One Lamb
Shepherds were in the fields watching over their sheep at night. Many of these sheep were destined to be sacrificed for the sins of the people. That was God’s plan. Sin had to be punished, but there could be a substitute. Centuries before, God told Abraham to take his only son, Isaac, up on a mountain and sacrifice him. Once on the mountain, Isaac asked his father where the sacrifice was. They had everything else they needed, but no sacrifice. Abraham told Isaac that God would provide the sacrifice. And God did provide. Let’s go back to our shepherds in the field. An angel appeared to them and told them that a Savior had been born in Bethlehem, that they were to go find him. He would be wrapped snugly in cloths and lying in a feeding trough.
The shepherds went looking for one LITTLE Lamb.
That one little Lamb, the baby Savior, grew up and became a
Teacher. One day he told a story about a shepherd that had a hundred sheep. If
one of those sheep wandered away, he asked, wouldn’t the good shepherd leave
the other ninety-nine and go find the one that had wandered? With this and
other similar stories, he explained that God doesn’t want anything that belongs
to Him to be lost.
The Good Shepherd goes looking for one LOST lamb.
At the beginning of His teaching ministry, that one little
Lamb, the baby Savior now an adult, was baptized by his cousin John. The next
day, John told his followers that this Savior was the Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of the world.
When the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt centuries
earlier, God had set up a series of plagues to push the Egyptians to set them
free. The final plague was a plague of death of first born sons. The Israelites
were instructed to sacrifice a perfect lamb and put the blood around their
doors to save their children from death. After this plague, they were set free.
They were told to remember this forever with an annual feast called Passover,
including the sacrifice of a perfect lamb. Centuries later, at the time of the
Feast of Passover, our one little Lamb, who had lived a perfect life, was taken
up a hill and sacrificed on a cross. God again provided the sacrifice.
The people watched the sacrifice of one FINAL Lamb.
John’s visions in Revelation tell us of the future of that
same sacrificed Lamb. He is declared to be worthy to judge the sins of all
people. He is worthy because He was slaughtered and had redeemed His followers
for God by His blood sacrifice. In the Revelation, he is called "the
Lamb" 28 times. The Lamb opens the book of life; his followers will live
with Him forever; those who denied Him are punished forever. The Lamb shepherds
His sheep, providing all that they need, guiding them to streams of living waters,
and wiping away every tear from their eyes. The Lamb goes into battle and
conquers evil. The Lamb is joined forever in "marriage" with his
followers. The Lamb gives light to the New Jerusalem. The Lamb reigns on the
throne forever.
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