Jesus the Lamb of God: What It Means

When John the Baptist first saw Jesus, he pointed and said, 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' It's a title packed with meaning that reaches back through the whole Old Testament. Here's what it means that Jesus is the Lamb of God.

'Behold the Lamb of God'

John's declaration announced Jesus' central mission from the very start: 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' To an ancient Jewish audience, calling someone a lamb meant one thing — a sacrifice. John was saying that Jesus had come to be the sacrifice that would deal with sin, once and for all.

The story of sacrifice

The image reaches back through the whole Bible. In the Passover, a lamb was killed and its blood placed on the doorposts, so that death would 'pass over' God's people. In the temple, lambs were sacrificed for the sins of the people. These sacrifices pointed forward, hinting that a greater, final sacrifice was coming. Jesus is the fulfilment of them all.

The perfect, final sacrifice

The sacrifices of the old covenant had to be repeated endlessly, because they couldn't truly take away sin — they were pictures pointing ahead. Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, offered himself once for all. His sacrifice was perfect and complete, doing what all the others only foreshadowed: actually taking away sin. There would be no need for another.

A substitute in our place

The heart of it is substitution. Just as the Passover lamb died in place of the firstborn, so Jesus, the Lamb of God, died in our place — bearing the judgment our sin deserved so that we could go free. This is the astonishing love at the centre of the gospel: the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world took away yours.

Jesus the Lamb of God is a title that gathers up the whole Bible's story of sacrifice and rescue. From the Passover to the temple, everything pointed to him — the perfect, final Lamb who takes away the sin of the world by offering himself in our place. To behold the Lamb of God is to see the depth of God's love and the completeness of our rescue. The sin he came to take away includes yours, if you'll receive it.