Lamb Of God
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible [1]
Lamb Of God . The Iamb was the most common victim in the Jewish sacrifices, and the most familiar type to a Jew of an offering to God. The title ‘the lamb of God’ ( i.e . the lamb given or provided by God; cf. Genesis 22:8 ) is applied by John the Baptist to Jesus in John 1:29; John 1:38 . The symbolism which the Baptist intended can be inferred from the symbolic allusions to the lamb in the OT. Thus in Jeremiah 11:19 the prophet compares himself to a lamb, as the type of guilelessness and innocence. Again, in Isaiah 53:7 (a passage which exercised great influence on the Messianic hope of the Jews, and is definitely referred to Christ in Acts 8:32 ) the lamb is used as the type of vicarious suffering. It seems beyond doubt that these two ideas must have been in the Baptist’s mind. It is also quite possible to see in the phrase a reference to the lamb which formed part of the daily sacrifice in the Temple; and also, perhaps, an allusion to the Paschal lamb which would soon be offered at the approaching Passover ( John 2:18 ), and which was the symbol of God’s deliverance. Certainly this is the idea underlying the expressions in John 19:36 and 1 Peter 1:19 . Thus all these strata of thought may be traced in the Baptist’s title, viz. innocence, vicarious suffering, sacrifice, redemption.
The lamb is used 27 times in the Apocalypse as the symbol of Christ, and on the first introduction of the term in Revelation 5:6 the writer speaks specifically of ‘a Iamb as though it had been slain.’ The term used in the Greek original is not the same as that found in the Baptist’s phrase, but the connexion is probably similar. It seems most likely that the sacrificial and redemptive significance of the lamb is that especially intended by the Apocalyptic author.
The specific title ‘the Iamb of God’ may be an invention of the Baptist’s own, which he used to point an aspect of the Messianic mission for his hearers’ benefit, or it may have been a well-known phrase currently employed to designate the Messiah; we have no trace of such an earlier use, but it may have existed (see Westcott on John 1:29 ).
A. W. F. Blunt.
Holman Bible Dictionary [2]
John 1:29 1:36 Acts 8:32-35 Isaiah 53:7 Isaiah 53:12 Isaiah 53:10 Leviticus 5:1-6:7 1 Peter 1:18 Leviticus 16:1 Exodus 12:1 1 Corinthians 5:7 John 1:29
Revelation often refers to the exalted Christ as a Lamb, but never as “the Lamb of God,” nor with the same Greek word for “lamb” as used elsewhere in the New Testament. See Atonement; Christology Christ; Passover; Redemption RedeemerRedeem; Sacrifice And Offering; Servant of the Lord
Barry Morgan
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [3]
( ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ , ho amnós toú theoú ): This is a title specially bestowed upon our Lord by John the Baptist ( John 1:29-36 ), "Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!" In Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs an apocryphal book, probably of the 2nd century - we have the term used for the Messiah, "Honor Judah and Levi, for from them shall arise for you the Lamb of God, saving all nations by grace." But the term does not seem to have been of any general use until it received its distinctly Christian significance. It has been generally understood as referring to the prophetic language of Jeremiah 11:19 , and Isaiah 53:7 .
1. Sacrificial Sense of the Term:
It is far more probable, however, that the true source of the expression is to be found in the important place which the "lamb" occupies in the sacrifices, especially of the Priestly Code. In these there was the lamb of the daily morning and evening sacrifice. How familiar this would be to the Baptist, being a member of a priestly family! On the Sabbath the number of the offerings was doubled, and at some of the great festivals a still larger number were laid upon the altar (see Exodus 29:38; Numbers 28:3 , Numbers 28:9 , Numbers 28:13 ). The lamb of the Passover would also occupy a large place in the mind of a devout Israelite, and, as the Passover was not far off, it is quite possible that John may have referred to this as well as to other suggested ideas connected with the lamb. The sacrificial significance of the term seems to be far more probable than the mere comparison of the character of our Lord with meekness and gentleness, as suggested by the words of the prophets, although these contain much more than the mere reference to character (see below). That this became the clearly defined conception of apostolic teaching is clear from passages in Paul and Peter ( 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:18 f). In the Book of Revelation the reference to the Lamb occurs 27 times. The word here used differs from that in John. The amnós of the Gospel has become the arnı́on of the Apocalypse, a diminutive form suggestive of affection. This is the word used by our Lord in His rebuke and forgiveness of Peter ( John 21:15 ), and is peculiarly touched therefore with an added meaning of pathetic tenderness. Westcott, in his Commentary on John 1:29 , refers to the conjecture that there may have been flocks of lambs passing by on their way to Jerusalem to be used at the feast. This is possible, but fanciful. As applied to Christ, the term certainly suggests the meekness and gentleness of our Lord's nature and work, but could not have been used by John without containing some reference to the place which the lamb bore in the Judaic ritualism.
2. As Variously Understood:
The significance of the Baptist's words has been variously understood. Origen, Cyril, Chrysostom, among the ancients, Lucke, DeWette, Meyer, Ewald, Alford, among the moderns, refer it to Isaiah 53:7; Grotius, Bengel, Hengstenberg, to the paschal lamb; Baumgarten-Crusius, etc., to the sin offering; Lange strongly urges the influence of the passage in Isaiah 53:1-12 , and refers to John's description of his own mission under the influence of the second part of Isaiah, in which he is supported by Schaff. The importance of the Isaiah-thought is found in Matthew 8:17; Acts 8:32; 1 Peter 2:22-25 .
3. As Set Forth by Isaiah:
It is to be observed that the Septuagint in Isaiah 53:7 translates the Hebrew word for sheep ( seh ), by the Greek word for lamb. In Isaiah 53:10 , the prophet's "suffering one" is said to have made "his soul an offering for Isaiah sin," and in Isaiah 53:4 "he hath borne our griefs," where bearing involves the conception of sin offering, and as possessing justifying power, the idea of "'taking away." John indeed uses not the Septuagint word ( φέρειν , phérein ), but (αίρειν , aı́rein ), and some have maintained that this simply means "put away" or "support," or "endure." But this surely loses the suggestion of the associated term "lamb," which John could not have employed without some reference to its sacrificial and therefore expiatory force. What Lange calls a "germ perception" of atonement must certainly have been in the Baptist's mind, especially when we recall the Isaiah-passages, even though there may not have been any complete dogmatic conception of the full relation of the death of Christ to the salvation of a world. Even the idea of the bearing of the curse of sin may not be excluded, for it was impossible for an Israelite like John, and especially with his surroundings, to have forgotten the significance of the paschal lamb, both in its memorial of the judgment of Egypt, as well as of the deliverance of Israel. Notwithstanding every effort to take out of this striking phrase its deeper meanings, which involve most probably the combination of all the sources above described, it must ever remain one of the richest mines of evangelical thought. It occupies, in the doctrine of atonement, a position analogous to that brief word of the Lord, "God is a Spirit" ( John 4:24 ), in relation to the doctrine of God.
The Lamb is defined as "of God," that is, of Divine providing. See Isaiah 53:1-12; Revelation 5:6; Revelation 13:8 . Its emphatic and appointed office is indicated by the definite article, and whether we refer the conception to a specific sacrifice or to the general place of a lamb in the sacrificial institution, they all, as being appointed by and specially set apart for God, suggest the close relation of our Lord to the Divine Being, and particularly to His expiatory sacrifice.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [4]
( Ἀμνὸς Θεοῦ , John 1:29; John 1:36; so of the Messiah, Test. Xii Patr. pages 724, 725, 730), a title of the Redeemer (compare Acts 8:32; 1 Peter 1:19, where alone the term Ἀμνός is elsewhere employed, and with a like reference). This symbolical appellation applied to Jesus Christ, in John 1:29; John 1:36, does not refer merely to the character or disposition of the Savior, inasmuch as he is also called "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" ( Revelation 5:5). Neither can the appellation signify the Most Excellent lamb, as a sort of Hebrew superlative. The term lamb is simply used, in this case, to signify The Sacrifice, i.e., The Sacrificial Victim, of which the former sacrifices were typical ( Numbers 6:12; Leviticus 4:32; Leviticus 5:6; Leviticus 5:18; Leviticus 14:12-17). So the prophet understood it: "He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter" ( Isaiah 53:7); and Paul: "For even Christ, our Passover," i.e., our Passover Lamb, "is sacrificed for us" ( 1 Corinthians 5:7; comp. Peter 1:18, 19). As the lamb was the symbol of sacrifice, the Redeemer is called "the Sacrifice of God," or the divine Sacrifice ( John 1:14; comp. 1 John 2:28; Acts 20:28; Romans 9:5, 1 Timothy 3:16; Titus 2:13). As the Baptist pointed to the divinity of the Redeemer's sacrifice, he knew that in this consisted its efficacy to remove the sin of the world. The dignity of the Sacrifice, whose blood alone has an atoning efficacy for the sin of the world, is acknowledged in heaven. In the symbolic scenery, John beheld "a LAMB, as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God," i.e., invested with the attributes of God, omnipotence and omniscience, raised to the throne of universal empire, and receiving the homage of the universe ( 1 Corinthians 15:25, Philippians 2:9-11; 1 John 3:8; Hebrews 10:5-17; Revelation 5:8-14). See the monographs on this subject cited by Volbeding, Index Programmatum, page 52.
In the Romish Church the expression is blasphemously applied in its Latin form to a consecrated wax or dough image bearing a cross, used as a charm by the superstitious. (See Agnus Dei).
