How is Jesus the Lamb of God?

from the old testament

• The title, “Lamb of God,” is based on the Old Testament pattern of God accepting a spotless substitute to remove guilt and avoid judgment. Two main examples are the daily offerings of one-year-old lambs at the tabernacle (Exodus 29:38–46) and the Passover lamb, which protected the household from God’s judgment of death (Exodus 12:1–13). These rituals showed that God provides cleansing and safety by sacrificing a perfect lamb.
• We see a foreshadowing of Jesus as the sacrificial lamb in the story of Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:1–14). Abraham took his son to Moriah, following God's instructions, with the intention of sacrificing him. When the boy asked where the sacrificial lamb was, Abraham replied, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son" (Genesis 22:8). Abraham was ready to offer his child to God, but God stopped him and provided a ram to be sacrificed instead.
• Through Isaiah, a prophecy was made that there would be a Servant who would be like a sacrificial lamb. Speaking as if the event already happened, he said, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

from the new testament

• John the Baptist announced the arrival of the promised sacrificial lamb when he saw Jesus. He cried, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He was saying that Jesus is the fulfillment to which the Old Testament practices and prophesies had been pointing.
• Referring to Jesus’ death, Paul said, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). His death was the greater fulfillment of the Passover lamb. While that lamb saved the Israelites from a specific act of physical slavery in Egypt, Jesus was the ultimate Passover lamb, through whom men and women are eternally freed from the slavery of sin.
• The writer of Hebrews explained how Jesus surpassed every previous sacrifice. He wrote, “he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12). In other words, Jesus sacrificed Himself. That is, while “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4), “when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12). Sitting down signified that Jesus’ sacrifice was the final sacrifice, meaning there was no longer the need to offer sacrifices after the final Lamb died.
• It was because Jesus was the final sacrifice that Peter could rightly tell believers, “you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18–19). We all inherit sin from Adam (Romans 5:12), which explains why we can never be right with God on our own. However, Jesus, being perfectly innocent, died as a sacrificial lamb to cleanse sinners and reconcile them with God.
• Jesus did not stay dead. Because He was perfect, His death put an end to the need for death (Romans 6:23a). He now lives as the Lamb enthroned. When the day of judgment comes, all of heaven will sing, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). The perfect Lamb’s death brought redemption to the world. Those in Him will be passed over on the final day of God’s wrath (Romans 5:9).

implications for today

Saying Jesus is the Lamb of God means salvation comes through His sacrificial death. On the cross, He bore the guilt of sinners, sacrificing Himself so that, through His perfect blood, others can be saved. Because of what He has done, anyone who turns to Him in faith is forgiven, cleansed, and brought into fellowship with God.

This means that salvation depends on the finished work of Christ, not on anything you can do. That is, He has secured peace with God once and for all, so those who believe are free from condemnation and welcomed as God’s people.

However, if you have not yet trusted in Him, then His death has not been applied to you, and you remain under God’s wrath (John 3:36). Therefore, we encourage you to repent of your sin and believe in the risen Lord Jesus. He died willingly and will, therefore, not hesitate to save anyone who comes to Him. To be saved by His death is to share in the hope of forgiveness now and the promise of eternal life with Him forever.