1. The Lamb in the Garden: Abel's Offering
Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. The Lord respected Abel and his offering. Abel's sacrifice of a lamb was the first recorded blood sacrifice in Scripture. By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. The lamb Abel sacrificed pointed forward to the Lamb of God who would shed His blood to obtain redemption. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins, and Abel's lamb testified to that truth from the beginning.
2. The Lamb as the Passover Sacrifice
On the night of the tenth plague, the Lord commanded every Israelite household to take a lamb without blemish, a male of the first year. They were to keep it until the fourteenth day, then kill it at twilight. They were to take the blood and strike it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses. When the Lord saw the blood, He would pass over them, and the plague would not destroy them. The Passover lamb was a type of Christ. Paul declares, "Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us." The lamb's blood protected from judgment, just as the blood of Christ protects believers from the wrath of God.
3. The Lamb Without Blemish
The Passover lamb had to be without blemish. The daily sacrifices required animals without defect. Isaiah prophesied of the suffering servant: "He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth." Peter writes that believers were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Christ alone is the sinless, perfect, unblemished Lamb. Every unblemished lamb offered in the Old Testament pointed to His absolute moral perfection.
4. The Lamb in the Daily Morning and Evening Sacrifice
The Lord commanded that one lamb be offered in the morning and another lamb be offered at twilight, every single day, continually before the Lord. This was the continual burnt offering throughout all generations. These daily lambs pointed to the perfect and complete sacrifice of Christ, offered once for all. The repetition of the lambs showed that animal blood could never take away sin. They were shadows pointing to the reality, who is Christ.
5. The Lamb as a Type of Substitution
When Abraham went to offer Isaac, Isaac asked, "Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham answered, "God will provide for Himself the lamb." God provided a ram caught in the thicket, but Abraham's words were prophetic: God would provide the Lamb — His own Son. The entire sacrificial system was built upon substitution. The lamb died in place of the sinner. John the Baptist declared, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" Jesus died as the substitute, the just for the unjust, the Lamb in the place of the guilty.
6. The Lamb in Isaiah's Prophecy of the Suffering Servant
Isaiah prophesied of the Messiah: "He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth." This prophecy was fulfilled in the trial of Jesus Christ, who answered His accusers not a word. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, He willingly submitted to death. The silence of the lamb is the silence of the suffering Servant, who made no defense though He was innocent.
7. The Lamb in the Heavenly Vision of Revelation
John saw a Lamb as though it had been slain, standing in the midst of the throne of God. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, representing perfect power and perfect knowledge. All of heaven worships the Lamb, singing, "Worthy are You to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation." The Lamb is also the Judge and the King. The book of Revelation calls Christ the Lamb twenty-seven times.
8. The Lamb as the Warrior and the Conqueror
Though the Lamb appears as a slain sacrifice, He is also the conquering King. The Lamb will overcome His enemies, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. Those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. The wrath of the Lamb is a terrifying reality. The Lamb who died for sinners will also judge those who reject Him. The symbol of the lamb thus encompasses both sacrifice and sovereignty, both gentleness and judgment.
9. The Lamb as the Light of the New Jerusalem
In the New Jerusalem, John saw no temple, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light. The Lamb is the source of all light, life, and blessing in the eternal state. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants shall serve Him. The Lamb who was slain is forever exalted.
10. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
John heard a great multitude saying, "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." The church, the bride of Christ, is prepared for the Lamb. The marriage supper of the Lamb is the consummation of the union between Christ and His redeemed people. The lamb sacrifice of the Old Testament leads finally to the wedding feast of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem. What began with the Passover lamb ends with the eternal celebration of the victorious Lamb.
Conclusion
From Abel to Abraham, from the Passover to the daily sacrifice, from Isaiah to John the Baptist, the lamb points to one Person: Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. He is the unblemished sacrifice, the substitutionary victim, the silent sufferer, the conqueror, and the eternal light. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.