Not knowing much about farm animals, I once asked someone if there was a difference between a sheep and a lamb. To my surprise, there is! A lamb is a sheep who is one year of age or less. A farmer will tell you that, unlike a sheep, a lamb is young, small, innocent, and docile.

Jesus is called the Lamb of God. In the fourth Gospel, John the Baptist proclaimed: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (v. 29). Just as a shepherd, or a farmer, owns and cares for lambs, John proclaimed that this Lamb belongs to God. Also, notice the singularity of the word “Lamb.” Jesus is not one of many lambs, but the one and only Lamb of God.

In Exodus, God commanded Moses and Aaron to tell the Israelites who were being held captive in Egypt to choose a lamb for each family and slaughter it on a specified day. Regarding those sacrifices, God said, “The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect” (Ex. 12:5). A portion of the blood of the lamb was to be placed upon the sides and tops of the door frames (Ex. 12:7). That night the LORD struck down all the first-born in Egypt except in the houses where the blood was on the doorposts (Ex. 12:12–13).

In Egypt, the Israelites were responsible for providing their own sacrificial lamb for the Passover meal and the saving of blood. John the Baptist realized that God Himself had provided Jesus as His own sacrificial Lamb. This Lamb had the power to take away the sin of the world.

>> John the Baptist later stated, “I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One” (John 1:34). Let’s follow John’s lead. This Christmas season let somebody know that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God Who will take away their sin, if they will put their faith in Him.

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