Theme · christological
Lamb of God
The lamb motif begins with Abraham's answer to Isaac: 'God will provide for himself the lamb.' The Passover lamb's blood marks Israel's doors so the destroyer passes over. Isaiah declares the Servant is led like a lamb to the slaughter. John the Baptist identifies Jesus with these words: 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.' Paul says 'Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us.' Revelation brings the motif to its climax: the Lamb who was slain stands at the center of the throne, receives the worship of all creation, and opens the scroll of history.
Related doctrines
Passages expressing this theme
- 1Cor 5:7 — Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
- 1John 2:2 — And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
- 1John 3:5 — And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
- 1Pet 1:19 — But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
- 1Tim 2:6 — Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
- Acts 8:32 — The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
- Exod 12:3 — Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
- Exod 12:5 — Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
- Exod 12:6 — And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
- Exod 12:13 — And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Eg
- Gen 22:8 — And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
- Isa 53:7 — 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.
- Jer 11:19 — But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off
- John 1:29 — The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
- John 10:15 — As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
- Rev 5:6 — And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spir
- Rev 5:8 — And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
- Rev 5:9 — And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and p
- Rev 5:12 — Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
- Rev 7:10 — And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
- Rev 7:14 — And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
- Rev 12:11 — And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
- Rev 13:8 — And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
- Rev 14:1 — And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
- Rev 14:4 — These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God
The Church Fathers on Lamb of God
There are five animals that are offered on the altar, three being land animals and two winged. It seems worthwhile to me to ask why the Savior is said to be a "lamb" by John and none of the rest. But also, in the case of the land animals, since three types of animal are offered according to each species, why did he…
"The next day, John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!" Assuredly, in a special sense, the Lamb; for the disciples were also called lambs: "Behold, I send you as lambs in the midst of wolves." They were also called light: "Ye are the light of the…
This means that neither angels nor human beings, those in the flesh, nor the saints who had departed from the flesh are able to understand the knowledge of the divine judgments, except the lamb of God, by His presence releasing the obscurity of the things prophesied about him.
And they cried out with a loud voice, saying: Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. With a loud voice, that is, with great devotion and unceasing praise, they profess that the Father and the Son reign on the throne, that is, in the Church, with the Holy Spirit likewise reigning together. For…
It has two horns that are like those of a lamb. These are the two Testaments that belong to the true Lamb but that the beast tried to usurp for himself by feigning to be a lamb. Nevertheless, it is said to speak like a dragon, because by the hypocrisy of a false truth it beguiles those whom it can lead astray. For…
Let us prepare ourselves for the sacrifice of the lamb.… Nor let us be under the impression that this yearling lamb can be eaten anywhere. The precept bids us to partake of it in one house only, lest we think that the lamb may be immolated outside the church. From this, it is evident that the Jews and heretics, and…