John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel." 32 Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
The next name of Jesus that we come to in the first chapter of the book of John in the Bible is "Lamb of God". This is the title by which He was labeled by John the Baptist. John was the forerunner of Jesus, sent by God to prepare the way for his coming.
This name, "Lamb of God", had serious prophetic implications in biblical history before the time of Christ. When God delivered the Jewish nation out of slavery in Egypt through Moses centuries before Christ, He set up a sacrificial system whereby the sins of the people could be atoned for. Under this system, an animal such as a lamb without blemish, would be sacrificed as an offering. The lamb's life would be given as a substitute on behalf of those for whom it was offered.
In this way, God was demonstrating the great need to deal with sin. Sin is anything that is contrary to God's pure and loving character. God is so perfect and holy that anything selfish, unloving or unpure is abhorrent and offensive to him. Sin is an unjust crime against God's honor and rule. Atonement is the concept of performing an act that placates God's wrath against sin, makes up for it and satisfies the demands of justice against it.
The sacrificial lamb of could not truly atone for sin. Although the animal is innocent, there is no virtue in the animal itself to truly make up for our sin. For one, the animal does not voluntarily give its life. Secondly, the animal itself has no moral excellence that would allow it to make up for sin. Rather, God set up this sacrificial system as a foreshadowing of the true Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.
The prophet Isaiah foretold of the coming Messiah in the 8th century BC. In his prophecy, he speaks of One to be wounded for our transgressions and iniquites. He wrote that though he is innocent, our sins would be laid upon him. This punishment would bring us peace and by his wounds we would be healed. He would be like a "lamb led to the slaughter" (Isaiah 53).
Now the significance of John the Baptist's proclamation of Jesus as the Lamb of God comes into sharp focus. John is saying that Jesus was the one spoken of. He was the promised would who would truly make atonement of our sins.
The central tenet of Christianity is that Jesus made the perfect atonement for sin when he offered his life as a sacrificial offering for us. The apostle Paul writes, "Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture", "making peace through his blood, shed on the cross" (1 Corinthians 15:3, Colossians 1:20). Jesus voluntarily laid down his life in obedience to the Father and out of love for us. This was so pleasing to the Father that He takes aways our sins for Jesus' sake on behalf of His honor as we continue in our faith in Christ.
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