The Little Lamb
Remember the late Adrian Rodgers? He was a prominent Baptist preacher on the radio. He once pastored the megachurch, Bellevue, in Memphis, Tennessee. His voice was so fatherly.
He once did a sermon, still online, called “The Triumph of the Lamb” on YouTube. In the latter part of the sermon, he points us to the verse in Revelation which says, “I saw a Lamb looking as if it had been slain,” (5:6). In his sermon he mentions that there are similarities between Jesus and the little Passover lamb.
Rodgers makes the scenario very real when he asks us to imagine what it did to a Jewish family to have a little lamb shut up with the family for four days. Exodus 12 told the Hebrew slaves to put the lamb up with the family from the 10th to the 14th day, when it would be slaughtered. They petted and spoiled the lamb. How it hurt them to have to kill it in 4 days! But during those days, they observed the lamb to make sure it had no flaws—no brain damage, crippled parts, or blemishes of any kind.
The similarity: Jesus was with mankind for a lifetime. Humankind could see that He was absolutely flawless. He had no sin, unlike the rest of us. “He who knew no sin...” (II Corinthians 5:21) He dared to challenge his enemies, “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” (John 8:46)
Rodgers says that the Greek word for “lamb” here is agnos, not agneau, the usual name for lamb. The word is used only one other time in the New Testament when Peter is told to “feed my agnos.” It means small lamb; Exodus says a yearling. It was probably just beyond the suckling stage.
The similarity: Jesus was in that state of innocence, harmless and pure.
THE BLOOD –
After four days, the lamb was slain. Its blood was collected in a container and applied to the door posts and lintels. That blood indicated to the death angel that a believer lived in that home and he was to pass over that dwelling and spare its residents from death.
The similarity: Jesus bloods spares us from the rightful wrath of God toward sin, both now and at the end of time.
If Leviticus is the bloodiest book of the Bible, surely Hebrews must be in second place. It has numerous references to the effectiveness of Christ’s blood for us now. The references are too numerous to list.
THE BONES –
The Jews were told not to break any of the bones of the Passover lamb in Exodus 12:46.
The similarity: None of Jesus’ bones were broken. The Roman soldiers would break the bones of crucified men to hasten their deaths by keeping them from pushing upward with those legs to breathe. But when the soldier saw that Jesus was already dead, he did not break his leg bones. (John 19:31-33)
THE DEATH OF THE LAMB –
Members of the Jewish family had to look on solemnly at the dead sacrifice of their little lamb. Was their sin that bad?
The similarity: Disciples of Jesus had to look on glumly at the death of their dead hero. It was over for them. On the road to Emmaus they sighed, “We had hoped it was he that should have redeemed Israel.” (Luke 24: 21) Jesus himself had cried out, “Tetelestai” or “It is finished; the debt is all paid off.” The disciples had to look on Jesus, much like the guilty Israelites of Numbers 21 had to look at the serpent on the pole and acknowledge their guilt. Today we have to look upon a Jesus who was willing to die as His dying gesture of love for a guilty race of people. (John 15:13) Yes, our sin was THAT bad.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE LAMB –
Here is where the comparison breaks down. The Exodus lamb does not live again, but our Lamb returns to life through the resurrection and becomes the Lion of Judah. C. S. Lewis captures so well the powerful feat accomplished through that death and resurrection when he speaks of the “Deep Magic” in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Here is where the powers of darkness are befuddled to see the marvelous death and resurrection of Jesus become the vehicle God uses to make men and women new creatures.
So much is packed into this verse: (I Corinthians 5:7, NIV) “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.”
It is not enough just to know these facts mentally. We must receive him personally as our Lord and Savior. Have you done this? If you have not, I invite you now to consider, reflect, confess your sin, and receive him as the sacrifice, the sacrificial lamb, who took away your sins. In return, Jesus promises us that “Truly, truly, I say to you whoever believes in me has eternal life.” (John 6:47)