lamb of god

September 3rd, 2009 by demonconfession

The Biblical significance of the title is rendered in the context of earlier lamb symbolism. The blood of the paschal lamb of the Old Testament protects and saves the Israelites in Exodus 12. This link is made explicit in 1 Corinthians 5:7. For Paul, Christians are saved by Christ as their true paschal lamb.

The Old Testament also testifies to the earlier practice of sin offerings as a possible means of atonement. Lambs could be used in these offerings (e.g. Leviticus 4:32–34 and 5:6), and this link is strongly suggested by Gospel of John 1:29 and 1 Peter 1:19. Just as in Judaism sins could be forgiven through the offering and the pouring out of the blood of an “unblemished” lamb (cf. Lev 4:32), so Christians believe they can be freed from sin by the blood of Jesus, the unblemished Lamb of God. See Sin for further discussion about the concept of sin and the means of atonement in Judaism. Those who reject the lamb of God atonement theology say that blood cannot forgive sin and that Jesus taught us to remove our sins by repentance, love and forgiving others.

Lastly, Christians believe that the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 refers to Jesus, although many identify the servant as Israel personified arguing that the identity of the servant has already been established by Isaiah in previously stated passages (Isaiah 41 :8–9; 44:1–2, 21; 45:4; 48:20; 49:3). According to a Christian translation of Isaiah 53, the suffering servant remains silent “like a lamb led to the slaughter” (53:7) and “gives his life as an offering for sin” (53:10). Christians add that this link is explicit in Acts 8:32 and strengthens the idea of Jesus as a sin offering. Those who reject the Lamb of God Theology say that Isaiah 53 cannot be applied to the suffering servant for the servant in Is. 53 has children and Jesus was celibate.

Geza Vermes posited that the title Lamb of God does not necessarily refer to the metaphor of a sacrificial animal. He points out that in Galilean Aramaic the word talya, literally “lamb”, had the common meaning of “male child”. This is akin to “kid” meaning “child” in modern colloquial English. The female equivalent of Talya was Talitha, literally “ewe lamb” and figuratively “girl” (the word is found in the Narrative of the Daughter of Jairus). Thus, “Lamb of God” could have been a slang means of saying “Son of God” or “God’s Kid”. Those who reject this Lamb of God theology believe that since Jesus said the goats (kids) will go into the fire, it is blasphemous to call Jesus the “goat of God or Kid of God.”