The Doctrine of The Lamb Part I- The Revelation of The Lamb
The Necessity of the Lamb: Adam, Abel
EOLS: God’s power and desire to save is revealed in the sacrificial lamb, a picture of Jesus Christ
It’s all about a lamb…
Gen 3:21
(21) And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
Gen 4:3-8
(3) In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground,
(4) and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,
(5) but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
(6) The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
(7) If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."
(8) Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
Heb 11:4
(4) By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
“In one way or another, right through the Bible, it is Jesus the Lamb who has pre-eminence.” (Baxter).
Most of us who have grown up in church don’t think twice when we hear phrases like “The Lamb of God” or the “sacrificial lamb.” But to others this kind of language can sound cryptic and mysterious. We sing “what can wash away my sin? Nothing but the Blood of Jesus” and other songs like it and they can become so familiar that we lose the greatness, the majesty, the truly profound sense in which the Blood of Christ is truly the life-giving sustenance that saves us, restores us and cleanses us.
But once again-the outside observer looks in and says “blood?” Our modern society has determined that blood is at once repugnant and inviting. Bloody movies abound and make money. Sporting events go bloody and the ratings soar. Yet, “blood” also makes people squeamish and is considered “gross.” Have you ever wondered why?
Blood is simply the by-product of a death. When we read in scripture of sacrifice, the actual form of the sacrifice may be spelled out specifically, but the focus is never, ever on the actual sacrifice or ritual itself-it’s on the heart of the one who is obedient to perform the sacrifice and the faith that has been given him in the one who required it. King David, in his prayer of repentance said:
Psalm 51:16-17
(16) For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
(17) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
One principle of Bible study that I love is the internal attestation of Scripture. It is wonderful when we see outside sources that confirm our faith and that prove the Bible true, but to me the greatest and most convincing testimony it the Scripture’s internal continuity. Dozens of authors wrote sixty six books over some 3500 years in cultures varying from the most primitive to the peak of the Greek culture and the mighty Roman Empire, and one continuous message is presented, one master theme runs throughout-God’s redemptive plan for mankind, the doctrine of the Lamb.
Adam and Eve: the first death was an animal sacrifice
Original sin was a lust after self-sufficient knowledge, a craving to shake off all external authority and work things out for himself. New Bible Commentary, p. 17, J. I. Packer.
Have you ever dreaded to face the music? You wish you could run, you might even try to hide, but you can do neither.
“Adam, where are you? God cried as a now sin-tainted Adam and Eve vainly attempted to hide from Him.
Adam had a plan: The fig leaves-an easy quick fix, a cover-up. They represent man fixing his sin on his own terms, the quick and easy way. Grab some leaves, cover it quickly. We can always get more, there’s plenty of leaves. I’m doing well and this should cover me just fine. “Here, Eve see I told you we could make this thing work out.”
“Duveen, the famous English art connoisseur, took his little daughter to the beach one day, but could not get her to go into the chilly water. After persuasion failed, he borrowed a teakettle, built a fire, and heated a little water until it steamed beautifully. With much flourish, he poured it into the ocean. Greatly impressed, his daughter went in without a murmur.” The foolishness of trying to cover our own sin, is like trying to heat the ocean with a tea kettle! (Bible.org illustrations database)
God cried out to Adam and Eve, while they were hiding and trying to convince themselves everything would be ok, God himself went for them. He wasn’t interested in killing them or making them pay-He wanted to save them from the ugliness and the pain of sin. He wanted to give them a second chance!
God himself “made garments of skin” He made coverings for their bodies, which had become a source of shame and which were already beginning to break down. Can you imagine the look on Adam and Eve’s faces as they witnessed death for the first time? God killed an animal before them in order to cover them. Their former innocence was quickly becoming jaded, and as God killed one of his own creation to make provision for them-they must have been broken-hearted over what had happened. They knew their own sin had caused an innocent life to be taken, in order that they might be covered.
When the skins were formed into garments, they felt the warmth and protection from the elements which had been provided by their Father. The word picture was not lost upon them. They had been far from God, but God himself provided for their reconciliation. Things would be difficult because of sin, but God had shown them that He was willing to save them from sin’s ravages.
God had taught them that sin is death, and life is in the blood. The sacrificial way had been established; the Doctrine of the Lamb set in motion.
Think about that point of decision: they could have turned from God and said no-we don’t believe you have our best interest at heart. You didn’t have to kill that animal. We like our leaves. Leave us alone. They could have turned their back and walked away from God.
Or-they could do things God’s way. After all, he did come looking for them and crying out to them. His love was surely evident in His action toward them.
A few years later: The Story of Cain and Abel.
By now it is obvious that religious sacrifice has become a part of the lives of the first family. God had demonstrated it, and they had adopted it as their way of life. It was the Doctrine of The Lamb being impressed upon the pages of holy history, progressively revealed. We don’t know a lot of the details, but what we do know is very instructive.
Abel brought the firstborn, the first-fruits of his flock. He brought a living breathing creature, the very best that He had. He brought the very peak of his breeding practices, and he brought a living sacrifice of blood. It surely caused him to wince as he slit that small, beautiful and innocent animal’s throat, but he knew what he must do. He knew that it was what God had required, and his faith was in God, not in the ritual.
Cain on the other hand, brought the “fruit of the ground.” He appears to have been a fruit and vegetable farmer. He threw together a nice assortment of fruits, vegetables, nuts, made it look very pretty, and brought it to the Lord. Surely God would be impressed? Cain’s faith was in his own performance, the beauty and value of what He could bring to God. He could write his own ticket. There was no blood, and no brokenness.
And sin, left unchecked, turned into hatred, anger and rage. It led to the first murder, and it put Cain on the run for the remainder of his days.
All because He insisted on doing things His way, rather than God’s way.
Some principles:
The Penalty for sin is death-someone or something has to pay
The sacrifice must be innocent and pure, and done God’s way not mine
The sacrifice itself is only the action that builds and demonstrates faith in the one it is directed toward
Jesus is the sacrificial lamb of God, revealed in the pages of Scripture.
A large point:
You must get lost before you can get saved-you must realize your great need and your hopelessness. Running and hiding is part of the process. But you have to listen, He is crying out-where are you? The Father seeks to save the one who is lost. Have you realized your need for Jesus? Are you still trying to cover yourself?
Romans 5:8
(8) but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
12-15
(12) Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned--
(13) for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.
(14) Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
(15) But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
Rom 6:23
(23) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 10: 9-10
