Christological Titles – Lamb of God
Homily
Jimmy Carter, in his memoir An Hour Before Daylight, recounted the number of tramps that frequented their home in depression era Plains, Georgia. He admired his mother who never turned one away, always providing food and water for the unexpected guests. Equally admirable, in the eyes of the future president, was that most of these men were polite, honest, and educated who sincerely were on a quest to find gainful employment. Confused by the unusual number of visitors she received, Lillian Carter inquired with the matron of the neighboring farm as to the number who frequented her residence. “None,” replied the neighbor.
The next time a vagrant visited, mother asked why he came to her home and not others along the dirt road. The gentleman replied that they place a symbol on the mail posts of households that will not mistreat them. After his visit mother and son went to the post and discovered some unobtrusive scratches and “Mama told us not to change them.” The Carter household would always be one of hospitality.
Christian fellowship has often been associated with being a part of a flock of sheep. The lamb has always been a symbol of innocence, meekness, lowliness, kindness, and gentleness. It is representative of a life that would never cause hurt to another.
It is these distinguished attributes of a lamb that readily avails itself to symbolically representing Christians. In Christian writings the symbol of a lamb has been weaved into the life of Jesus. John the Seer speaks of the benevolence of Jesus as the Lamb of God when he writes, “for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Rev 7:17) The word “lamb” has in it all the mercy, purity, and innocence which belongs to the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
These attributes should not escape us as followers of the Lamb. On the doorposts before our hearts there must be inscribed the symbol that friends and strangers alike are welcomed, none will be turned away. Humbly, we extend ourselves in service administering to the most basic needs, be they physical, emotional, or spiritual. Companionship has become our byword.
Francis Schaeffer was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on January 30, 1912. He was a Presbyterian pastor and an evangelical theologian who opposed theological modernism, as he advocated a historic Protestant understanding of faith and a presuppositional approach to Christian apologetics. In addition to his books and lectures, he may be best known for establishing, along with his wife Edith, the L’Abri community in Switzerland. L’Abri is French for “the shelter.”
The alpine commune created an environment for theosophical discussions regarding religious beliefs. Schaeffer wrote that Jesus directed the lives of all Christians when he spoke these words, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13: 34-35)
The word “love” and the phrase “by this everyone will know” was Schaeffer’s focus when he wrote, “This passage revels the mark that Jesus gives to label a Christian not just in one era or in one locality but in all times and in all places until Jesus returns.” He wrote this thought in his book that was titled The Mark of the Christian. In his book, he extrapolates upon this concept that the distinguishable mark of a Christian is love.
Recounted in the book Sea of Thunder by Evan Thomas is the battle of Leyte Gulf fought in the Philippines on October 25, 1944. The first American ship to engage the Japanese was the destroyer USS Johnston. On a scouting mission it encountered the entire Japanese fleet, and shortly thereafter maasive1 Japanese 14-inch shells began to pummel the ship. Undeterred, the captain, Ernest Evans, zigged and zagged his way towards the enemy to complete a solo torpedo run, hoping to slow the enemy advance until Adm. William “Bull” Halsey could arrive, protecting the proscribed American landing zone on the island.
Whenever there was a brief lull in the bombardment Lt. (j.g.) Ellsworth Welch would collect body parts, flinging them over the side of the deck so they would remain unseen. This, he later recalled, was “to maintain morale,” as the vestiges of battle remined hidden from view. Each arm, each leg, was a symbol of sacrifice, for each man sacrificed for his fellow crewmembers and to the ship to which he was assigned.
The Lamb is a symbol of sacrifice. In Judaism the killing of an unblemished lamb is embodied in all ceremonies for atonement and cleansing. The blood of the lamb is inseparable from the celebration of the Passover. Recounting the Exodus, in order for the Angel of Death to pass over a Jewish home in the land of Egypt, sparing the life of the first-born male, a lamb had to be slaughtered and the blood placed upon the seal of the door. The blood of the lamb is a symbol of deliverance.
On Friday of Holy Week, Jesus was nailed to a cross atop a hill overlooking Jerusalem. At the same noon hour, the priests in the Temple were slitting the throat of each lamb brought to them by a pilgrim as an atonement for sin. The evangelist John made it clear to all his readers that these two events happened simultaneously with this passage, “Now it was the day for the Preparation of the Passover; and it was about noon. Pilate said to the Jews, ‘Here is your King!’” (Jn 19:14)
Why did Jesus have to be crucified is often asked and debated. The discussion can now end for John provided the answer: as the priests were making sin offerings in the Temple square, God was making the conclusive sin offering on the cross. As blood was shed to avenge the Angel of Death of the first-born, blood was now shed for the ultimate deliverance of all God’s children. Jesus was being executed at exactly the same time as the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the Temple. The priests who haughtily enforced the death of the Lamb of God recessed to the Temple to commence the legalistic sacrifice of the paschal lambs.
Beyond question, the symbolism is that Jesus is God’s Passover lamb sacrificed for the deliverance of God’s people. Jesus is the culmination of the sacrificial system, never to be repeated, only to be remembered and revered. This is why Peter could confess that we were ransomed from our sins, “with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.” (I Pet 1:19)
In the liturgy of the United Methodist Church, during the presentation of the body and blood of Jesus in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, the sacrament of reconciliation, these stanzas are spoken in response to the Prayer of Humble Access: “O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant us thy peace.”