Thought For Today – December 4, 2022
Behold The Lamb Of God!
By: Robert A. Searles
At the very beginning of our
Lord's ministry on earth, John the Baptist pointed to him, and cried
out,
“Behold the lamb of God that taketh
away the sin of the world.” John 1: 29
Now the time had arrived when the
Lamb of God would be brought to the altar of sacrifice and be offered
up for us all. As the blood of the passover lamb had to be sprinkled
on the door post and lintel of the houses of the children of Israel
to insure their safety when the angel of death passed over the land
of Egypt, so now, the blood of the Lamb of God must be spilled and
applied to the hearts of men and women, boys and girls, to insure
their salvation, and to save us from the penalty of sin and the wrath
of God.
There is no escape from the wrath
and judgment of God unless God sees the blood of his perfect lamb,
the Lord Jesus Christ received by the sinner as a free gift of his
grace and applied by faith to our hearts.
As the spotless, innocent lamb of
the passover was brought to the altar, a knife was plunged into its
throat, and the blood poured out and caught in a basin and sprinkled
on the doorpost of the houses of the children of Israel.
So now, the
innocent spotless Lamb of God is being led to the altar to once and
forever offer up the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole
world.
“All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath
laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53.6.
What a terrible night of agony and
depression and sorrow in spirit that our Lord had just gone through
in the garden of Gethsemane. The pressure that he was beginning to
experience because of the sins of all people that were being laid on
him, and the agony of the thought that he would be separated from
his heavenly Father caused him such anguish that he already had begun
to shed his blood even before he was offered up on the altar of the
cross.
“And being in an agony he prayed
more earnestly: and his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood
falling down to the ground.” Luke 22: 44
He even cried out to God that if
it were possible that God would remove this cup of suffering from
him: “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:
nevertheless not my will but thine be done.” Luke 22: 42.
He knew
that he was the appointed Lamb of God, and for this purpose he had
come into the world, so he willingly submitted himself to the will
and purpose of God.
They came after him with staves
and swords lanterns and torches, and led him away to Caiaphas, the
high priest. ”He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened
not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a
sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
Isaiah 53.7.
“When the morning was come, all the chief priests and
elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
and when thay had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to
Pontius Pilate, the governor.” Matthew 27: 1, 2.
“And Jesus
stood before the governor, and the governor asked him saying, art
thou the king of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, thou sayest. And
when he was accused of the chief priests and eldlers, he answered
nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, hearest thou not how many things
they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word:
insomuch that the governor marveled greatly.” Matthew 27: 11-14.
What did Isaiah prophesy? “As a lamb before her shearers is dumb,
so he openeth not his mouth.”
Pilate could find no fault with
Jesus. He wanted to release him. It was the custom during the
passover to release one of the prisoners, so Pilate thought that this
would be a good opportunity to get Jesus released. There was another
prisoner who was being held who was notorious. He was a rebel and
murderer, and really deserved to be in prison. Pilate offered the
people a choice, thinking they would want Jesus to be released.
Instead they cried out for Barabbas.
“Pilate saith unto them, what
shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto
him, let him be crucified.” Matthew 27: 22
From the very beginning of
creation, even way back In the garden of Eden, people have had to
make choices. God ordained it that way because he did not create
robots, but made man in his own image and desired that they would
have free choice in making decisions as to whether they would
believe and obey him, and choose good rather evil.
Here the people had a choice
between the lovely; the pure; the kind; the compassionate; the true;
the beautiful; the peaceful; all the goodness and blessing of God,
and they choose the ugly, dirty, mean, sinful, lying, murderous,
thieving Barabbas.
If you had been in that crowd that day, what
would your choice have been? The majority of the people in the world
today still hate and reject Jesus. They love the things of this
world, the hateful, ugly, murderous, thieving Barabbas type of
things. Where do you stand? Do you stand with Jesus or Barabbas?
As we celebrate Christmas in just a few more days, let us remember that this cute little baby born in Bethlehem's manger over two thousand years ago
was born to die ; to die for my sin and for yours, as the perfect lamb of God.
Telehelp Publications Christian Literature Ministry
Psalm 26: 7
Telehelp Publications Christian Literature Ministry
Psalm 26: 7
Suppose you had to make some
choices today, for example: you see one of your Christian friends at
school witnessing and speaking for the Lord, and there are ten of
your other friends standing around laughing and mocking at him,
whose side will you choose to be on, the one person who is witnessing
for the Lord or the ten who are laughing?
Suppose all of your friends get
together and told you that if you didn't go along with them and
smoke, or drink alcoholic beverages, and try some dope, that they
would no longer be your friends, and you know that as a Christian,
your body is the temple of God and you are to keep it pure, and
undefiled, and dedicated to God's service, What would you choice be,
Jesus or Barabbas? If you had your choice what would it be? Would
you rather play a silly game or do something that made you think
about God?
Would you rather watch television
or read God's word, or a good book that would improve your mind and
make you more useful to God? Would you rather go to a ball game or
to a movie, or some sporting event, or would you rather go to church
or Sunday School and worship God? Would you rather be with separated
Christians, or would you rather be with the rebellious crowd? These
are just some of the choices we all must make daily. Will it be
Jesus for you or Barabbas? The world says – give us Barabbas.
Whose side are you on?
“He is despised and rejected of
men: a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it
were our faces from him: he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
Isaiah 53: 3. Is he despised and rejected by you today, or is he
your Lord as well as your Savior?
So they delivered Jesus to be
crucified, they stripped him of his clothes and put on him a scarlet
robe to mock him. The robe was a symbol of royalty that a king
would wear. They were mocking him because he said he was king. They
put a crown of thorns on his head. They spit upon him. They
scourged him. They beat him. They hit him on the head. They led
him away to a place called Golgotha to crucify him. They made him
carry his cross on his already badly torn back. They nailed his
hands and his feet to the cross – they crucified him, and they
parted his garments among them. They sat down and watched him hang
there on the cross. They wrote an accusation and put it above his
head. It said: “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” In this
they told the truth. There were two thieves crucified with him, one
on his left and one on the right. One of the thieves cursed at him
but the other thief recognized him as the Savior, and asked to be
saved. Jesus told him that today he would be with him in paradise.
“Surely he hath borne our
griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement
of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53: 4-5.
“About the ninth hour Jesus
cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, Lama, Sabac thani? That
is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew
27: 46. “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded
up the Ghost and behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain
from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks
rent: and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints
which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection,
and went into the holy city and appeared unto many.” Matthew 27:
50-53.
In the temple there was a veil or
a curtain which separated the holy place from the Holy of Holies
where God dwelt. No one was ever allowed into the Holy of Holies in
the presence of God except the high priest who went in once a year to
offer up sacrifices for the people. Now, the perfect Lamb of God's
blood had been shed. Now this veil, or curtain was torn or opened
from top to bottom, signifying that Jesus' sacrifice had been
accepted as the perfect sacrifice for the sin of all people for all
time. That he is now our great high priest, and now all of us who
trust in his sacrifice have the privilege of coming directly into
God's presence with our worship and prayers when we come in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“And he made his grave with the
wicked, and with the rich in his death because he had done no
violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the
Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief, when thou shalt make
his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He
shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear
their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the
great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong: because he hath
poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the
transgressors and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession
for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53 9-12. Yes! A\lot of blood flowed
that day down Calvary's mountain – divine blood, the blood of the
Holy God himself.
Like that night back in Egypt when
the children of Isarel were behind closed and locked doors, outside
was terror and screaming and weeping and wailing and gnashing of
teeth because the death angel was passing over the land to destroy
all those who did not have the blood of the sacrificial lamb on their
doorposts. Can't you imagine a child asking his father, “Oh
daddy, I'm afraid, will we all be killed? The father back in Egypt
explained to his child that those who have the blood of the lamb on
the doorpost will be saved.
Then the child looks up into his
father's face and says,- “Oh daddy, are you sure we are safe? Are
you sure that the blood of the Lamb is on the doorpost of our house?
Oh, daddy go take a look just to make sure. To satisfy his child's
fears and nagging, he opens the door and looks and to his surprise,
there is no blood on his doorpost. He had neglected or forgotten to
apply the blood to his doorpost, and he and his whole family were
in danger. He hastened to find a lamb, kill it and put its' blood on
his doorpost before the death angel went past his house. He knew
about the blood, but just knowing about it was not enough to keep
himself and his family safe. He had to apply it.
Men and women, boys and girls,
readers of these lines, are you sure today that all of your sins have
been washed away by the blood of the perfect Lamb of God that flowed
down Calvary's mountain that day? Are you sure beyond a shadow of
doubt that you, by faith, have accepted the blood of Jesus as the
sacrifice for all your sins? Do you, by faith, have the blood
sprinkled on the door of your heart? Why don't you take one more
look just to make sure. Just to know about the blood is not enough.
You must receive it personally and apply it. If you cannot ever
remember a time in your life when you felt sorry for your sins, and
asked the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you and wash them away with
his blood and come into your heart and be your Lord and Savior, you
are not safe from the wrath and judgment of God. You can make sure
that you are safe today and have the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
applied to your heart simply by faith believe that the Lord Jesus
Christ died and shed his blood for you. Tell him you are sorry for
your sin and ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.
By the grace of God we can all
come to the well of salvation and dip our cup. “Therefore with joy
shall we draw water out of the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12: 3.
When the cup is drawn up, it is filled to over flowing. “Thou
preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou
annointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.” Psalm 23: 5.
Anyone can dip his cup in the well
of salvation free of charge, it is on the house, God's house. “And
he said unto me, it is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of
the water of life freely.” Revelation 21: 6. “And the Spirit and
the bride say come. And let him that heareth say, come, and let him
that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of
life freely.” Revelation 22: 17. We can dip our cup freely and
enjoy the benefits of salvation. Access to the well of salvation is
expensive, but the admission price has been paid for all of us who
have and those who will receive it. Consider the price of admission
to the well of salvation, but also consider the gift that is yours
by God's grace to draw water fom the well of salvation. “The wages
of sin is death, but the gift of God is everlasting life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.” Free to all who will ask, free to all who
will take. Free to use, but not abuse. Free to have and enjoy, but
not to hoard and keep from others. It is our responsibility to
advertise the gift, but make known the cost. “Freely ye have
received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8.
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