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The Lamb of God · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: I think people would be surprised if Jesus were to
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  Speaker 1: appear again on this earth, and I think they would
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  Speaker 1: be surprised at the same thing. I do not think
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  Speaker 1: they would be surprised necessarily at his appearance. He looked
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  Speaker 1: like any other Jewish man would look today, or like
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  Speaker 1: any other Jewish man would look in the first century.
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  Speaker 1: His appearance wasn't any different from that of any other Jew.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think that we would be surprised at his
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  Speaker 1: power because we have been well informed that he is
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  Speaker 1: able to still the sea and cleanse the leper and
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  Speaker 1: heal the sick and give sight to the blind and
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  Speaker 1: even raise the dead. I don't think his power would
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  Speaker 1: surprise most people, nor his teachings. I don't think many
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  Speaker 1: people would be surprised at what he taught. For it
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  Speaker 1: has been well documented in the New Testament and it
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  Speaker 1: would simply fit in with what we have heard all
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  Speaker 1: these centuries from his lips. I believe people would be
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  Speaker 1: surprised at his temperament. Because I do not think he
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  Speaker 1: fits the stereotype image of a strong leader. I think
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  Speaker 1: his temperament might in fact disappoint some as it did
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  Speaker 1: in his day. We live in a day of high
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  Speaker 1: rollers and strong-willed individuals. We like visionary entrepreneurs. They're the
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  Speaker 1: people who change the face of our nation and shape
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  Speaker 1: our future. We like strong speakers. We like folks who
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  Speaker 1: carry themselves with a little bit of a swagger. We
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  Speaker 1: like the aggressive types. They're the ones who get, it seems,
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  Speaker 1: on television. They're the ones who attract the attention of
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  Speaker 1: a city when a crusade is held. They're the ones
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  Speaker 1: who are able to sway the masses, people who, well,
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  Speaker 1: they represent a style that attracts the attention of the crowd.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus didn't have that style. As a matter of fact,
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  Speaker 1: I think for those who simply saw him beside the
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  Speaker 1: road in and he wasn't doing his work of miracles
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  Speaker 1: or teaching his remarkable and radical message, I believe they
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  Speaker 1: just passed him by. There was no aura about him.
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  Speaker 1: There is only one place in all the Bible that
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  Speaker 1: Jesus describes his temperament, and it isn't strong and impressive,
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  Speaker 1: full of charisma and power. The only place you will
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  Speaker 1: find his describing himself is over in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 11.
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  Speaker 1: Matthew 11, 28 through 30. Come to me, all who
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  Speaker 1: are weary... and heavy laden and I will give you rest.
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  Speaker 1: Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. Now
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  Speaker 1: watch carefully. This is the only time Jesus tells us
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  Speaker 1: of his personality or I'm calling it of his temperament.
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  Speaker 1: For I am gentle and humble in heart and you
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  Speaker 1: shall find rest for your souls for my yoke is
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  Speaker 1: easy My load is light. He would have never made
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  Speaker 1: it before the cameras. Meek and.
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  Speaker 1: How does he put it? Gentle and humble people don't
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  Speaker 1: attract a crowd. Those who... The public will follow readily
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  Speaker 1: are those who know how to do it. Whatever it is,
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  Speaker 1: they know how. Jesus had plenty of power, of course,
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  Speaker 1: being God. He had all of the strength and then
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  Speaker 1: some of heaven. But he never ever in himself performed anything.
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  Speaker 1: Or attempted to impress. I'll be frank with you. Of
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  Speaker 1: all the things about Christ. I think I admire this
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  Speaker 1: the most. The one who had the ability to. Abuse
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  Speaker 1: his power. Never came anywhere near it. He was known
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  Speaker 1: for his gentleness. And his humility of heart. He didn't
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  Speaker 1: look the part of a leader that is the kind
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  Speaker 1: we think of today. As a matter of fact, when
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  Speaker 1: his closest colleague in the early part of his ministry,
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  Speaker 1: a blood relative named John, the baptizer, spoke of him
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  Speaker 1: over in John chapter 1, John the prophet announced, and
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  Speaker 1: if you'll turn, John 1 verse 29 says, when he
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  Speaker 1: saw the Lord Jesus coming near him and a few
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  Speaker 1: with him, John pointed over toward Jesus and said, Behold,
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  Speaker 1: behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin
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  Speaker 1: of the world, the Lamb of God. Verse 36, Again,
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  Speaker 1: the next day John was standing with two of his
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  Speaker 1: disciples and he looked upon Jesus as he walked and said, Behold, look,
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  Speaker 1: it's the Lamb again. The Lamb of God. I love
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  Speaker 1: the fact that the Bible brings us back to reality
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  Speaker 1: and is not impressed with our times or our style.
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  Speaker 1: I love it that the Bible written in this era
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  Speaker 1: fits all eras that would follow. The reason I say
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  Speaker 1: that is because the lamb is not really an impressive thing.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus is never called the bear of God. Never called
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  Speaker 1: the lion of God. At least not by his followers.
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  Speaker 1: Not even stallion of God. He's called lion. The lamb.
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  Speaker 1: Lamb somehow doesn't have Madison Avenue appeal. I don't think
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  Speaker 1: there's a group of ad writers today struggling over how
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  Speaker 1: to use the thought of a lamb in getting people
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  Speaker 1: attracted to their product. It's not good public appeal. National
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  Speaker 1: heroes won't ever use it. Vote for Jones. He's a
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  Speaker 1: lamb of a man. You'll never, ever hear that. Never.
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  Speaker 1: He's a lamb of a leader. No car will ever
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  Speaker 1: be called a Ford lamb. You see? You laugh because
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  Speaker 1: you see right away it doesn't fit the style of
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  Speaker 1: a fast, sleek, strong kind of engine or vehicle. You'll
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  Speaker 1: have the Cougar and the Roadrunner and the Mustang and
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  Speaker 1: and the pinto, which should cause some to laugh, and
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  Speaker 1: the cobra, and the bronco, but you will never have
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  Speaker 1: the lamb. Never. Mark it down. Sure as a world,
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  Speaker 1: next year they'll come out with a lamb, and I'll
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  Speaker 1: hear from you. Just doesn't seem to fit. I'm glad
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  Speaker 1: it doesn't. This is one of those word pictures that
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  Speaker 1: we're simply forced to accept even though it doesn't appeal
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  Speaker 1: to our human nature. He is meek. He is gentle.
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  Speaker 1: And few of his followers are meek and gentle. And
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  Speaker 1: we say it to our shame. We who tend to
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  Speaker 1: get so caught up in what the public wants to
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  Speaker 1: see in us want to give an image that is
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  Speaker 1: altogether un-Christ-like. Paul perhaps came as close as any when
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  Speaker 1: he simply talked about his weaknesses and struggles and failures
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  Speaker 1: and had no interest in impressing. All of those things
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  Speaker 1: before that were so impressive, and did he have the letters?
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  Speaker 1: He counted it but refuse that he might gain Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Paul's desire was to be a lamb. of a man. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: even in temperament.
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  Speaker 2: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: Now, when I trace lambs through the scriptures, I come
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  Speaker 1: across some some other people. insightful things traffic with me
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  Speaker 1: through the bible let's go way back to genesis and
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  Speaker 1: we'll wind up in revelation and by then we'll be
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  Speaker 1: hungry ready to eat again genesis 22 is a time
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  Speaker 1: of of great emotion the father abraham has obeyed god
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  Speaker 1: and with his son has gone up mount moriah and
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  Speaker 1: they're on their way to the destination the place of
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  Speaker 1: the altar And 22.7 picks up the story. Verse 6 says,
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  Speaker 1: Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid
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  Speaker 1: it on Isaac, his son. He took in his hand
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  Speaker 1: the fire and the knife. So the two of them
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  Speaker 1: walked on together. You and I have groaned and sometimes
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  Speaker 1: wept through this scene as we have imagined a father
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  Speaker 1: and a son, a grown son, old enough to carry
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  Speaker 1: the wood. That tells us he wasn't a little elementary
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  Speaker 1: school boy he was a young adult certainly an older
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  Speaker 1: teenager and isaac spoke to abraham and he said to
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  Speaker 1: his father my father he said here i am my
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  Speaker 1: son said behold the fire and and the wood where's
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  Speaker 1: the lamb isn't that interesting he doesn't say where's the
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  Speaker 1: sacrifice he calls it by of what it what it
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  Speaker 1: was where's where's the lamb Where's the lamb for the
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  Speaker 1: burnt offering? And Abraham said, God will provide the lamb
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  Speaker 1: for the offering, my son. So the two of them
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  Speaker 1: walked on together. In Exodus chapter 29, the lamb appears
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  Speaker 1: again in the form of a sacrificial offering. 29, 38
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  Speaker 1: through 41. God directing his plan for the Jews through
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  Speaker 1: Moses' tells them, this is what you shall offer on
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  Speaker 1: the altar. Exodus 29, 38. This is what you shall
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  Speaker 1: offer on the altar. Two one-year lambs each day continuously.
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  Speaker 1: Imagine that. One lamb you shall offer in the morning.
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  Speaker 1: The other lamb you shall offer at twilight. There shall
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  Speaker 1: be one-tenth of a fine flour mixed with one-fourth of
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  Speaker 1: a hint of beaten oil and one-fourth of a hint
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  Speaker 1: of wine mixed For a libation with one lamb and
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  Speaker 1: the other lamb you shall offer at twilight and shall
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  Speaker 1: offer with it the same grain offering as the morning.
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  Speaker 1: The same libation for a soothing aroma and offering by
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  Speaker 1: fire to the Lord. Lambs offered. Lamb after lamb after lamb.
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  Speaker 1: By the hundreds, by the thousands, by the millions. Lambs, lambs,
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  Speaker 1: always lambs. Offerings to God. It got to where children
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  Speaker 1: raised in Jewish homes just had that as part of
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  Speaker 1: their vocabulary. The sacrificial lamb called the Pascha. It came
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  Speaker 1: to be a part of their vocabulary. It was the
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  Speaker 1: lamb offering, of course. Jewish feasts included lambs. Leviticus 23,
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  Speaker 1: verse 9. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak
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  Speaker 1: to the sons of Israel and say to them, When
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  Speaker 1: you enter the land which I am going to give you,
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  Speaker 1: and when you reap its harvest, then you shall bring
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  Speaker 1: in the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to
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  Speaker 1: the priests. We're in Leviticus 23, 11. He shall wave
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  Speaker 1: the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted
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  Speaker 1: on the day after the Sabbath. The priests shall wave it.
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  Speaker 1: Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, Look
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  Speaker 1: at the feast time now. You shall also offer a
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  Speaker 1: male lamb, one year old, without defect, for a burnt
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  Speaker 1: offering to the Lord. Its grain offering shall then be
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  Speaker 1: one-tenth or two-tenths of an ephah. And he describes all
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  Speaker 1: of that as we just read. But the time of
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  Speaker 1: feasting would include the smell of burnt offering, another burnt
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  Speaker 1: lamb would be offered on an altar. When vows were
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  Speaker 1: taken by those who were to be Nazarites, Numbers chapter 6,
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  Speaker 1: you'll observe that lambs were a part of it. I
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  Speaker 1: really don't intend to go through Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth.
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  Speaker 1: For some of you are checking your calendar, wondering when
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  Speaker 1: we'll get through this kind of... Just want you to
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  Speaker 1: see how it is interwoven in the Old Testament. This
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  Speaker 1: is just picking and choosing some of the more familiar sections.
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  Speaker 1: Numbers 6... The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to
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  Speaker 1: the sons of Israel and say to them, When a
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  Speaker 1: man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of
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  Speaker 1: a Nazarite, to dedicate himself to the Lord, he shall
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  Speaker 1: abstain from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar,
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  Speaker 1: whether made from wine or strong drink. Neither shall he
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  Speaker 1: drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh or dried grapes.
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  Speaker 1: All the days of his separation he shall not eat
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  Speaker 1: anything that is produced with a great vine, from the
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  Speaker 1: seeds even to the skin. You think God wasn't particular?
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  Speaker 1: When's the last time you peeled a grape? All the
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  Speaker 1: days of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass
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  Speaker 1: over his head. He shall be holy until the days
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  Speaker 1: are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: He shall let the locks of his hair on his
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  Speaker 1: head grow long. Right now you're thinking of Samson. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: he was a Nazarite. But the strength was not in
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  Speaker 1: his hair. The strength was in God's power which he
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  Speaker 1: placed on Samson and it was in the symbol of
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  Speaker 1: his hair. But he had his hair grow long because
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  Speaker 1: he was a Nazarite. All the days of his separation
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  Speaker 1: to the Lord he shall not go near a dead person.
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  Speaker 1: He shall not make himself unclean for his father or
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  Speaker 1: for his mother, for his brother or his sister when
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  Speaker 1: they die because his separation to God is on his head.
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  Speaker 1: All the days of his separation he is holy to
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  Speaker 1: the Lord. But if a man dies very suddenly beside
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  Speaker 1: him and he defiles his dedicated head of hair, then
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  Speaker 1: he shall shave his head on the day when he
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  Speaker 1: becomes clean. He shall shave it on the seventh day.
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  Speaker 1: Then on the eighth day he shall bring two turtle
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  Speaker 1: doves or two young pigeons to the priest to the
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  Speaker 1: doorway of the tent of meeting. And the priest shall
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  Speaker 1: offer one for a sin offering, the other for a
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  Speaker 1: burnt offering, And make atonement for him concerning his sin
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  Speaker 1: because of the dead person. And that same day he
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  Speaker 1: shall consecrate his head. And shall dedicate to the Lord
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  Speaker 1: his days as a Nazarite. And shall bring a lamb.
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  Speaker 1: A male lamb. A year old. For a guilt offering.
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  Speaker 1: But the former days shall be void because his separation
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  Speaker 1: was defiled. Verse 14. He shall present his offering to
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  Speaker 1: the Lord. One male lamb a year. one male lamb
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  Speaker 1: a year old without defect for a burnt offering, and
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  Speaker 1: one ewe lamb a year old without defect for a
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  Speaker 1: sin offering, and one ram without defect for a peace offering.
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  Speaker 1: But of all the scenes that, and I'm leaving out some,
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  Speaker 1: there's a great scene in 1 Chronicles 29 where where
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  Speaker 1: David is exulting in all of the preparations for the temple,
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  Speaker 1: though he wasn't able to build it, being a man
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  Speaker 1: of war. He thought of it, and he saw it
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  Speaker 1: in his mind's eye, and envisioning it, he extolled God
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  Speaker 1: as the God of heaven and earth, and there were
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  Speaker 1: lambs that were offered. In fact, thousands of lambs at
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  Speaker 1: that time of personal dedication of the temple in David's mind.
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  Speaker 1: But of all the scenes where lambs are most significant,
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  Speaker 1: of course, would be the Passover. If you'll slip back
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  Speaker 1: to Exodus 12, you'll just get that scene once again
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  Speaker 1: familiar in your mind. And then I want to read
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  Speaker 1: a bit about it from a writer. Exodus 12. The
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  Speaker 1: people of Israel have been under bondage for these 430 years,
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  Speaker 1: and God, through Moses, is on the verge of delivering
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  Speaker 1: them from Egypt. And just before deliverance, God says, this
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  Speaker 1: is how we're going to do it. Not only will
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  Speaker 1: it get us out of Egypt, this will be a
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  Speaker 1: memorial that you will never stop doing. It will be
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  Speaker 1: a permanent remembrance every year. Every year. Now the Lord
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  Speaker 1: said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
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  Speaker 1: this month shall be the beginning of the months for you.
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  Speaker 1: It is to be the first month of the year.
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  Speaker 1: God even rearranged the calendar based on the Passover. Speak
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  Speaker 1: to all the congregation of Israel saying on the 10th
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  Speaker 1: of this month, they are each one to take a
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  Speaker 1: lamb for themselves. According to their father's household, a lamb
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  Speaker 1: for each household, but not just any lamb. If a
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  Speaker 1: household is too small for a lamb, then he and
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  Speaker 1: his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one
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  Speaker 1: according to the number. of persons in them, according to
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  Speaker 1: what each man should eat, and you are to divide
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  Speaker 1: the lamb. Your lamb shall be an unblemished male, a
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  Speaker 1: year old. You may take it from the sheep or
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  Speaker 1: from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth
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  Speaker 1: day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of
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  Speaker 1: the congregation of Israel is to eat it at twilight. Moreover,
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  Speaker 1: they shall take some of the blood and put it
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  Speaker 1: on the two doorposts and on the lentil of the
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  Speaker 1: houses in which they eat it. And they shall eat
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  Speaker 1: the flesh that same night, roasted with fire. Notice, roasted
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  Speaker 1: with fire. And they shall eat it with unleavened bread
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  Speaker 1: and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw
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  Speaker 1: or boiled it. are boiled at all with water, but
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  Speaker 1: roasted with fire, both its head and its legs, along
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  Speaker 1: with its entrails. And you shall not leave any of
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  Speaker 1: it over until morning, but whatever is left of it
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  Speaker 1: until morning, you shall burn with fire. Now you shall
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  Speaker 1: eat it in this manner. He even tells them how
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  Speaker 1: to dress for the eating of the lamb at the
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  Speaker 1: first Passover. This is a beautiful moment. Your loins girded,
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  Speaker 1: your sandals on your feet, your staff in your hand,
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  Speaker 1: You shall eat it in haste. Sounds like the way
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  Speaker 1: a lot of us eat our lunches, doesn't it? You
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  Speaker 1: eat it on the run, as it were. Why? Because
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  Speaker 1: they're leaving Egypt. And on the way out of Egypt,
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  Speaker 1: you eat this lamb. It is a reminder that you're
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  Speaker 1: delivered from this bondage. It's a beautiful scene. You'll eat
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  Speaker 1: it exactly as I've described it, and you'll eat it
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  Speaker 1: in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. For I will
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  Speaker 1: go through the land of Egypt on that night and
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  Speaker 1: strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt,
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  Speaker 1: both man and beast, and against all the gods of
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  Speaker 1: Egypt I will execute judgments. I am the Lord. And
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  Speaker 1: the blood shall be a sign for you on the
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  Speaker 1: houses where you live. And when I see the blood,
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  Speaker 1: this is where the name comes from, I will pass
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  Speaker 1: over you. No plague will befall you. To destroy you
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  Speaker 1: when I strike. The land of Egypt. Lambs. Not a calf.
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  Speaker 1: Not a yearling. Not a turtle dove. It's got to
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  Speaker 1: be a lamb. That's God's plan. You think those Jewish
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  Speaker 1: fishermen didn't understand it. When John looked across the way
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  Speaker 1: and said. Behold the Pascal of God. The lamb. He's
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  Speaker 1: the lamb.
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  Speaker 2: The lamb.
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  Speaker 1: Woven into their entire fabric while growing up in a
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  Speaker 1: Jewish home was the Passover, was the use of the lamb,
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  Speaker 1: the talk about the lamb, the references to the lamb.
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  Speaker 1: It was in them, thoroughly in them, based on this
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  Speaker 1: passage we've looked at in Exodus. One man writes, of
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  Speaker 1: all the pictures of the lamb used of Jesus, this
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  Speaker 1: is the one most definitely and directly applied to him.
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  Speaker 1: The Passover feast stood at the very heart of Jewish
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  Speaker 1: life and religion. Every adult male Jew who lived within
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  Speaker 1: 20 miles of Jerusalem was bound by law to attend Passover.
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  Speaker 1: And it was the ambition of every devout Jew who
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  Speaker 1: lived outside Palestine. to attend at least one Passover feast
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  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem, even if he had to save for half
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  Speaker 1: a lifetime to do so. The Passover lamb stood for
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  Speaker 1: two things. First, the Passover lamb was the symbol of deliverance.
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  Speaker 1: And second, the Passover lamb was the means of deliverance.
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  Speaker 1: It is said distinctly and in so many words that
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  Speaker 1: it was on the preparation for the Passover, about 12
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  Speaker 1: o'clock midday, that Jesus was crucified, John 19, 14. And
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  Speaker 1: that is precisely when the Passover lamb was to be killed.
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  Speaker 1: The Passover lamb was not killed by the individual worshiper.
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  Speaker 1: It was killed in the temple. It was killed by
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  Speaker 1: the priests. Its throat was slit. Its blood was collected
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: in a silver bowl and thrown upon the altar. Then
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: the body of the lamb was given back to the
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: worshiper that it might be cooked and eaten at the feast.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: This was all done at midday and in the early
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: afternoon preceding the feast. This is to say that Jesus
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: was being crucified at exactly the time when the Passover
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: lambs were being killed. Beyond question, the symbolism is that
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: he is God's Passover lamb sacrificed for the deliverance of
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: God's people. Over in the New Testament, we find in
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: Mark chapter 14, a reference to preparing the Passover. Mark 14, 12.
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: And on the first day of unleavened bread, when the
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: Passover lamb was being sacrificed... His disciples said to him,
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: where do you want us to go and prepare for
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: you to eat the Passover? And he sent two of
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: his disciples and said, go into the city and a
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him.
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: And wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house,
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: the teacher says, where is my guest room in which you?
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: I may eat the Passover. Notice what it's called. It's
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: not called celebrating the Passover. It's called eating the Passover
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: because the entire sacrificial scene was the Passover. It was
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: the eating of the lamb. You ate the Passover. You
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: didn't look at the Passover or read about the Passover.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: You ate the Passover. And I will eat the Passover
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: with my disciple and he himself will show you a
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: large upper room and furnished and ready. Prepare for us theirs.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: Isn't that significant that he would not tell them how
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: to do it? Well, they knew how to do it.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: If your mother all through your life had prepared every
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: year the Passover lamb, do you think you would know
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: the process? Do most young women who marry know how
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: to fix a Thanksgiving turkey? Don't answer out loud. That
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: may not fit everybody. Most young brides, most... Most ladies
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: who marry and fix their first Thanksgiving know pretty well
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: how to do it. They've seen it all through their years.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: Even more so here. Because the Jewish, the godly Jewish home,
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: the devout father and the devout mother would not just
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: fix it, they would explain it. They would talk about it.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: This is why we fix the carousel like this. This
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: is why it's a paste. It represents the mortar that
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: held the bricks that became a part of the walls.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: that were built around the land of Egypt. This became
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: part of those massive structures that our forefathers built and
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: died while building and mixing. This is why we serve
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: the meat like we do. And they would explain it.
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: And these little children in the most impressive years would
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: with mouth open learn from their mom and dad. It
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: was in the whole being of the Jews. We operate
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: a little at a point of ignorance, being Gentile, because
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: we haven't that in our heritage. From Mark 14, look
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: at 1 Corinthians 5, verse 7. Paul is rebuking the
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: Corinthians because of their loose living. Because of their licentious lifestyle.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: In fact they had even boasted about it. And he
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: says to them in 1 Corinthians 5.6. Your boasting is
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: not good. Do you not know that a little leaven.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: Leavens the whole lump of dough. That reminds him of
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: the Paschal scene. When he was a little boy. No doubt.
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: Clean out the old leaven. They did that at Passover.
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: They took out all of the old leaven. The house
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: was totally cleaned. Completely cleaned at Passover. That you may
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: be a new lump. Just as you are in fact unleavened.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: For Christ our Passover. Look at that. Christ our Passover.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: Also has been sacrificed. Ties in with Isaiah's words. Doesn't it?
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: Isaiah chapter 53. Verse 7. I love.
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: It.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: He was oppressed and he was afflicted. Yet he opened.
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: not his mouth, like a lamb led to slaughter. Like
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: a sheep that is silent before his shearers, he did
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: not open his mouth. We've seen old and New Testament
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: references to the lamb. Let me show you the scene
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: of the lamb on the earth. I just read from
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: Isaiah 53. Turn to Acts chapter 8. I want to
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: show you why I would say that has reference to Christ,
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: the servant of God yet to come in the days
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: of Isaiah. Though he wrote it seven, eight centuries before Christ,
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: one might wonder, well, how can you say that he
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: wrote it with reference to messiah the lord jesus christ
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: well let's let the the lord himself through that is
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: the holy spirit interpreted for us acts chapter 8 verse
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: 32 philip the the um uh Evangelist is a follower
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: of Christ now that Jesus is gone and left his message.
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: He has heard of the Savior. He's believed in Christ
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: and he's dedicated himself to making Christ known. And Philip
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: finds himself out in the middle of nowhere and along
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: comes a chariot. And in that chariot sits an official
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: of Ethiopia. And of all things, verse 32, the passage
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: of scripture which he was reading was this. He was
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: led as a sheep to slaughter and as a lamb
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: before its shearers is silent so he does not open
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: his mouth. Now, pause just a minute. Imagine that. In
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: the middle of nowhere, you see a chariot coming. And
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: when it gets nearer and nearer and nearer, this official says,
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: come join me. And you sit up in the chariot
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: with this stranger and he's reading from the Old Testament scrolls,
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: Isaiah 53. And so... He reads of his humiliation and
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: his judgment was taken away. And who shall relate his generation?
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: And his life is removed from the earth. And the eunuch,
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: that is this official from the treasury department, the eunuch
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: said to Philip, tell me, of whom does the prophet
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: say this? Of himself or someone else? That's a great question.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: I'm reading here in Isaiah and I can't imagine... Who
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: he's referring to. Wouldn't that be wonderful to be on
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: a flight? And to have someone say, psst, psst. I'm
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: reading in Isaiah 53. Do you have any idea who
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: the lamb before his shearers is done? Who did that
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: refer to? Oh, I'm glad you asked. I'm glad. And
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: Philip opened his mouth. And beginning from this scripture. You
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: think he didn't know his Bible? Beginning from this scripture.
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: He preached Jesus to him. Of course, that's who it
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: refers to. Isaiah wrote of him seven, eight centuries before
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: he came. And then now that the passage has been
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: preserved into the first century and this eunuch is reading
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: of it, Philip, led by God, tells him about Jesus. Christ,
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: our Passover. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 18. 1 Peter
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: 1 verse 18. Knowing that you were not redeemed with
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: of life inherited from your forefathers. But you were redeemed
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: the blood of The blood of Christ, the lamb. In
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: Revelation chapter 5, John is transported to the scenes yet future.
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: And 5, 6, he sees something that will someday be
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: seen by God's people. I saw between the throne with
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: the four living creatures and the elders a lamb standing,
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: are the seven spirits of God, sent out into all
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: the earth. And he came and took it out of
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: the right hand of him who sat on the throne.
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures,
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: And the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: one having a harp and golden bowls full of incense,
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: which are the sprayers of the saints. And they sang
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: a new song, Worthy art thou to take the book.
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: Verse 12, Worthy is the lamb that was slain to
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: and glory. And blessing. Go all the way to chapter 21.
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: Verse 22. The scene yet future. John says I saw
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: no temple in it. For the Lord God the almighty.
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: And the lamb are its temple. And the city has
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: no need of the sun. Or of the moon to
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: shine upon it. For the glory of God has illumined it.
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: And its lamp. is the lamb. All the way to
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: the end of the book is the picture of the
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: lamb slain for the sins of the world. It cannot
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: be denied that these colorful, varied portraits painted by the
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: pens of these writers of scripture cannot be denied they
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: had more in mind than mere lambs, literal lambs. I
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: can see at least four symbolic meanings. First of all,
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: there's a symbol of sacrifice. We've seen that from the
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: earliest pages of Scripture. Second, there's a symbol of dependence,
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: of reliance on another, as a little lamb would rely
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: on its mother. There's a symbol of innocence in the lamb.
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: There's a symbol, of course, of meekness and gentleness and humility.
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: all of which are extremely commendable and rare. One of
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: the routes that Cynthia and I run in the early
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: morning time together takes us along an area near the
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: Fullerton College where the students in the college are raising
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: various animals. You know you're getting close before you get there.
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: But what is interesting is watching each morning as the
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: sun rises, watching these various animals. And the special attention
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: has been a little flock of sheep. It's our only
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: scene in Fullerton of sheep, and so it's of interest
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: to us. One of these ewe lambs has been carrying,
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: or ewes, has been carrying a sheep, a little tiny lamb,
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: for the longest time. I checked with our resident zoologist,
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: Gary Richmond, and found that it's a 180-day gestation period.
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: To tell you how much I know about animals, I
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: asked him about the length of the gestation period of
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: the ram. He said, well, rams don't carry sheep. Yous
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: carry sheep. So we got that cleared up, and I said,
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: how long is it? He said, it's about six months.
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: Let me check. And he said, sure enough, to the day.
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: 180 days. And not long ago, she delivered this adorable
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: little lamb. And now that it's gotten on its feet,
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: little wobbly legs, you just want to snuggle up to it.
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: You just want to jump the fence and grab it.
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: Of course, there are others in there that might not
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: like that idea, so we've just enjoyed it from a distance.
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: But I cannot remember having seen a creature in the
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: field that was more inviting Than a little lamb. Little. Cuddly. Innocent. Lamb.
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: Christ is never called. The sheep of God. Only the lamb.
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: A sheep is more powerful. A sheep is stronger. Stronger.
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: But in this species, which is already weak and dependent,
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: is an even more fragile little creature. And that's the
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: picture God uses of his son. Now, men and women,
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: let's all be exhorted from the same thought. Those of
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: us so impressed by visible strength and by great charisma
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: and loud voices and strong-willed leaders and impressive, polished, well-groomed,
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: tailored entrepreneurs. Let's be careful. I'm convinced Jesus wouldn't present
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: himself that way. He wouldn't be bumbling and awkward. Don't misunderstand.
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: There would be enormous strength. The strength of God. But
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: it wouldn't be displayed to impress you. Jesus never did
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: a miracle and then looked over his shoulders to see
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: how they liked it. Never. He did many of his
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: best works alone with the victims. We love the applause
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: of the public. We love the slightest admonition or encouragement
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: from our fawning public. Christ never sought that. That little
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: lamb we see in the field each morning is unconcerned
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: with impressing us as it can be. I find four
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: wonderful qualities of a lamb worth emulating, and I hope
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: you will not forget them. First, a life of dependence.
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: No lamb even looks like it can make it on
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: its own. It is at the mercy of the wolves.
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: I am sure if I were a wolf, that's the
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: creature I would want to get first. It can't run,
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: it can't defend itself, and it certainly would be easy prey.
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: Doesn't try to fake as though it can be strong.
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: Stays near its mother and has no visible appearance of
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: ferocity or defense. Remember the words of Proverbs, trust in
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: the Lord with all your heart, And don't lean to
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: your own understanding. Most of us are far too capable
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: when it comes to the affairs of our lives. If
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: we would simply, like a lamb, lean hard on our God.
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: Not only the life of dependence, but I think to
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: be lamb-like would be the presence of approachability. No one
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: was afraid to come near Christ. You never read in
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: this book of his intimidating anyone. There was this presence
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: of approachability. Perhaps it was that that attracted the unlearned
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: men of Galilee first. I noticed that when he was
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: presented by John the Baptizer as the Lamb of God,
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: Peter and John followed. They weren't afraid. There was something
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: about his approachability that attracted him. He never gave off airs,
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: even though within him dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: Remember he said it, come to me all who are
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: weary and heavy laden, come to me and I will
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: give you rest. I'm approachable. As you have become successful
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: in life, have you remained approachable Are you more removed?
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: Are you still vulnerable? Are you still lamb-like? Third is
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: a heart of innocence. A heart of innocence. I found
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: a wonderful verse, again, I taught through Romans. several years
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: ago and had forgotten this marvelous verse let me just
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: read it to you in Romans 16 19 for the
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: report of your obedience has reached all therefore I'm rejoicing
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: over you but I want you to be wise in
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: what is good and innocent in what is evil great
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: isn't it refreshing to meet someone innocent in evil Isn't
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: it a pleasure to marry an innocent bride, an innocent groom?
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: Isn't it a joy at times to come across someone
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: who is naive in the things of this world? I
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: find that terribly refreshing. For people are not street wise,
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: but like a lamb, they still blush. They're still shocked
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: by nakedness on the screen or ugly, vulgar statements made
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: in the public. The heart of innocence. Stay surprised. Don't
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: become curious about what is done in secret places. Keep
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: the filth out of your mind. It'll only hurt you.
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: It won't help your walk with God. Fourth is a
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: spirit of sacrifice. Of all the scenes with lambs, the
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: great preponderance of them is sacrificial. The spirit of sacrifice.
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: Paul says, I am poured out as a drink offering
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: to My life has come to an end. I fought
• 44:35
  Speaker 1: a good fight. I finished the course. I've kept the faith.
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: And I've lived this life. Sacrifice to God. A life
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: of dependence. The presence of approachability. The heart of innocence.
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: And the spirit of sacrifice. Look back over that list.
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: Is that the way you're living? Is that what you're
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: shooting for in this busy age in which we live?
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: I hope so. You plan to present before the Lord
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: a pure virgin, innocent of evil in heart, sweet of spirit, meek, lowly, gentle.
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: Saintly Robert McShane says, Robert Murray McShane once said, it
• 45:36
  Speaker 1: is not great talent God blesses so much as great
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: likeness to Jesus. Isn't that a wonderful statement? It is
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: not great talent God blesses so much as great likeness
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: to Jesus. I think the finest compliment that can ever
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: be said of anyone is that he or she is
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: like Christ. You want to be like Christ, study the Lamb.
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: You will be. It is not great talent that you bless.
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: Our Father, it is great likeness to Jesus. We spend
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: too many hours of our year working on ways to
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: impress the public, make a good impression, cause them to
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: remember some significant deed we have done, how carefully we
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: watch our image, how seldom we reflect on the lamb,
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: the lamb that was slain. Forgive us, lead us, and
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: use us for your greater glory, Lord. In the name
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: of the Lamb, we pray. And all the people said, Amen.
• 47:22
  Speaker 2: The preceding message, The Lamb of God, was copyrighted in 1988, 1992,
• 47:26
  Speaker 2: and 1998. And the sound recording was copyrighted in 1998
• 47:33
  Speaker 2: by Charles R.
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: Swindoll, Inc.
• 47:36
  Speaker 2: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
• 47:41
  Speaker 2: commercial use is strictly prohibited.