That the Scriptures present our Lord Jesus Christ
as the Lamb of God is easily demonstrated in the statement made
by John the Immerser on the occasion of Christ's baptism. In John
1:29, it is recorded that John identified his cousin, the Messiah,
saying, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world!" Furthermore, in Revelation 4:6, John saw our
Lord as ...a Lamb as though he had been slain... Consequently,
we will no further argue that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God,
but hasten to look at some of the characteristics of our Savior
Lamb. One, obviously, cannot look at all the characteristics assigned
to him in the Sacred Scriptures, so we will look at only three
stated by the great author of the Hebrews treatise. In Hebrews
7:26, speaking of Jesus as our great High Priest, the Hebrews
author penned these words: For such a High Priest was fitting
for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,
and has become higher than the heavens ....
Of Jesus, the Lamb of God, this author said, he
is holy, harmless, and undefiled. These are the characteristics
to which we give our attention. Firstly, Inspiration declared
the Lamb of God to be holy. The word here translated "holy"
means "sanctified by the supreme law of God and nature; pious,
devout, pure; supremely holy." (Perschbacher 298). Hence,
the Lamb of God has been declared by God to be perfect and pure
in nature, pious and supremely holy. This means that Jesus is
here described as being like the Father in the sense that he is
perfect and sinless in every regard. There is no imperfection,
no matter how slight, in the Lamb of God. Not one fault can be
brought to his account. This is the reason he was chosen to die
on behalf of sinful man. He is the perfect and sinless one who,
alone, takes away the sin of every true believer in the world.
Secondly, the Hebrews writer declared that he
is harmless. According to the same source quoted above,
this word comes from the Greek meaning, "innocent, free from
evil, blameless, artless" (10). The Apostle Peter reinforced
this concept when he wrote, Who committed no sin, nor was deceit
found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in
return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself
to Him who judges righteously... (1 Peter 2:2223 NKJV) When
it came to that which is sinful in its nature, our Lord was as
innocent as a newborn child. He never spoke a deceitful word;
he never did a deceitful deed; nor did he ever do or say anything
that could even be questioned by God or man. He was perfection
walking in human form while on this earth, and now he is perfection
sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high! The probability
is great that it is impossible for mere men to comprehend this
level of perfection. The only reason we can hope for such perfection
is because he demonstrated it both on earth and in heaven.
Thirdly, the Hebrews author said he is undefiled.
This word, according to the source we have twice cited, means,
"unstained, unsoiled, undefiled, chaste, pure, inviolate,
unimpaired" (18). Again, this emphasizes the absolute perfection
and purity of Jesus. We have never known of any human being in
whom there was not even one flaw; but that was/is the case with
our Lord! He is that Lamb who came to do what none of those literal
lambs who were slain under the Law of Moses could do! He came
to take away the sin of the world. He, and he alone, is qualified
to do so because he is absolute perfection. He is perfectly holy,
perfectly harmless, and absolutely undefiled. We should let this
truth sink deeply into our hearts as we think of him and those
that are his! How humbling it is to know that such a One died
in our stead and that he ever lives to be our Mediator. This knowledge
should evoke love in our hearts and service in our lives such
as the world has never seen. 1105 7th St., Moundsville, WV 26041-2109.