Jesus: The Lamb

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  The more I study Scripture, the more I fall in love with it. Actually, more accurately, I fall in love with its Author. The seamless way that all Scripture ties in to each other, from Old Testament to New is beyond human comprehension. The beauty of the Gospel, the character and person of Jesus is found in EVERY passage. 
    Let's look at one example. John the Baptist identifies and announces Jesus uniquely in John 1:29:
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
This poetic title, "The Lamb of God," 
was actually prophetic declaration. 
    John was not simply calling Jesus gentle or innocent, although He was. John was identifying Jesus as The Lamb. Not just any lamb. Not merely a symbol of meekness, although He was. "The Lamb," refers to the One to whom Passover pointed and prescribed to be celebrated way back in Leviticus 23.
    When John says those words, he is pointing both forward and backward. Forward to the cross and backward to Exodus. Back to blood on doorposts and judgment passing over. Backward to deliverance through sacrifice.
When John called Jesus The Lamb of God, he was telling Israel:
Passover has a name and His name is Jesus.
  To better understand this description of Jesus, we must go back to the Old Testament, all the way back to Exodus. You see, before there is deliverance, there is slavery. Before there is redemption, there is bondage
     Exodus begins with the descendants of Abraham in Egypt. God promised Abraham a promised land, a vast nation, and a glorious blessing. However,  Exodus opens with Abraham’s descendants in bitter bondage, oppressed under Pharaoh, crushed under hard labor, and unable to free themselves.
    This is not just Israel’s story.
It's ours. Before Christ, every one of us was spiritually in slavery, slaves to sin. Scripture is very clear about that. Sin was not just something we did, it was the master we served.
Romans 6:23 tells us exactly the end result of that slavery:
“For the wages of sin is death…”
That is the end of sin’s road:
Death. Not just physical death. Even worse, sin leads to spiritual death. That is eternal separation from God-- a horrible, but just, end result.
     Praise God that is not the end of the verse! 
“…but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
That is the Gospel in one sentence! 
Death was the destination, but God made a way to eternal life.
That is the  Passover Lamb-- Jesus!!
    We have traveled all over Scripture in this little devotion. I hope I haven't confused you, but that you caught a  tiny glimpse of how intricately tied in every verse of Scripture is to all the others, and how beautifully all of our Bible shows us more about our Saviour.
   Stay in the Word of God!

Soli Deo Gloria!
Heather Sparks ❤️ 

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