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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

LAMB OF GOD

General term used twice by John the Baptist (Jn 1:29, 36), adding on the first instance “who takes away the world’s sin!” He does not explain what the term means. Christians use the term freely, but what do they mean by it? Why would anyone be called “God’s Lamb”?

Some maintain that John saw Jesus fulfilling all that the Passover means and that this is a way of referring to the Passover lamb. It is true that the fourth Gospel places the death of Jesus at the time the Passover sacrifices were killed. But “Passover lamb” is a modern expression; not one example of its use is known to occur in antiquity. When people wanted to refer to the animal killed for this sacrifice, they simply called it “the Passover” (Ex 12:21, cf. 1 Cor 5:7, KJB). The Passover victim was not necessarily a lamb; it might be, and often was, a kid. There is no reason for seeing the Passover in this expression.

Some scholars think the image comes from Isaiah 53. They see the lamb led to the slaughter (v 7) as a way of referring to the Messiah.

Other scholars think there is an allusion to the triumphant lamb of the apocalypses. The writers of apocalyptic literature used vivid imagery to reveal their meaning to initiates and to conceal it from outsiders. They sometimes used the lamb as a symbol of a conqueror (cf. the use of “the Lamb” for “the Mighty One” in Revelation). These scholars think that John was pointing to Jesus as the Messiah, King of Israel. Many find this view attractive. The royalty it ascribes to Jesus is certainly congenial to John. But against it is the weighty consideration that John was speaking about a Lamb who takes away sin, while the apocalyptic lamb is normally a conqueror. The roles are different. Further, it is not easy to see how non-Jewish readers of the Gospel at the time it was written would have been able to discern the point of apocalyptic imagery.

There are other suggestions. The “gentle lamb” (Jer 11:19), the daily sacrifice in the temple, the scapegoat, and the guilt offering have all been put forward with some confidence. But no one has produced evidence that any of these was ever called “God’s lamb.”

In the OT passages referring to a lamb, nearly all of them speak of sacrifice (85 out of the total of 96). Combined with a reference to the taking away of sin, it is difficult to see how a reference to sacrificial atonement is to be rejected. Characteristically the lamb in Scripture puts away sin by being sacrificed. “God’s Lamb” means that this provision is made by God himself. A reference to sacrifice seems undeniable, but a connection with any one sacrifice is hard to make. All that the OT sacrifices foreshadowed, Christ perfectly fulfilled. God’s Lamb puts sin away finally.