of
sheep. One well known work is “A
Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23”, which perhaps some of you have read. That psalm, 23, which is perhaps the best
known and well loved – which begins, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not
want…” The kings of Israel were compared
to shepherds of God’s people. Jesus
tells Peter to feed his lambs and take care of his sheep. And even today the word “pastor” is used in
our circles – a word for clergy that means “shepherd”.
It’s often been pointed out that sheep are, essentially, not
very smart. They wander and get
lost. The end up in all sorts of
trouble. In this way they are an apt
comparison to humans in our sin. Jesus
talks about seeking the lost sheep, going after the one and leaving the
99. But friends, we are all that one
lost sheep. We all wander from God’s
word and will every time we sin. We are
constantly in need of help and guidance and rescue. This is why we live a life of
repentance. This is why Scripture warns
us about wolves in sheep’s clothing, and all the other dangers in the field,
and encourages us to listen to the shepherd’s voice, and to follow him.
But if there is one sheep in all of Holy Scripture that
perhaps comes to the foreground, it is the Passover lamb. Exodus tells us about this seminal event in
the history of God’s people. One
resource I found summarizes it very well as follows:
The Passover lamb was
the animal God directed the Israelites to use as a sacrifice in Egypt on the
night God struck down the firstborn sons of every household (Exodus 12:29).
This was the final plague God issued against Pharaoh, and it led to Pharaoh
releasing the Israelites from slavery (Exodus 11:1). After that fateful night,
God instructed the Israelites to observe the Passover Feast as a lasting
memorial (Exodus 12:14).
God instructed every
household of the Israelite people to select a year-old male lamb without defect
(Exodus 12:5; cf. Leviticus 22:20-21). The head of the household was to slaughter
the lamb at twilight, taking care that none of its bones were broken, and apply
some of its blood to the tops and sides of the doorframe of the house. The lamb
was to be roasted and eaten (Exodus 12:7-8). God also gave specific
instructions as to how the Israelites were to eat the lamb, “with your cloak
tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand”
(Exodus 12:11). In other words, they had to be ready to travel.
God said that when He
saw the lamb’s blood on the doorframe of a house, He would “pass over” that
home and not permit “the destroyer” (Exodus 12:23) to enter. Any home without
the blood of the lamb would have their firstborn son struck down that night
(Exodus 12:12-13). https://www.gotquestions.org/Passover-Lamb.html
If there is any Old Testament event or character or example
or item that most clearly foreshadows our Lord Jesus Christ, especially in his
passion, it might just be this Passover lamb.
Consider the connections:
The lamb is taken in the prime of its life, a male. Jesus is given over in the prime of his
life. The lamb was without defect – spot
or blemish. Jesus was without sin. The lamb was slaughtered at twilight. Jesus died close to sunset as well, as they
had to hurry and bury him before nightfall.
Not a bone was broken – either of the Passover lamb or of Christ’s. And the blood of the lamb was painted on the
doorposts in a motion both horizontal and vertical – giving a hint of the sign
of the cross itself. The lamb is roasted
and eaten – and Jesus was consumed by the fiery wrath of God. But perhaps the best comparison is what
follows.
The blood of the lamb protected the Israelites from the
destroyer. When God saw that blood on
the door, her passed over that house and did not take the firstborn’s life from
that family. So does the blood of Christ
protect us. When God sees us covered
with the blood of Christ – cleansed and redeemed by the blood of Christ – he
sees that the sacrifice has been made, that the sins have been atoned for, and
he passes over us. We do not receive the
destruction our sins deserve. Rather, we
are spared, not just for this life, but for eternity.
There’s good reason that John the Baptist declared Jesus to
be the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. It is by his atoning, sacrificial death on
the cross that Jesus effects the divine Passover for our sins. He acts as both the victim and the priest,
the one who offers the sacrifice and the sacrifice himself. Thanks be to God for the victory he has won
for us at the cross!
We see the Lamb again in the final book of the Bible, the
Revelation of Jesus Christ to St. John.
There, in chapter 5, we see Christ pictured as “a Lamb standing, as
though it had been slain”. How can
something that has been slain stand?
Unless this is Jesus, the one who was slain but has been raised from
death, never to die again! And so it
is.
Only this Lamb can open the seven seals of the scroll. Only Jesus can know and accomplish God’s plan
for salvation, and only in him is the church preserved through all the ups and
downs of these end times, this great tribulation.
And then in chapter 7, we see a great multitude clothed in
white. Who are they? John learns, “These are they who have washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God
day and night…” and we go on to learn
that God himself will wipe every tear from their eye.
What a wonderful picture and reminder of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ – the lamb. And thanks be
to God for the many pictures he gives us of Christ’s love and mercy, yes, even
through the other creatures, the animals he has placed in our care. May we observe this coming holy week with the
peace of God that passes all understanding, that our hearts and minds may ever
be fixed on Jesus Christ our Lord, the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin
of the world.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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