In the Gospel of John, we are told that when John the Baptist saw the Lord Jesus approaching, he testified about Him: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). But do we truly know who this Lamb is who takes away the sin of the world?

The Word of God tells us that He “was known before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20) and that from Him, through Him, and for Him, all creation came into being (Romans 11:36).

Through these words, the Spirit of God takes us back into eternity so that we may begin the true story of the Lamb. When the Lamb of God enters the world, He says to God the Father: “You did not desire sacrifice or offering, but You have prepared a body for Me,” and that “in the scroll of the book it is written about Me: ‘I have come to do Your will, O God!’”(Hebrews 10:5, 9).

Indeed, the Lamb of God “became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). But even before revealing Himself to us on earth through His incarnation, God had spoken to us from ancient times through His servants the prophets about the necessity of the Lamb’s sacrifice.

Abel, though dead for thousands of years, by offering the firstborn of his flock to God, reveals to us the first great truth that every sinner who comes to God must learn, namely, that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22).

The story of the Lamb continues with Abraham in that magnificent scene in which his faith was tested, when God asked him to sacrifice his only son, whom he loved, on the altar. Indeed, no man before Abraham had been so severely tested in his faith by God, who asked him to offer a sacrifice: “Now take your son.” But God’s sword, His Word, pierces even deeper into his soul, because it must be “your only son,” and even deeper still, because it must be “Isaac,” the one upon whom all the promises rest and the one “whom you love.” God wanted us to understand the pain it caused his father to sacrifice a son whom he loved above all else.

Abraham had faith that God could raise Isaac from the dead so that God’s promise to him might be fulfilled. As Abraham prepares to sacrifice Isaac, the Lord Jesus, the true Lamb of Sacrifice, watches this scene and stops him, seeing that Abraham’s love for Him was greater than the love he felt for his son Isaac. Through this example, God wanted to show us that a person is justified before Him by faith^[1], but that the authenticity of a person’s faith in God can be proven through the deeds that follow that faith.^[2] Deeds done in righteousness are an effect—the normal, expected result of living and true faith in God—and not a condition, alongside faith, for our justification before God.

But more than testing Abraham’s faith in God and our justification before Him, God wanted to convey an even deeper message to us through this. In reality, it was not man who had to make the sacrifice, but God Himself, in His love for humanity, who offered His only Son as a sacrifice on His altar,”“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Moses then takes up the story of the Lamb and adds new prophetic meanings to it. He speaks of the character of the One who alone can fulfill God’s requirements, for the Lamb offered by God must be a holy, spotless sacrifice, a lamb “without blemish” (Exodus 12:5). The burnt offering had to be a male without blemish (Leviticus 1:3) and had to be completely consumed by fire on the altar (Leviticus 1:13). The Lord Jesus came to cast the consuming fire of the Holy Spirit upon the earth (Luke 12:49, 50) and to offer Himself as a burnt offering to God our Father.

Further on in the Law it is written that the one who had committed a sin was to lay his hand on the head of the sacrifice and confess the sin he had committed (Leviticus 4:32). The one who lays his hands on the sacrificial lamb becomes one with it and takes on the nature of the lamb: his sins were transferred to the lamb that was sacrificed, and the lamb’s purity was transferred to the sinful man, who was thus cleansed of his sins. God speaks to us through this image, showing that people are sinners and that they can be saved from God’s wrath through faith in the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, the sins of all humanity having been laid upon the Lord Jesus: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And they are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God appointed Him beforehand to be, through faith in His blood, a sacrifice of atonement, to demonstrate His righteousness, because He had overlooked the sins committed previously, during the time of God’s great patience.” (Romans 3:23,24). “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not by works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8,9). However, man has two responsibilities before God in order to receive this gift of salvation from God: he must believe in the Son of God and repent of the sinful deeds in his life. John the Baptist preached the Gospel of the kingdom of God, telling people to repent of their past deeds: “He said, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’” (Matthew 3:2).

Isaiah concludes the story of the Lamb in the Old Testament. He tells us how the Lamb of God must carry out His work. He must be a willing, submissive sacrifice, for He will be taken “like a lamb led to the slaughter, and like a sheep silent before its shearers—so He did not open His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

So far, we have learned from the story of Abel that there must be a lamb for sacrifice; from the story of Abraham that God Himself will provide the sacrificial lamb; and from the law given by God through Moses that the sacrificial lamb must be without blemish. But, as we have seen above, hidden within these ancient stories shines the revelation that the Bible reveals to us about God’s love for us and the Son’s love for the Father, whogave Himself entirely as a burnt offering to God the Father, fulfilling His will on earth: “And love consists not in our having loved God, but in His having loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:9). The atoning death of the Lord Jesus on the cross reconciled God’s mercy and justice and saved us from eternal perdition^[3].

In the very same place where God had asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, the Lord Jesus was to be crucified and suffer unspeakable torment, hanging on the cross for six hours until all the blood from His Body had been poured out onto the ground. No lamb offered by man could ever be sufficient to satisfy God’s holiness or atone for human sin. That is why God Himself must provide the Lamb. He was sacrificed as a lamb of atonement for us, who were enemies of God because of our sins, “for while we were still helpless, Christ, at the appointed time, died for the ungodly. Hardly anyone would die for a righteous person; but perhaps someone might die for a benefactor. But God demonstrates His love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”^[4]. “We love Him because He first loved us”^[5], and we can show our love for God by living our lives according to His Word and following Him by faith for the rest of our lives.

Turning to the New Testament and leaving behind the images and symbols, we find ourselves in the presence of the One who is the perfect embodiment of the things foretold in God’s Law and who fulfills them in His person.^[6] John the Baptist begins the story of the Lamb’s life on earth when, “looking at Jesus,” he responds back through time, across the ages, to the question posed by Isaac to Abraham: “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The command given to Abraham was nothing other than a symbol of the sacrifice of Jesus revealed as the Son of God.

Just as God told Abraham long ago to offer up as a sacrifice his only son, whom he loved, we now hear the Spirit of God proclaiming Jesus as the only Son of God^[7], “the Christ”^[8], the One in whom all promises are “yes” and “amen”^[9] and whom the Father loves beyond measure.^[10]

In the new covenant, the apostle John responds to Abraham and reveals to us the Lamb in His humility, while the apostle Peter responds to Moses and Isaiah and presents the Lamb in His sufferings. Thus, the apostle Peter reminds us that we are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ as a lamb “without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:19).

The Lord Jesus was indeed a blameless sacrificial Lamb. He was born without sin through the creative work of the Holy Spirit^[11] and lived a sinless life. During Holy Week, the Lord Jesus was examined by the religious leaders of Israel to find some sin in His life, but they could not accuse Him of any sin.^[12]

But the story of the Lamb did not end with His death on the cross. The Apostle John continues the story of the Lamb, presenting Him before us in all His splendor. This time, the focus shifts from earth to heaven, the place from which the Lamb descended.

The Apostle John, carried by the Spirit into heaven, sees in God’s right hand a book containing God’s judgments and blessings. It is the most eagerly awaited moment in world history, when God’s justice is about to be fulfilled. But he sees that no one is found worthy to open the book. An oppressive silence falls over heaven. If no one can open the book, how can His judgments run their course? How, then, can the promised blessings be obtained? How can evil be removed, and how can God’s kingdom of righteousness be established?

Searching feverishly among all the endless multitudes of saints and angels, the apostle John sees no one in heaven worthy to open the book. There were many great saints there, such as Enoch, who had walked with God during his life on earth; Abraham, who had spoken with God; Moses, who had stood in God’s presence; and Elijah, who had been taken up by God, but none of them was found worthy to open the book. The apostle John continues to search through the multitudes to see if there is anyone worthy to open God’s books, but he cannot find anyone worthy either in heaven or on earth. Then the apostle John begins to weep, and after a while he hears one of the elders say, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he may open the book.” His attention turns to the throne of God, waiting to see the all-conquering Lion, and “in the midst, between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing. He appeared to have been slain, and he had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” (Revelation 5:6). The Lamb who was slain is now the conquering Lion. He is the only one who has the right to judge the world because He was the one who loved it more than Himself and paid the price for it.

On earth, John had heard the Lamb’s words; he had followed the Lamb in His humility. He had stood at the foot of the cross and had witnessed the Lamb’s sufferings. He had seen when people pierced His hands and feet; he had seen the Lord Jesus, as a Man, exalted when the Lord Jesus came and “stood in their midst” and showed the disciples the marks of the wounds on His hands and feet. But this time, amid the immense multitude of the redeemed and the tens of thousands upon tens of thousands and thousands upon thousands of angels, he sees in the midst of the throne a slain Lamb. He sees the Lamb in His glory, Jesus Christ with the marks of His wounds on His hands and feet—the Only One in all that eternal majesty who will bear any trace of His sufferings on earth.

And as the apostle John gazes in awe, wonder, and adoration, he hears the great multitude of the redeemed bursting into song, a new song of the Lamb, saying, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and praise!” (Revelation 5:12). The angels cannot sing this song on their own, but neither can they remain silent when it is sung with mighty praise, and then all of heaven unites (the living creatures, the saints redeemed by blood, the tens of thousands of angels) in a single voice.

But neither can the earth remain silent when heaven reveals the splendor of the Lamb, and then John hears a mighty outburst of praise. This time, all created beings in heaven and on earth unite in a mighty hymn of praise to God and to the Lamb, saying, “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise, honor, glory, and dominion forever and ever!” The four living creatures add their “Amen” to this outpouring of praise, and the twenty-four elders, their hearts filled with praise, worshiped before the One who lives forever and ever.

But as the scene in the Book of Revelation unfolds, other exalted truths about the Lamb pass before our eyes. The image now shifts back to earth, and we are allowed to see the Lamb in His power, executing judgment. Just as He redeemed His saints through His blood, so now He redeems the earth. But He will do so through the fire of His wrath. It is the Lamb who opens the seals, and judgment takes place (Revelation 6:1). In the face of the Lamb’s wrath, the nations cry out in fear (Revelation 6:16), and against the Lamb, the nations—led by the beast—wage war only to be defeated, and to show that the Lamb whom they despised andnailed to a cross and whom they crowned with a crown of thorns has been exalted by God as Lord of lords and King of kings (Revelation 17:14).

Once again, the scene shifts from heaven to earth, and we are granted a glimpse of new, majestic images of the Lamb. On earth, the fallen religious system that for so long bore the Lamb’s name while denying His true character has finally been judged, and heaven rejoices in its destruction.

The destruction of the false, official church, however, makes way for the true church to be presented in glory before the Lamb and paves the way for His wedding. In this magnificent scene, we behold the Bride of the Lamb (Revelation 21:9), the wedding of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7), and the supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9). The bride represents the church for which the Lamb gave Himself—the one He nourished and cherished with His love throughout their journey through the wilderness. No matter how weak, persecuted, scattered, and broken the church may seem to be, she has never ceased to be the object of His love and affection. Through flood and fire and persecution, the Lamb has preserved His bride, always keeping in mind the great wedding day.

The Apostle Paul says, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a pure virgin to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2). The love that endured with the church on her journey through the wilderness—the love that sanctified and purified her—was sustained with the Lamb’s wedding in mind. Loving His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end, so that He might present the church to Himself “without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and blameless.”

There remains one more scene to be fulfilled, and the revelation received by the apostle John continues the story of these new glories of the Lamb. So far, we have seen the wedding of the Lamb in heaven, but the Lamb is not content with just that. He will present her before the world. The apostle John is taken to a great and high mountain to see the bride of the Lamb, but what he actually sees is the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down from heaven from God, which reveals the glory of the Lamb displayed in the assembly of the saints; for above and beyond the glories of the city, the apostle John sees the glories of the Lamb. He describes the city’s high and majestic walls, speaks of the gates of pearl, the streets of gold, and the foundations adorned with every kind of precious stone, but in the midst of the glories and above the glories of this heavenly city is the Lamb Himself. He who came down to earth, who accompanied us on our journey, who spoke with us, who dwelt among us full of grace and truth, who shared in our poverty, who bore our weaknesses, who wept with us in our sufferings, who loved us and gave Himself for us—He is the One who is in the midst of the city and who is its light.

How could the precious things in the holy city reveal their beauty without light? But its Light is the Lamb. The splendors of the city may captivate our minds, the absence of evil will satisfy our consciences, but the presence of the Lamb will satisfy our hearts and make every saint feel at home amid these sublime glories. We will see the splendors of the city; we will see the river and the tree of life; but above all, we will see the Lamb.

May the power of the Lamb transform our hearts even now on earth, and may we truly know the Lamb of God in His glory. Amen!

^[1] “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law.” (Romans 4:28).

^[2] “Was not our father Abraham considered righteous by his works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?” (James 2:21).

^[3] “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them...” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

^[4] Romans 5:6–8.

^[5] 1 John 4:19.

^[6] “For the law, which has a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make those who draw near perfect.” (Hebrews 10:1).

^[7] “No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the Father’s bosom, He has made Him known.” (John 1:18).

^[8] “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” (Matthew 16:16); “…We have found the Messiah,” which, when translated, means “Christ.” (John 1:18).

^[9] “Indeed, whatever the promises of God may be, all of them are ‘Yes’ in Him; therefore, the ‘Amen’ that we say through Him is for the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20). 

^[10] “For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He does...” (John 5:20).

^[11] “The angel answered her:‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the Holy One to be born of you will be called the Son of God’” (Luke 1:35).

^[12] “Which of you can prove that I have sinned?” (John 8:46). “Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, ‘I find no fault in this man.’” (Luke 23:4).