Page 87 - Biblical Theology Textbook - masters

with God and hear Him.

We see a foreshadowing of Jesus as the sacrificial lamb in the story of Abraham and Isaac (see Genesis
22:1-14). Abraham took his son to Moriah, at the instruction of God, with the intention of sacrificing
him. When the boy asked where the sacrificial lamb was, Abraham replied, "God will provide for himself
the lamb for a burnt offering, my son" (Genesis 22:8). Abraham was prepared to offer his child to God,
but God stopped him from so doing and supplied a ram to be sacrificed instead. On a greater scale, God
provided the Lamb for us – His own Son. Only the sacrifice of God is truly sufficient for our atonement.

Jesus is also referred to as the Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). The Passover is described in Exodus
12. The first Passover occurred during God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. The angel of death
passed over Egypt and killed the firstborn sons. However, the Israelites were instructed to kill a lamb
without blemish, wipe the lamb's blood over the doorpost, and stay inside (eating the lamb and
unleavened bread in haste). When the angel of death saw the blood on their doors, he passed over, thus
sparing the firstborn of the Israelites. Passover was to be memorialized each year as a feast that lasts
seven days. In essence, the lamb is the protector of the Israelites and also seen as the atoner for them. It
is because of the blood of the lamb that they are spared death. It is because of Jesus' blood that we are
spared (spiritual) death. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). We are "covered by Jesus' blood" and therefore are spared death and
given life. Interestingly, Jesus' crucifixion occurred during Passover.

Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament sacrificial system. He became the once-for-all offering for our sins
(Hebrews 10:1-18). Jesus being the Lamb of God also refers to other prophecies regarding the Messiah.
For example, Isaiah 53:7 says, "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like
a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his
mouth." Jeremiah 11:19 is a similar passage.

In short, Jesus as the Lamb of God is a sacrifice for our sins in fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrificial
system. It is by His sacrifice that our communion with God is restored and by the covering of His blood
that we are spared spiritual death.

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