Jesus, the Lamb of God
Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance Presbyterian Charge
Sunday May 10, 2020
Message: Jesus, the Lamb of God
Reverend Glynis Faith
Exodus 12:1-14 (NIV)
12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb[a] for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.
12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.
John 1:19-31 (NIV)
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders[a] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”[b]
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with[c] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” John the Baptist calls out.
Look, look to Jesus, the one whose sandals we are unworthy to tie; and yet, through His sacrifice we are given freedom from the chains of sin.
What a wonderful gift we have been given – God’s Holy Word, where we can indeed “look to Jesus and behold the Lamb of God.”
As we journey through the Old Testament to find Jesus, we pause in the book of Exodus. Exodus is this amazing book that reveals God reaching out to save those lost and living in bondage. In Exodus God hears the cries of His children and unravels His plan of redemption.
Moses is born and saved from the murderous plans of Pharaoh, who wants all the male babies put to death. You may recall from the New Testament another baby boy who was saved when a treacherous Caesar wanted all the male babies put to death.
Moses is on Mount Sinai 40 days and nights receiving God’s commandments, and Jesus faces temptation in the desert 40 days and nights, and interestingly enough, Jesus stands firm on the commandments of God to overcome temptation.
Moses receives and delivers the Laws, and Jesus comes as a fulfillment of the Laws.
Moses is the mediator between the people and God, but Moses was human and imperfect. Jesus, however, is the sinless and perfect mediator – the Son of God.
Many refer to Jesus as the ‘second Moses.’ A good read through the book of Exodus reveals how Moses foreshadows the coming Messiah. Perhaps you might enjoy a good read through the book of Exodus during this time of social isolation???
The book of Exodus, however, does not simply foreshadow Jesus, it reveals Him. In Exodus we see Jesus as the Passover Lamb. The innocent blood shed to cover and shield us – blood shed to save us. Jesus is also the ‘manna,’ or bread of life. Manna that mysteriously comes each day with just enough to provide for the needs of the people. Jesus is the Living Water, revealed through the rock which, when struck by Moses, produced running water to nourish the thirsty people of God. Jesus is the perfectly built Tabernacle, revealing how we should honour and worship God.
Let us begin with the Tabernacle. Great detail was given on how the Tabernacle was to be built, including what tools were to be used in its construction.
Now, if you hired a contractor, they would certainly expect you to give them the details of what you wanted built, including the types of materials you wanted used. I am guessing, however, they might take offence when you start telling them they must use all manual tools, like screwdrivers and handsaws, instead of power tools, like drills and mitre saws.
But God did specify every single detail, and this tells us that God’s will needs to be central in our worship. We can build the fanciest building, invite kings and nobles to attend, have the fanciest sound systems and the latest tech, but if we have not spent the time seeking what God’s will is in our worship, we will not succeed in the long run.
Jesus is the Tabernacle of God, revealing God to us. Jesus shows us how to seek the will of our Creator and how to live in the Father’s will. God is revealed through Jesus and we come to God through Jesus.
In Exodus Jesus is literally their daily bread. As wanderers in the desert the Israelites were not able to farm the land to provide for themselves, so God provided them daily rations of manna. The word manna means “what is it?,” as it was not something known previously to the children of God. It was not cheesecake or potato chips, but it appeared everyday with enough to feed the entire nation. All they had to do to eat each day was listen to God’s instruction and go outside early each morning and pick up the day’s meals before the warm sun of the day spoiled it.
Like the manna, the people were given an easy to access source of water. This may sound like no big deal to us – we turn on the tap or pop open a plastic bottle for water, and honestly, we often prefer fancy beverages to water. But for the Israelites access to water was the difference between life and death, and there was no fridge, drive-thru or kitchen faucet available in the desert.
Jesus is the Living Water – nourishment for those who thirst – life for those who will receive.
But, before the Tabernacle is built, before the people call out for water, before they cry out in fear of starvation, Jesus is the Passover Lamb whose blood is shed to save them from the final plague brought down upon Egypt.
The people are called to celebrate the Passover every year – to retell the story of how God brought them out of captivity – to make it a week long celebration so that people would understand the importance of this story. The Passover story in Exodus is the story of God’s great love and redemption for His children, a story of God’s amazing grace.
The Passover becomes a meal that tells a story – the blood shed – the bitterness of slavery – the need to be prepared. Jesus is the Passover Lamb, offering protection to all who will obey the will of God and freedom to all who will follow.
John the Baptist points us to Jesus as the Lamb of God, and before His death upon the Cross, Jesus took this symbolic meal and revealed His Passion to allow His blood to be shed to save us from our sins.
Friends, Jesus is everything you need. He is the Word that nourishes us, the Living Water that refreshes us, the mediator who reveals God to us and through Whom we come into God’s Presence. Jesus is the perfect representation of God’s will and it is Jesus who teaches us how to serve and worship God. And if that in itself were not enough, Jesus is the Lamb of God, the Son of God who offered up His own life blood that we might be saved from the bondage of sin.
All praise be to Jesus, the precious Lamb of God. AMEN
Please pray with me: Jesus, we lift up Your Name and we give You our praise. You are everything we need as You offer Yourself to us with no strings attached. Lord Jesus, we deserve death, but You give us life through Your blood. We praise You precious