Have you heard of the expression, “The Lamb of God”? It is a very important phrase, for it refers to Jesus Christ.
The LDS.org website explains:
“Jesus Christ was foreordained to carry out the Atonement, becoming ‘the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,’ (Revelation 13:8; see also 1 Peter 1:19-21” (“Foreordination,” LDS.org).
When you think of the expression “Lamb of God,” what comes to your mind?
I know that for me, I think of baby sheep in the spring. Soft tender animals that know no ill; animals that are symbolic of the freshness of spring; creatures that would not harm another creature.
All of this is also how I think of the Christ. His feelings are tender. For example, He cried before raising Lazarus from the dead – even knowing His power to bring Lazarus back. This is tenderness in its finest hour! Yes, just as a baby sheep is tender, so too is Christ. I am sure He weeps with us when we weep.
Baby sheep are symbolic of the freshness of spring, of a new beginning. Christ is symbolic of new beginnings. He represents new life through faith on His name and through baptism, as He was baptized. Everything He did was to bring us new birth, a new life, a joy that comes – similar to the feeling one gets on a new spring morning.
Baby sheep would not harm another. Neither would the Christ. He came to bring life; not take it. And so it is most instructive to me to read in the Bible how Christ was designated to become the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (again, see Revelation 13:8 and 1 Peter 1:19-21).
Now for just a moment, let us think of the ancient Israelites, Abraham’s people. They used unblemished lambs as a sacrificial symbol of Jesus Christ’s future sacrifice of His life.
The animal sacrifice of their lambs may seem repugnant to us now, but remember – they slaughtered their animals for food. They didn’t have grocery stores around the corner for their meats. Thus, it was a true sacrifice to give up the firstlings of their flock as an offering to God – when normally they needed that for food.
Their ancient sacrifices were performed as instructive ceremonies that one day a Savior would come and be offered up to redeem all of mankind. The Israelites’ sweet little lambs represented the future Lamb of God.
If it were not for sin, Christ would not have needed to be offered up as an atonement for those sins. How it pains me that I brought Him to that sacrificial altar. But how grateful I am that He followed through, partook of the bitterness of that experience, and was brought forth on that resurrection morn in the spring.
Because of the Lamb of God, I can be brought home to my God. How tender, how amazing a thought!
