Innocent, fluffy lambs

I can still recall the shock my eldest daughter expressed when we informed her one day, when she was very young, that we were eating lamb. She didn’t know a lot about lambs, except that they were cute, white, fluffy creatures. She questioned loudly how we could be so cruel. To be honest I have wondered the same thing myself sometimes. Most meat that we eat is from mature animals, but lambs are slaughtered for us to eat them at about the age of six months. That does seem a little cruel.

Then there is that strange title given to the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God. John the Baptist is baptising people in the Jordan when he sees Jesus coming towards him. “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” The Jews were used to the idea of sacrificing lambs, and John could well have been referring to the fact that Jesus was coming as a sacrifice for us all. Being so far away from the idea of sacrificing animals, however, I can get stuck on the idea of Jesus as a lamb. A lamb is so innocent. But then again, so was Jesus.

The Old Testament can help us understand this title. A good place to look is in the story of the children of Israel coming out of Egypt. They had moved to Egypt when there was famine in their land. God had taken Joseph to Egypt in order that he might save the people from starvation. Joseph was a hero at the time, but after he had died, and a new Pharoah was ruling in Egypt, the Israelites became a perceived problem. The Pharoah was concerned that they were so many, and perhaps they would side would their enemies if there was a war, so he decided to enslave them all while he could. The Israelites were far from happy about this, and their complaining was heard by God. Moses was raised up to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land.

Moses asked Pharoah to let God’s people go, and that request was not met with much enthusiasm. There followed several demonstrations of God’s power, but that was insufficient for Pharaoh to be willing to let his free workforce leave the country. That’s when the Passover was introduced. This was the last plague, or the last sign that God was going to show to Egypt and the surrounding nations that the God of the Israelites was a very powerful God.

Each family was told to take lamb, on the first of the month. They were to take care of this lamb until the fourteenth day, when they had to slaughter it at twilight. Imagine that! Taking a white, fluffy, innocent lamb into your home, and having it there with you for fourteen days. I think in many ways it would be like having a puppy for fourteen days. Imagine having a puppy sleeping with you for that time, and then killing it. Surely that is what it would have been like. I think that the Lord was making a strong point here – sin costs something. We can so easily think that a little lie here and there doesn’t matter. Cheating a bit on your taxes. Speeding on the highway – I mean everyone does it. And then we say some unkind words, we don’t keep a promise, we do some things that we are later ashamed of. Sometimes saying sorry is not going to be enough to repair the damage we have done. Sin costs something.

That night the Israelites were to put some of the blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. They had to roast the meat, and not leave any until the morning. They were to eat the meat dressed ready to move. And that night God was going to pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals in the homes where there was no blood on the doorposts.

God was not going to enter each house and decide if the people living there were good or not. He was not asking if they had been honest and kind, or corrupt and unkind. He was simply looking to see if there was blood on the doorposts. And if the blood was there, the inhabitants of that house was safe.

Such a powerful picture. The blood of an innocent lamb, placed on the doorposts in obedience to what God had said, saved the family that lived there.

And I do consider that this is what is being referenced when John the Baptist refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God. Jesus did not deserve to die. The Jewish leaders were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they couldn’t find any. He threatened their way of life, their religious system, and because they were unwilling to change, he had to go. The problem was with them, and not with Jesus. But he did not fight back. Like a lamb, he allowed himself to be slaughtered.

The morning after the Passover meal was eaten the Children of Israel left Egypt. They were free. Oh yes, there were a few things they had to work through before they entered the promised land, but they were leaving Egypt. And thanks to Jesus being the Lamb of God, and allowing himself to be crucified on the cross, we too can apply the blood to the doorposts of our homes. We can walk free from slavery. It’s our choice.