Lamb of God Shembull

## Lamb of God Throughout the Scriptures, we are called sheep. It’s kind of a derogatory term because we often do not do what we are supposed to do. But we have a Good Shepherd in the Bible, and His name is Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, we see a lot of stories about lambs. One, in particular, is of the lamb being a sacrifice. It was an offering people would give to have their sins forgiven. They would lay their hands on a lamb and place their sin upon it, offer it to God, and pray, “This is the payment for my sins.” The good news is that we no longer live in Old Testament times. Through this plan, we will see that we are the sheep, but we have a Good Shepherd. Jesus Christ is not only our Shepherd but the Lamb of God. He was slain for our sins. You and I now are able to put our sins on the cross because He paid for them with His life. He is the sacrificial Lamb. In the book of John, it says that John referred to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He could have said many different things. He could have said, “Here is the Messiah!” or “Here is the Prophet!” But he didn’t. If we are going to truly be followers of Jesus Christ, and if we want to understand Christianity, we have to believe that He is the Lamb of God. Why are lambs so important in the Scriptures and in the Old Testament? Well, if you were to go to Israel today, you would look out the windows of your big tour bus and see shepherds leading their lambs and flocks across the mountainsides and hills. This was the way that they made money, particularly in the agrarian society of the Old Testament. They had herds and would take the lambs to the temple to offer them as a sacrifice. When the sacrifice was offered, it was basically saying, “This is my livelihood and my identity. I am here to offer my best lamb as a sacrifice to cover up my sin. ” This is the way the Israelites would have their sins forgiven. They knew that lamb would probably not be their last offering. They knew they would eventually return because the reality was that they were going to sin again. Today, I want you to be grateful for Jesus Christ being the Lamb of God. You no longer have to sacrifice an animal, because His life paid for your past, present, and future sins.