Month: April 2018

The Blood, The Death And The Cross Of Christ

By Jacob Redekop

The pivotal points around which all Scripture revolves are the sufferings of Christ and the glories that will follow. There is nothing else that so lifts the heart above the trials and circumstances that we face on our pathway of faith. May the following thoughts about His blood, His death and His cross warm our hearts and cause them to burn for Him.

The Blood Of Christ
“You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold … but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” —1 Peter 1:18-19 NKJV

The apostle Peter emphasized the great cost of our redemption. He compared the blood of Christ with things that the world esteems most valuable, such as silver and gold, and called them “corruptible.” Psalm 49 confirms that “those who trust in their wealth and boast in the multitude of their riches, none of them can by any means redeem his brother” (vv.6-7). The redemption of our souls is far too costly. Only God could provide the ransom, and He has done so by giving His only Son, His well beloved One.

These comparisons help us understand and appreciate the infinite value of what Christ has accomplished by shedding His blood on the cross. In Hebrews we read, “Without shedding of blood there is no remission” (9:22). There is nothing else that could pay the debt we owed except the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Adapting what Ellis Crum wrote in his chorus, “We owed a debt we could not pay; He paid the debt He did not owe.”

We may wonder what moved the Lord forward, going steadfastly to Jerusalem while knowing all that was before Him there? Jesus gave the answer: “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God” (10:9). It was His delight to do the Father’s will and to finish the work. By that “one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (v.14). He endured the cross because of His love to the Father and to all who put their trust in Him. “Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Eph. 5:2).

God has exalted this lowly Man of Nazareth and made Him both Lord and Christ. Now He is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and all who have been redeemed by His precious blood are accepted in the Beloved One according to God’s eternal purpose (see Eph. 1:3-6).

The Death Of Christ
“He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross”. —Philippians 2:8

We are living in a scene where death reigns as the king of terrors. The newspapers regularly list the obituaries, and no matter where you travel you will always find cemeteries. None can escape. Disobedience has brought on us the sentence of death and judgment, and that sentence remains because unbelief wilfully refuses God’s remedy. “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9: 27).

What is the remedy? It is the grace of God that has brought salvation and has appeared to all men (see Ti. 2:11). The law given by Moses required that something be brought to God in order to be accepted, but we are helpless, without strength, and have nothing good to bring to a holy God. God’s remedy is found in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death.”

These words require our careful attention. “By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19). Death came upon all of us by the disobedience of one man – Adam. But the Lord from heaven, the sinless Man, stooped down in obedience to do God’s will, even though it required His going into death – the death of the cross. There, He bore in His own body the penalty of sin, which we deserved. Christ’s obedience brought Him down to where sin and disobedience had taken us.

This is grace! It is the sovereign grace that came by Jesus Christ – the One who ever dwelled in the bosom of the Father. He came to earth to die, that through His death we might enter into the joys of heaven. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).

The Cross Of Christ
“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I unto the world.” —Galatians 6:14

In the beginning of Galatians, the apostle Paul established that the gospel he preached was not after man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from this present evil age. It is by this gospel that we have been called and separated, setting us apart from the principles and practices of this world.

Death by crucifixion is an excruciatingly painful and cruel method of capital punishment. It was used by the Romans, not for a citizen but only for those considered outcasts or unwanted criminals. The rulers of this world crucified the Lord of Glory, nailing Him to the cross. Pilate inscribed on the cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” while Herod and his men of war treated Him with utmost contempt and cruelty. It is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Gal. 3:13). To this treatment our Lord Jesus willingly submitted – the One who is the Creator and Redeemer.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748) captured the sentiments of Calvary when he wrote these words:

Nothing can be compared to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. It has revealed the depths of His love and exposed the true character of this world in its hatred of Christ and His followers. Paul identified with Him as crucified with Christ. The world found nothing attractive in Christ, nor in Paul, and Paul found no attraction in this world. What about us?

The Nature Of Christ’s Sacrifice: Reconciliation

By David Anderson

What is reconciliation? The Oxford Dictionary definition is “the restoration of friendly relations” – the act of making peace again after estrangement or disagreements; or to make someone accept a disagreeable thing or situation. In industrial, national or political disputes, reconciliation usually involves both sides accepting a degree of compromise to pacify the situation and restore working relationships on the basis of some jointly ratified agreement or peace treaty.

The idea of reconciliation in Scripture goes much further than this, and it certainly does not involve any compromise by God. It means that God righteously accepts back to Himself those who have wronged Him. God, in His great love for the world, has never been indifferent about man’s fallen condition. From the very moment Adam and Eve sinned, God has been working out His plan of salvation. Their sin took mankind far away from God. Therefore, they needed to be reconciled, not God! To remove the mighty gulf between Himself and lost people, God made His Son a sin offering on the cross. God’s grace provides for people to be reconciled to Himself on the righteous basis of Christ’s propitiatory/expiatory* sacrifice. Paul wrote: “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him” (Col. 1:21-22 ESV). God is unchanging in His holiness and therefore He will only accept people who repent – change their hearts/attitudes about their sin – and believe in the Savior.

Everyone who believes is immediately reconciled. Spiritually they have been brought from being far away from Him into a close relationship with Him. They are holy, without blame and irreproachable – without even a single fault remaining! They stand in a righteous relationship with the holy God. They are at peace with Him, when formerly they “were enemies” (Rom. 5:10).

Reconciliation Is All About What God Has Done (2 Corinthians 5:18-6:2).
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” —2 Corinthians 5:18

Paul’s motivation to serve God arose out of his knowledge of the terror of the Lord (5:11) and his love for Christ (v.14). The Lord Jesus showed the grace of God in His life and service, as He was sent “in order that the world might be saved through Him” (Jn. 3:17). “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing [reckoning, or counting] their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:19 NKJV). But those to whom the grace of God was manifested crucified His Sent One. It was then that God’s reconciling mercy triumphed, because in Christ’s sacrifice God “made [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (v.21). Christ was our Substitute. He bore the judgment of God in place of us. The distance that our sins brought in has been completely and permanently removed, and we are accepted in the Beloved! Although God’s stance against sin is unchanging, yet in His grace He has come to us “in Christ.” Even more wonderful, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (v.17).

God has committed to Christ’s disciples the task of spreading this message, “the word of reconciliation” (v.19). Paul calls believers “ambassadors” and “workers together with Him” (v.20, 6:1) – a great privilege and a solemn responsibility – in an alien world that is hostile to Christ and to God.

Reconciliation Is Rooted In The Love Of God (Romans 5:1-11).
“Our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” —Romans 5:11 ESV

Romans 1:16 to 5:11 is like a court in session, with the last 11 verses being the outcome of the case. With respect to reconciliation, the predominant thought in Romans 5 is that believers have received every blessing from God “through,” or “by,” the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 1 begins, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith.” “Therefore” is used at various points throughout the book of Romans to state a conclusion. In Romans 5:1-11, the past, present and future results of the gospel for Christian believers are reviewed.

The past is outlined in verses 6 to 10. Consider three points presented there:

• We were “weak” and “ungodly” (v.6) without any strength to help ourselves, or any desire either to live for God or to ask for His help.
• We were “sinners” (v.8) without any relationship with a holy God.
• We were “enemies” of God (v.10) in active rebellion against Him and His declared will.

It is in this context that we discover for the first time in Romans the real secret of reconciliation. The gospel proclaims that God is light and God is love. Amazingly, He offers His own love to us in our lost condition, holding it out, having manifested it in the death of His only Son. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (v.8 NKJV).

But as to the present, verse 10 also states we have been reconciled to God, That is, we have been brought back from the distance of enmity and death. This is illustrated in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, when he returned from the far country to his father’s house. Reconciliation places us before God with no distance between Him and us. It is a present position of grace, His unmerited favor, in which we possess the wonderful spiritual blessings listed in Romans 5:1-11. Among these blessings are things which everyone in the world would like to possess:

• “Peace with God” (v.1) – no outstanding issues remain!
• “Access by faith” (v.2) – the continuous ability to avail ourselves of God’s favor. There are no barriers now!
• The gift of His Holy Spirit (v.5) – through whom we know God’s love. It is not just a taste, but it is a deluge flooding our hearts so we can appreciate all He has done, all that He is doing, and all that He will do for us!
• The priestly intercession of Christ at God’s right hand in heaven – we are being saved by His endless life (v.10)!
• Best of all, being reconciled we can worship God in a living and true way – we joy, or boast, in God (v.11)!

Reconciliation also has a future meaning concerning the end times, when God will display His pleasure in and through Christ. The gospel is not just a great escape, although verse 9 verifies that “we shall be saved from [God’s] wrath through Him.” It, the gospel, is about a bright future: “the hope of the glory of God” (v.2). These truths are additional causes of rejoicing.

Reconciliation Is Far-reaching In Its Effects (Colossians 1:18-23).
“Through [Christ, God reconciles] to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.” —Colossians 1:20

Colossians 1:21 describes the depths of sinful man’s condition and position before God as being “alienated and enemies in … mind by wicked works” (NKJV). Note well that the world is at enmity with God in their minds as well as by their wicked works. Romans 1 states that this is a direct consequence of their willful decisions not to acknowledge Him as Creator. Today, their philosophies and scientific hypotheses continue to exclude Him from their minds, as they persist in defiantly practicing ungodliness and immorality. It is no wonder that God has given them over to vile lusts, vulgar passions and debased minds.

By contrast, believers have been reconciled, brought from the depths of depravity to be “holy, and blameless, and above reproach in [God’s] sight” (v.22). These changes were effected for us by Christ’s sacrifice – “in the body of [Christ’s] flesh through death” (v.22) and “through the blood of His cross” (v.20). The Lord Jesus in His grace identified Himself with us by becoming Man so that He could lay down His life and take it up again in resurrection. Of His own will He offered His body as a sacrifice for sin. At the cross, God acted to condemn sin, and Christ triumphed over every enemy. Through His Son’s death on the cross, where the extreme violence of men was seen, God is now able to reconcile any who believe. This reconciliation is from their repugnant, sinful condition and position; it is through Jesus’ resurrection, and it places them “in Christ.” What they were is completely done away. Some of these far reaching effects of the reconciliation of believers are described in Colossians 2:11-14.

But God, through Christ, will do more in the future – in the world to come and throughout the eternal state. He has already started anew with the One who is the beginning of His new creation (1:18). Christ’s sacrifice, the value of His precious blood, provides a righteous foundation for God “to reconcile all things to Himself … whether things on earth or things in heaven” (v.20). However, there is no reconciliation of “things under the earth.” In Philippians 2:10, “those under the earth” are all of the unbelievers and fallen spiritual beings who follow Satan. They will be forced to confess and bow the knee to Jesus the Lord by God the Father’s command.

Colossians 1:20 means that whatever sin has spoiled, and everywhere sin has entered, will be purged. When God decrees, all who are evil will be consigned to the place of eternal judgment to suffer God’s wrath. Then, when all things in heaven and earth have been reconciled to Him, God’s pleasure and glory will fill the new heavens and the new earth through Christ, His pre-eminent One. The far-reaching effects of reconciliation will bring believers into new creation blessings, where God is all in all (1 Cor. 15:28)!

ENDNOTE
* Propitiation represents in Scripture that aspect of the death of Christ by which the holy and righteous character of God has been vindicated, and in virtue of which He is enabled to be propitious, or merciful, to the whole world. Expiation is more the satisfaction which is made. One takes the wrath, is devoted, made the curse, and is substituted for the offender so he goes free. (Concise Bible Dictionary, adapted.)

The Nature of Christ’s Sacrifice

By Alfred Bouter

The sacrifices described in the Old Testament provide us with many types, lessons and applications. Besides their historical context and meaning for those days, they pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah and His sacrifice. The Lord Jesus summarized this in His words to Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16 NKJV). Christ’s coming into this world and His finished work on the cross – including His resurrection, exaltation and present session at God’s right hand – provide the foundation of our salvation.

The New Testament elaborates on these important matters with instructions on how to be saved and then live as believers, serving Him and waiting for His return. Paul, for example, wrote to the Christians at Thessalonica: “You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Th. 1:9-10). This testament contains the doctrines concerning Christ’s coming and teaches the meaning of His work, as the following passages clearly show:

• “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory” (1 Tim. 3:16).
• “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

Scripture is a complete unit. Each part is related to all the other parts, mutually casting light on one another. We cannot isolate any passage from its context, nor should we put one portion above others, for all Scripture – Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 – is interdependent and needed for our understanding of God’s thoughts. This is also true when we consider the nature of Christ’s sacrifice. That doctrine is found especially in the New Testament Epistles, yet we should not separate those passages from the rest of Scripture. Furthermore, the passages we have already quoted show how God’s written Word closely associates the person of Jesus Christ with His work and its results. In the following pages we do not speak of His work as Creator, but as Redeemer – even though both topics lead us to worship Him, now and throughout eternity (Rev. 4:10-5:14).

This brings us to some of the terms that are at times used to summarize the meaning of Christ’s redeeming work: atonement, redemption, forgiveness and justification.

Atonement
When we use terms that are not found in the Bible we are in danger of introducing wrong concepts, but even using biblical terms does not guarantee us to be correct. The term atonement indicates an important aspect of Christ’s redeeming work, namely that He became our Substitute to endure the wrath of God we deserved. Remember, His blood cleansed us from our sins. The Old Testament often uses the terms “atone,” “atonement” or “ransom” to translate the Hebrew kaphar, which essentially means “to cover.” In a physical sense, Noah used a tar-like substance called “pitch” to cover the gopher wood of the ark inside and outside (Gen. 6:14). Later, the blood of the Passover sacrifice covered the first-born son and saved him from God’s wrath (Ex. 12:1-13). Sometimes, a cover was provided by silver (Ex. 30:12-16) or gold (Num. 31:50). However, these means could only cover sin; they were never able to erase it or take it away.

Christ’s perfect sacrifice settled the matter of our sinful condition once and for all (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 10:10-12). God forgave our sins, but He could not forgive “sin,” that is, our sin nature. The Lord Jesus became our Substitute by taking our place under God’s judgment. No one else could do so, but He was able and willing to shed His blood and give His life (Lev. 17:11). He did so at the proper time, in the right manner and as the supreme sacrifice, having glorified God in all the details of His life.

Redemption
This term refers to the sacrifice that was needed to pay the penalty and provide for the blessed results, setting the sinner free and keeping him from harm and danger. The Lord Jesus is “God blessed forever” (Rom. 9:5), and He became Man – the Word became flesh (Jn. 1:14) – to become our Redeemer. All humans entirely failed, but the Lord Jesus shed His blood on the cross, satisfied God’s holy and just claims, and laid the necessary foundation for all to be saved (2 Cor. 5:15). This salvation is available to all, but it must be accepted by faith (Jn. 3:16). Doing so, we enter the realm of redemption, where we are outside the claims of the enemy even though the world in which we live is filled with darkness and sin, under the enemy’s sway.

The moment we believe we are identified with our great Redeemer, who rescued us from this world’s control but then sent us into this world to represent Him where He was crucified. We now wait for Him, as Redeemer, to take us physically away from here at the rapture (1 Cor. 1:30; 1 Th. 4:16-17). These two passages show that all God’s resources are in Christ, who:

• Has become to us wisdom from God,
• Made us right with God (righteousness),
• Set us apart for God (sanctification), and
• Will come again to complete the work of redemption, even as to our bodies.

Our redemption was settled on the cross and in Christ’s resurrection, for He paid the full price that the holy and righteous God demanded. Yet, as far as we are concerned, our redemption will only be completed when Jesus takes us to Himself in heaven. That is why we wait for Him as Savior – or Redeemer – who with amazing power will conform our bodies to His glorious body, a true metamorphosis (Phil. 3:21). In the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor. 15:52) He will take us to Himself, that where He is, we may also be (Jn. 14:3). Amazing, but true!

When Israel was in bondage in Egypt under Pharaoh’s control, God’s people were not able to serve Him on His terms. Then God sent Moses as their redeemer. The Israelites were delivered, enabling them to serve God in the wilderness and later in the Promised Land. Even though we are living in this world, we no longer belong to it because for us this world has become desolate, or barren. Here we can serve God as Israel did in the wilderness, but we also may already enter “the Promised Land” – “the heavenlies” ¹ – to be occupied with our heavenly treasures.

What was true for Israel in stages that followed one after another is true for us simultaneously. For all are true at the same time:

• As to our bodies, we are in this world;
• As to faith, this world is a wilderness; and
• In our spirits, in tune with the Holy Spirit, we are in the heavenlies in Christ.

Soon the Lord Jesus will come and usher us into that heavenly land, but in the meantime we may take possession of all our heavenly blessings (Eph. 1:3). Praise God! Truly the theme of redemption is very rich.

Forgiveness
As guilty sinners, we not only needed redemption but also forgiveness. Thus, we enjoy an unhindered relationship with our Lord, with God and with other believers. In this connection, the judgment seat of God and of Christ will manifest all the details of our individual lives (Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10) so we may appreciate the greatness of God’s grace,² in forgiving us and in enjoying true communion continuously. This communion is not only for special occasions, such as the meeting to remember Him (1 Cor. 11:20-31), but always. That is why Paul was looking forward to appearing at the judgment seat, for he desired to be fully “in tune” with God and with His people already here and now.

We should not fear God’s condemnation, because Christ was condemned on the cross in our stead (2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13). Nor should we think that we must still undergo a process of further purification, for we have been purified already (Col. 1:20-22). Just as the visual symbol of the cross displays a vertical and a horizontal connection, so forgiveness is in view of our relationship with God – which comes first – and then with our fellow human beings and believers. Consider Colossians 3:13: “Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

Throughout eternity we will enjoy what forgiveness has brought to us.

Justification
As a Man, our Lord Jesus, in His life and death, glorified God in the place where He had been dishonored by all of humanity. The Lord Jesus accomplished a work so great that God became, as it were, a Debtor towards the whole human race. That is why it is such a serious matter to reject Christ’s coming into this world and His work on the cross.

At the final judgment session, the great white throne, all unbelievers will stand before the Man to whom God has given authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man (Jn. 5:27). The Man Christ Jesus, who is God and has given Himself to save us (1 Tim. 2:5-6), will be the Judge! Before Him, “the earth and the heaven” will flee away, and all who refused to believe and be saved will be judged and condemned to eternal damnation (Rev. 20:11-15). In contrast to this, all who accept His work of redemption and believe are declared right³ with God already now. That is what justification means, and it opens the floodgates of heaven. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32).

I encourage the readers to use a concordance to find and look up the passages that refer to the above themes. Also, study portions of Scripture about the blood of the Lamb, the love of God, God’s grace revealed and His rights maintained, and many other related topics. Such endeavors will bring great blessing to your life as you come to know the true nature of Christ’s sacrifice.

ENDNOTES
1. See Ephesians 1:3,20, 2:6, 3:10, 6:12.
2. The Greek New Testament uses two different words. The one is linked with grace and emphasizes that forgiveness is undeserved, the other that God has “let go” all charges against us.
3. Romans deals with the matter of God’s righteousness and how He declares the repentant sinner to be “just.” This epistle contains various words that are related to the same basic Greek root word. Counted together, we find 77 such references in Romans.

By Curt Darling

“Behold The Lamb Of God
who takes away the sin of the world!” —John 1:29 NKJV

John the Baptist announced this God-given revelation, but the thought of the Lord Jesus Christ being presented as a lamb “was foreordained before the foundation of the world” (1 Pet. 1:18-20). Revelation 13:8 says that He, as the Lamb, was viewed as “slain from the foundation of the world.” These precious truths display the foreknowledge of God, who laid out history from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22.

The Lamb Presented By Abel
Man was not yet created when the plan of the Lamb sacrifice’s was made, but we see God foreknew that Adam and Eve would sin. Therefore, a sacrifice would be needed – that of the Lamb of God. He is the One pictured by the offering presented to the LORD by Abel, the second son of Adam and Eve. Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts.” It was “excellent” because the sacrifice was a lamb (Gen. 4:2,4). The verse in Hebrews concludes by saying, “… And through it he being dead still speaks.” This is because his offering spoke of the Lord Jesus and “the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel” (12:24). By contrast, Cain, Abel’s older brother, offered what was of his will and work. God had no respect for that offering (Gen. 4:4). This, the “way of Cain” (Jude 11), is a total disregard for God’s true way: the Lamb of God and His shed blood.

The Lamb For The Passover
In Exodus 12:3-11 we read of the Passover lamb and how it was to be offered. It was sufficient for a household, without blemish and a male of the first year. Killed at twilight, some of its blood was to be put on the lintel and the two doorposts of the house, providing safety to the firstborn of Israel. Throughout these instructions we never read of the bones of the lamb being broken – nor were those of the Lord Jesus, as Psalm 34:20 testifies (see Ps. 22:17, Jn. 19:33). Paul, writing to believers during our day of grace, wrote: “Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7).

The Lamb As Prophesied By Isaiah
Isaiah wrote about the Lord Jesus, foretelling His last hours before He was crucified: “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (53:7). This prophecy was the means of salvation for a man from Ethiopia (Acts 8:27-39).

Later in Isaiah 53 we see that the Lord had done nothing wrong, nor was there even “deceit in His mouth” (v.9). He was made “an offering for sin,” and would “justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities [sins]” (vv.10-11). These points are found in the New Testament as well. Peter said that Christ was sinless: “a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:19). Paul wrote: “[God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Only by being without sin could He bear “our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24). If He were not sinless, He could not have done anything for us.

The Lamb In Revelation
Jesus as Lamb is mentioned 22 times in Revelation. The first reference is Revelation 5:6, where we find the Lamb in the position of power, rather than meek and suffering for our sins. The preceding verse says He is “the Lion of the tribe of Judah the Root of David.” He “prevailed to open the scroll” detailing the judgments to come upon the earth. Why? Because He purchased this world with His own blood – apart from the fact that He is the Creator (Heb. 1:2; Col 1:16). That is why He is pictured in Revelation 5:6 as the Lamb. Then the apostle John recorded in verses 11-12 that he, in the Spirit, “looked, and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!’”

In Revelation 6 we observe the Lamb opening the seals and the judgments beginning, continuing to chapter 19. In Revelation 7 we are told about the salvation of an uncountable multitude from many nations. These saved ones, in verse 10, cry out “with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” By contrast, those who suffer the judgment from God will beg the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them “from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb” (6:15). The Lord Jesus spoke about this prophetically in Luke 23:30, as He was led to the cross.

In Revelation 14:1 the Lamb is seen “standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” Later, in chapters 19 and 20, we see the same person as King of Kings and Lord of Lords reigning for 1,000 years, which closes out the period called “time.”

Revelation 21 describes “the holy Jerusalem” (v.10) descending from heaven. This city is called the Lamb’s wife. Here we have “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb” as the temple (v.22) and the wall of the city being built on “twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the apostles of the Lamb” (v.14). There will be “no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in [the city], for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light” (v.23). Then, in Revelation 22 we find the Lamb having part of the throne of God (vv.1,3).

Although there are many other passages that could be considered, may we simply look at Revelation 21:27, which tells us that the only people to enjoy eternity with the Lord are “those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” – believers. These are the people who are saved by His death on the cross. All others, whose names are “not found written in the Book of Life [will be] cast into the lake of fire” (20:15). May we “behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”