Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its pow’r,
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29)
Jesus, Lamb of God, takes away the sin of the world. His work: remove the guilt and penalty of sin, purge the power of sin, destroy sin for all mankind. Savior and Lamb of God: victim, gentle, innocent, without spot or blemish, pure, meek, holy, undefiled. His death on the cross, the reason for His life: prophesied, prominent in His mind, central message of the Gospels and Epistles. No soul was ever saved, or ever will be saved, but by the Lamb of God. Jesus, Paschal Lamb, provided by God, appointed by God; accepted by God. He takes away the sins from the sinner’s heart, He removes them from God’s book, from God’s sight. On the cross, arms wide open,
He receives sinners, takes them from the dunghill and wears them as jewels in His crown; plucks them as brands from the burning, and preserves them as costly monuments of His mercy. None are so precious in Jesus’ sight as the sinners for whom He died. He opens the golden gates of His royal heart and receives the sinner right into Himself—yea, He admits the humble penitent into personal union and makes him a member of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones (Charles Spurgeon).
The Passover lamb of old—its blood shed and sprinkled, its flesh roasted and eaten. Jesus is the Passover Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice for sinners. Conditions do apply. We must behold him. Let the unrepentant behold Him. Let those who trust in their own works behold Him. Let believers behold Him. He took the burden of our sins and carried them away at the cross. How few behold the Lamb of God.
If you are to behold Him, it is necessary to repent of your wrongdoings and recognize by faith that He is the all-sufficient Sacrifice, the only One qualified to remove the world’s sin. Unless you do, though He has borne all sins ever committed, your sins will not be there but will remain on your back, crushing you, disqualifying you from eternity with Him. The rich man points to his wealth, the young man to his pleasures, the Pharisee to himself. But you, child of God, do you behold Him? Jesus is still receiving sinners, but are sinners receiving Him? The Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God—born to die that you might live with Him in glory if you will believe. From Heaven to His cross to His grave and back to Heaven from whence He came. Let your prayer this day be, “Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its pow’r.”