The Lamb of God                          

Scripture Reading: Luke 22:7-23

Today's Treasure:

"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake"
(1 Peter 1:18-19).

The people of Israel had observed the Passover for approximately fifteen centuries when Jesus ate His last supper with the disciples. On that particular night, a change occurred. Christ not only observed the ancient memorial of Passover, He instituted something new.

That Jesus had given much thought to the approaching feast is evident in Luke 22:15: "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." If we were to read the statement with the strong double construction of the original language, it would more accurately be reflected by the words, "with desire I have desired."* Even if we never fully grasp the significance of the evening, our perception can be deeply marked by the fact that Jesus considered it to be enormously profound.

You probably remember the story. Christ sent Peter and John to prepare the Passover meal in the room He had chosen. He told them they would find the room by following a man who carried a water jar (see Luke 22:10-11). Nothing about the evening was trivial or accidental. With the same omniscience He exerted to arrange the circumstances of the chosen venue, Christ also chose His two ambassadors. Until now, we have rarely seen Peter and John as a pair. We have seen Christ encounter each of them individually, but when they were grouped apart from the Twelve, it was almost always as a threesome with James, John's brother.

I don't believe Christ simply glanced up, saw Peter and John, and decided they'd be as good a choice as anyone to prepare for the Passover. Quite the contrary, this profound work was prepared in advance for them to do (see Eph. 2:10). It's likely the two men may have wished someone else had been chosen for the tasks, some of which were usually assigned to women. The Passover involved a fairly elaborate meal with a very specific setting. They may have grumbled, as we often do. Why? Because we may have no idea as to the significance of the work God has called us to do. Give some thought to the preparations Peter and John made.

You can read about the original Passover in Exodus 12:1-14. The meal involved three symbolic foods to be eaten during every observance: "meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast" (Exodus 12:8).

The bitter herbs represented the bitterness of suffering memorialized in the Passover observance: the bitterness of slavery, the bitterness of death, and the bitterness of an innocent lamb's substitution. The herbs, eaten intermittently during the meal, would intentionally bring tears to their eyes as a reminder of the associated grief.

While every part of the meal was highly symbolic, it had no meaning at all without the lamb. The most important preparation Peter and John made was the procuring and preparing of the Passover lamb. The detailed preparation involving the lamb would soon be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. They may not have grasped the significance of it at the time, but eventually they "got it."

Peter and John are the only two of the Twelve who were recorded referring to Jesus as the Lamb. Many years later Peter would write of Jesus that we were redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake" (1 Pet. 1:19-20). For John's part, you can read Revelation 5 for what I think is the most majestic passage in Scripture about the Lamb of God.

Is it coincidence that these two apostles wrote about Jesus as the Lamb? Not on your life. Christ's ultimate goal in any work He assigns us is to reveal Himself, either through or to us. The Holy Spirit used the tasks He assigned them that day to reveal to them the Lamb of God. The images and remembrances were deeply engraved in John's mind. Many years later God inspired him to refer to Jesus as the Lamb at least thirty times in Revelation. Beloved, the tasks God gives you are never trivial. More than anything else, His desire is to reveal Himself to you and through you.

My Savior, thank You for revealing Yourself to Peter and John as the Lamb of God. As I serve You, please give me eyes to see the things You are revealing about your identity. Tender my heart to the bitterness of suffering. When I consider the bitterness of slavery, death, and the sacrifice of an innocent lamb's life, Your triumph over sin becomes even more glorious to me. May all praise and honor be Yours alone! In Your wonderful name I pray, Amen.

*Frank E. Gaebelein, ed., The Expositor's Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1984), 1026.

Adapted from Jesus the One and Only, by Beth Moore, pages 275-277. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2002. Used by permission.