Lamb of God
Rorate Coeli, the Fourth Sunday of Advent – 12/22/2024
John 1:19-29
Rev. Christopher W. Brademeyer
That portion from God’s Holy Word for consideration this morning is our Gospel lesson from St. John’s first chapter with special emphasis on verse twenty-nine which reads as follows:
“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”[1]
Thus far the Scriptures.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
John’s famous proclamation about Jesus being the Lamb of God is one that we know well. If you were not aware that this was one of his famous proclamations about who Jesus is, you certainly should now that we have visited this theme for the past month. After all, this is central to John’s prophetic ministry; it is the basis of his preaching about the Christ and His coming Kingdom. John told the people who came to hear him to repent. Why? Because Christ, the Lamb of God, is coming into the word. Make straight the way of the Lord, said John. Why? Because the Lamb of God is on His way. In other words, John’s teaching and prophesying is built on this foundational claim, that the Greater One, who comes after John, is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
This is all well and good and if you have been around during Advent much at all during your life you have heard this. But what does it mean? For that, we have to go back into the Old Testament and get a picture of what Lambs were used for and why God desired this to be so.
The first mention of sheep is way back in Genesis 4:2, where Abel is noted to be a keeper of sheep. And not only did Abel keep sheep, he also brought the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions, that is, the good cuts of meat, to offer to God out of reverence and thanksgiving for the Lord’s blessings. This sets the stage in Scripture for how sheep will show up again: they are usually connected to sacrifice. By the time we get to Abraham, who first shows up in chapter 11, it seems that sacrificing sheep to God is thoroughly in place. Not only this, but when agreements are struck, that is covenants, sheep are exchanged as well. Genesis 21 has Abraham giving 7 ewe lambs to Abimelech when they make a covenant.[2] When Abraham sets out after God tells him to offer his son Isaac, Abraham says that God will provide the lamb.[3] Though this is fulfilled by finding a ram in a thicket,[4] Abraham’s insistence that God will give a lamb was not an attempt to mislead Isaac and lull him into a false sense of security. Instead, he was recalling the promise made to Adam and Eve that God would provide a son of woman who will crush the head of that crafty serpent, the Devil, and overthrow his evil rule.[5]
Later in history, when the people of God are freed from slavery and are given the commands of God, God specifies the use of sheep in the sacrifices of the Temple. Though these commands are not limited to sheep, it is notable that a number of the sacrifices are commanded to be sheep. For example, when Aaron and his sons are ordained to be priests, a bull and a ram are sacrificed during the ordination to cleanse the from outward guilt.[6] A ram is also specified as the sin offering for unintentionally sinning against God.[7] Two rams were part of the sin offering for those who have stolen or otherwise defrauded a person of property.[8] A ram was included in peace offerings, which were meant to make peace between Israel and God before He appeared before the people.[9] A ram was included in the offering needed to cleanse the High Priest before he appeared before the Lord.[10] Rams were offered as guilt offerings.[11] These are just a few examples of the use of rams and sheep in the Old Testament sacrifices; there are others that I did not mention, but I think this is enough to get the point across.
In other words, God commanded the use of sheep to be offered by His people for sin offerings, guilt offerings, and peace offerings. Why? This goes to the promise that Abraham remembered from the foundation of the world, that one would come to bear sin and destroy the Devil. Abraham is not surprised when God asks him to kill his son Isaac, who you will remember is a child of promise from God. Abraham expected that a sacrificial lamb, a foretold, promised Son would need to be given to atone and redeem humanity from their sins. What Abraham was wrong about was who this special Son would be. It would take another two millennia, give or take, for this Son to come into the world, that Son being Jesus Christ, the very Son of God.
The reason God used all the sacrifices of sheep and goats and bulls and whatever else in the Old Testament was not because these forgave sin in and of themselves. The book of Hebrews reminds us that it is not the blood of bulls and goats that cleanses us from sin, but only the blood of Christ. All these Old Testament sacrifices were anticipatory, they looked forward to the perfect and everlasting sacrifice to come. The looked forward to Jesus.
All of this was in the minds of those who came to John. They did not yet know the identity of this Lamb of God, this promised Messiah, this Son of woman who would defeat the Devil. No doubt, the faithful among them knew that God would fulfill this promise to redeem His people by sending the perfect Lamb, who, once sacrificed, would be the perfect and final solution for sin and death and the devil.
And this is what John was saying Jesus would have to do: the Lambs dedicated to God were slaughtered and used for sacrifices, to ritually purify the people of Israel, to make them able to be in and among the promised people of God without incurring, bringing on themselves, God’s wrath for sin and disobedience. But they also anticipated and reminded the coming of the perfect and final Lamb, the one who would bear the sins of His people and put them to death in Himself. And John said here that this one, this Lamb is none other than Jesus. That He was coming into the public to be sent to die so that they, and you, might live in the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. Sin needed to be put to death, death needed to die, and the devil needed to be defanged and defeated. So God gave His son, the only begotten one, to grant us life and salvation at the cost of His own life. The Lamb of God did indeed take away the sin of the world, He died to make it happen, just as had been foretold by promise and practice in the Temple.
In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] John 1:29 English Standard Version
[2] Genesis 21:28-20
[3] Genesis 22:8
[4] Genesis 22:13
[5] Genesis 3:15
[6] Exodus 29:15ff
[7] Leviticus 5:15ff
[8] Levitus 6:6ff
[9] Leviticus 9:4ff
[10] Levitus 16:5
[11] Leviticus 19:21
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