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Why is Jesus called the "Lamb of God?

Jennifer Rogers

New Member
The term “Lamb of God” has become quite familiar to Christians every time they read the Bible. The image of a lamb is often associated with both Christmas and Easter. So why call Jesus the Lamb of God? Let's find out through this article

Catholics are no stranger to sheep. Together with the church, we profess Jesus Christ to be the Lamb of God, but in reality, many people do not know what a real lamb is.
However, in Christianity, sheep are not mentioned specifically in the Christmas story, they are alluded to by the presence of the shepherd and also the truth of the shepherd, and also by the event, Jesus was born in an of barn sheep. So the word "lamb" is not used in connection with the birth of Jesus, we know there were many flocks of sheep in the area around them around Saint Bethlehem.

The Bible makes the connection between Jesus and the lamb in several passages. Isaiah 53:7 compares the Messiah to a slain sheep. John the Baptist called Jesus “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). Paul calls Christ "the Passover Lamb" in 1 Corinthians 5:7. Peter refers to the blood of Christ as the blood of the Lamb in 1 Peter 1:18-19. Finally, the book of Revelation calls Christ “the Lamb” 30 times. Jesus and lion canvas
The emotional connotations of the word “lamb” are quite positive. Words like gentle, friendly, and innocent come to mind. Compare that to the image of the snake used as a symbol of evil. Children love lambs while most people are afraid of snakes. The two animals have very different levels of affection for you.
Normally, Jews have the custom of slaughtering sheep on the altar to worship, give thanks to God, ask for favors and make atonement. This custom dates back to the time of Abel, the second son of Adam. “Abel was a shepherd (Gen 4:2), so to worship and to show gratitude to God, “Abel offered the fat of the sheep with their fat” (Gen 4:4).
At the time of the Jewish temple crossing the red sea, Moses commanded each Jewish house to sacrifice a lamb and smear the blood on the doorframe (Exodus 12:2-7). That night, all the houses in Egypt that had no sheep's blood in their doorways lost their firstborn son (Exodus 12:29-30). Only the Jews, thanks to the sheep's blood on the doorframe, did not have such a problem. Since then, the slaughter of sheep has added meaning: sheep die for people.
Later, in the temple, the Jewish priests sacrificed two lambs daily for a burnt offering: one in the morning, and one at night, to present to God as an atonement for the people (Ex 29:38-46). It is true that whoever sinned, he himself was punished, but when he broke God, only the punishment of death was worthy. But the good God does not want a man to die. “I do not want the wicked man to die, but want him to repent, God allows man to take sheep for his life. Thus, sheep are sacrificed to die for people who should have died for their sins.
Normally, calling Jesus a sheep would be an insult. But to redeem mankind, according to God's plan of redemption, Jesus had to be killed to atone for man's sins, similar to the lambs sacrificed in the temple to die for sinners. John foresaw the future fate of Jesus like that, so he introduced to everyone: "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world". Jesus became the sacrificial lamb: "Christ was sacrificed as our Passover lamb" (1 Cor 5:7). The Book of Revelation also uses the word "Lamb" 27 times to refer to Jesus, and John also asserts: that Christ died for our sins.
Paul writes: "If the blood of goats and oxen can sanctify people and make them clean, how much more potent is the blood of Christ" (Heb 9:13-14). So effective that He only had to die once to take away the sins of all mankind: "We are sanctified through Jesus Christ, who offered his body as a sacrifice, once for all" (Heb 10:10). ). "His blood was sprinkled, and it cried out to heaven stronger than the blood of Abel" (Hebrews 12:24). "By the blood, he shed on the cross, God has brought peace to all that is on earth and in all things in heaven" (Col 1:20). The characteristics of the sheep are innocence, meekness, patience, and purity. These are the precious qualities of Jesus Christ, the lamb without blemish.
 
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