Written on 12/20/2022

The Lamb of God

 

Greetings to all brothers and sisters, or believing friends,

We’d like to talk about a subject that we never hear much about, if at all.

This is how Jesus is presented by the apostle Peter in the book called “Acts of the Apostles“, which is contained in our Bibles.

I think that if anyone knows to some extent the scriptures in their bible, they know personally that Jesus came from heaven as a lamb, and above all as the lamb of God. So a man with the character of a lamb who came from God.

This way, many people know intuitively that Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”.

This is a well-known fact throughout the world, especially in Christian circles.

Many choirs and other musical groups sing in their own way “who is this Lamb”, having the art and the manner of interpreting it, according to their own perception.

In short, many people know what they’re talking about when they hear :

“Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”.

It’s indeed very important to know what we’re talking about, because we draw our own conclusion from the way we see this thing.

Now this Jesus, whom everyone knows, was the one who was announced as the “Lamb“, starting with the prophets.

For example, in the book of Isaiah the prophet, chapter 53:

 

5 « But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:

the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth:

he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. »

—

However, in John’s Gospel, we read about a man who is also known to everyone, and who is called “John the Baptist”.

And we see how this John the Baptist, whom Jesus said was “the greatest of all the prophets”, presented Jesus when he saw him coming to him:

 

The next day, John (the baptist) seeth Jesus coming unto him. and saith (talking about Jesus) : «Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world».

So there you have it, clearly stated. This is a direct testimony.

John the Baptist then clearly declared that he recognised Jesus, who was coming unto him, as “the Lamb of God”.

However, John the Baptist said this from himself, since the Scriptures never mention a “lamb of God“.

But, as I said earlier, Jesus said that he was “the greatest of all the prophets”. That explains it, otherwise nobody could have made such a statement!

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The lamb in question was “an image” of what is written in Exodus 12, which refers to the fact that, to be protected, the families of the time had to take one lamb per family, and then eat it whole. In this way, they were protected from a certain “destroyer”.

But you can see that this passage was, at the same time, a foreshadowing of what was going to happen one day with the coming of Jesus.

And it happened, because this “Lamb” really did come in the person of Jesus.

So there was a real continuity between the time of Exodus 12, the time of John the Baptist and the time of Jesus.

Things were in fact intimately linked.

—

From this point in Exodus 12, John the Baptist continues to speak, referring to the man/lamb Jesus was when he saw him coming unto him.

He then began to give details of what was happening at that particular moment.

He says this:

30 « This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. »

So John the Baptist began to declare formally that the One of whom he spoke as the Lamb of God was in fact the One spoken of in the past, since he said: “he was before me“.

—

We could go much further into the details of the coming to earth of these two men, John the Baptist and Jesus; that would be very edifying. But the main point we would like to emphasise today is that Jesus is indeed “the Lamb of God“, with all that this entails in terms of many new understandings for some.

 

It is therefore self-evident, in the light of the Scriptures and the message they contain, that as the Lamb of God, Jesus had to die and then rise again.

Yes, he had to die for the salvation of all mankind, because it is written: “which taketh away the sin of the world“.

His death was therefore linked to “taking away the sin of the world”, so that the destroyer would have no hold on us all.

Yes, it was necessary for this humanity to receive, through faith in Him and thanks to this work of the “Lamb of God”, permanent protection from a certain “destroyer“.

I say this because at the time of Exodus 12, this protection over the people was only “temporary”. (Everyone can read the passage in Exodus 12 on this subject in their bible).

But for “permanent” protection to come about, a “permanent” solution also had to come about.

So instead of an animal – a temporary thing – we now needed the gift of a man of eternal origin, pure and without blemish, to face this famous “destroyer“.

And this man is: “Jesus, the Son of God”.

—

How could this protection become effective in someone?

At the time of Exodus 12 it was by believing, while eating this famous lamb at a meal.

And in the time of Jesus: It was also by believing in another, “Jesus, the Lamb of God”.

So it was a permanent lamb “made man”. And all this in front of a “destroyer”.

(Destroyer/Destruction of consciences through sin).

Yes, for many reasons that are difficult to explain in this document alone, there was a need for a ‘son of God‘ instead of an animal.

And He did indeed come…

And he came to John the Baptist, who said: “Behold (finally) the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.

Deliverance from sin, and the accusation that went with it, therefore came to John the Baptist in the person of Jesus.

So it was not only the salvation of a single nation that was made possible, but the salvation of the whole world; for let us understand that “without sin there can be no accusation whatsoever”. And by the way, who has never been accused by their conscience?

—

So in Jesus’ time, which is also our time, it was necessary to believe in the work of one only man, totally innocent and without sin, but paying voluntarily for what we ourselves would have had to pay; that is, the payment of all our sins before a certain “destroyer“. (Written elsewhere as “Accuser“).

—

These few words give us a glimpse of the importance of Jesus’ coming as a lamb.

Lamb yes, but Lamb-of God; for therein lies all the difference between one Lamb and another.

So this ‘Lamb’ had to die first, having taken upon himself all our condition, and then rise again as the victory of God.

But, as it is also written, this Jesus had to “die in us”, just as a roast lamb was eaten in those days. In fact, they ingested this very special lamb into themselves, but they did not understand its full significance.

In a way, they took what they ate ‘into themselves’. And what they ate permeated their whole being.

They were “eating” an innocent, sinless man who had been given to the whole world in advance.

In short, they ate everything we are humanly, but “in Him”. For in Him, in Jesus Christ, everything is purified.

 

I’m well aware that by talking like this, some people won’t immediately understand what I’m struggling to show as best I can. And what I hope is that no one will stumble over these things that are difficult to grasp, because the explanation will come itself one day, in its own time.

——————–

With regard to what Peter said publicly in the book of Acts on this subject, it is therefore normal and legitimate to ask this simple question:

 “Is the message that was announced by Peter in the book called “Acts of the Apostles” in our Bibles, indeed consistent with the previous message about Jesus?”

Now that we know how Jesus presented himself, as a pure and spotless lamb, and “which taketh away the sin of the world”, we can easily judge the “tone” Peter used to announce the thing in question to those who were listening to him and are still listening to him on this subject, either through certain sermons, or by means of pre-oriented Bible readings.

(Let’s not forget that what Peter wrote at the time can also be found in our Bibles today).

Or put another way: “Do I find, in the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, what is written in Luke or John about “the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world”?

So that’s the question. And I want to make it as clear as possible.

—

But let’s get on with the subject if you like.

“What does Jesus say about Himself on this subject”?

He says this in John 10:

17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.

I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.

This commandment have I received of my Father.

Strong stuff!

Now this notion of things was also prophesied in advance by Isaiah the prophet when he said:

10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief…

when thou shalt make his soul (that is, voluntarily) an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:

by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many ; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53)…

Here, this says it all.

It’s all been said beforehand.

— 

Consequently, in this first letter sent to Theophilus, called the “Gospel of Luke“, it is with a very precise manner that Luke presented, in great detail, the whole message about Jesus.

Then came the second letter, called “Acts of the Apostles”. A letter that all Christians know and read, because the message about the “Lamb of God”, which is a foundation in itself, was taken up by Peter (so after John the Baptist and Jesus).

Peter said this after Jesus’ death and resurrection:

Acts 2 v. 22-23 :

Ye men of Israel, hear these words;

Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:…

So that’s what Pierre has to say about it.

—

And yet there was an antecedent! There was what is written in Matthew 16:

21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

To which Peter replied :

22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, « Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee ».

Then Jesus said to him, “Get thee behind me, Satan : thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men“.

So Jesus was speaking to Satan through Peter…

But in the same passage, Jesus clearly said that what concerned him must had to happen to him, proving by these words that his death to come was not the work of men, as Peter declares in Acts, but a gift of himself coming from the will of God alone.

Aren’t these words of Jesus a continuation of what we have read from Moses and the prophets to John the Baptist, all of whom unanimously spoke of the Lamb giving himself up to death?

Yes, of course.

We learn this way, from Jesus’ words, that before the death of the Lamb of God which was Jesus, Peter did not had in him God’s thoughts, but those of men.

Yet Peter was part of the group of disciples. And even, taking Jesus aside in verse 22 of Matthew 16, he set himself up as a sort of “protector of Jesus“, saying of his death “this shall not be unto thee“…

What can we make of all this ?

—

But let’s look at the rest of Peter’s speech in Acts 2, which is the book written “after the resurrection of Jesus”; in other words, after the Holy Spirit had been given to those who believed in Jesus and in his accomplished work.

Let’s see whether these were God’s words that came out of Peter’s mouth, or whether they were his own words when he said this :

v.36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that « God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ ».

(So Jesus became Christ after his death???…)

—

In short, Pierre was implying the following : “Jesus should not have been killed”… “God took revenge by resurrecting him”… “And now repent of having crucified him”.

What was the result of this speech? It is written :

37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, « Men and brethren, what shall we do » ?

Yes indeed, “what should we do after committing the great sin of killing Jesus“, especially when you don’t know that everything was planned in advance?…

In such a case, yes indeed the “heart can be pricked”. This happens when people are not aware of what was originally intended in inspired writing. Which is still the case today, and which we are trying to bring up to date with this simple document.

—

Faced with this, faced with these distraught men, Peter gives them a solution, his solution. He gives it to them as a “means of reparation”:

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

So, according to Peter, the sum of the sins in question included killing Jesus unjustly.

—

As a result,

– On whom did Peter put the blame for Jesus’ death?

– And who had to repair it, this “fault“?

It’s up to you to respond according to your own conviction, and in the light of what the writings show us, rather than what they explain.

————-

But let’s go on to chapter 3 of the book of Acts.

Peter says:

13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

14 But ye denied « the Holy One and the Just », and desired a murderer to be granted unto you ;

15 And killed « the Prince of life », whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

So, whether it was before Jesus’ death, when Peter rebuked him for going to the cross (to the point that Jesus even replied, “Get thee behind me, Satan“), or after Jesus’ resurrection in chapters 2 or 3 of the book of Acts, Peter’s speech did not change. It was always the same.

It emerges from this that, for Peter, the death of Jesus was a “grave sin” that needed to be repented of; because, according to him, Jesus should not have been put to death, even though this had always been foreseen.

—

Facts being what they are, see and judge for yourselves:

– Is Peter’s message in line with what the prophets had foretold?…

– Is he in line with what John the Baptist announced?

– And finally, is he in line with what Jesus said about Himself as “God’s gift for the salvation of the world”?

It’s a matter that concerns us all !

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To conclude this document, dear readers, we would like to tell you that here in this little study, there is no question of making a kind of “trial of Peter“, because for him his time is over; and in addition, he is no longer here to defend himself.   But it’s more a question of making sure that “if you have been put to any kind of charge by his message”, you are delivered from it once and for all.

 

JeanP and all the brothers and sisters who contributed to this document.