John invokes Old Testament imagery when he sees Jesus coming from a distance and exclaims, “Behold, the Lamb of God” (John 1:29).
Lambs were used quite extensively in the Jewish culture as sacrifices. To avoid having their firstborn children slain in the last plague inflicted upon Egypt, the God instructed Moses and Aaron to have the congregation of Israel to apply blood on their doorposts. What kind of blood were they to use? It was the blood from an unblemished male lamb (Exodus 12:5). It was called the Passover lamb, because God said in Exodus 12:13 that when He sees the blood, He would pass over them and that no plague would befall them or destroy them. This is a clear foreshadowing of Jesus: a clear picture of the deliverance that Jesus would provide for His people. He would be that unblemished, spotless Lamb that would be led to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7) on our account. His blood would cover all of us who would believe in Him so that God’s wrath would pass over us and our sins removed completely and forever.
Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Establish my footsteps in Your Word ~ Psalm 119:133 