A Lamb?

"And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." Rev 5:6

This image of Christ as a lamb was a strange one to me at first. It is one thing for John the Baptist to say it. In John's gospel...

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29

It signifies Christ's role as a sacrifice. I understand that... but the scripture keeps saying it over and over in the book of Revelation...

"And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see." Rev 6:1

"And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." Rev 15:3

Clearly Christ is known this way. It was not a temporary reference that was later dropped. Some say, 'Christ came first as a lamb but will return like the lion of the tribe of Judah.' (see Rev 5:5) making it seem like there is a change of some kind away from this 'lamb' image but it is still this lamb that wages war in Rev 17:14.

This image endures all the way until the end of the book and the end of time...

"And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:" Rev 22:3

Why? What is the significance of this? Stick with me here I am going to put on my white lab coat and get all scientific for a minute... I'll take it off again I promise. {smile}

I was thinking about Christ's blood and the non-reactive nature of it. There are several types of human blood. Blood type primarily determined by immune response. There are substances we call antigens that are found on red blood cells. If person has these substances on their cells then they do not have the antibodies in the plasma of their blood that will react to these substances. There are over 600 known antigens but there are are two that cause such a reaction that they can split blood types into four categories (A, B, AB, O) depending upon the reaction. They have other names but they are so important in blood typing that they have labeled them A and B.

A person with both antigen A and B on their blood cells has no antibodies that will react to A and B in their blood stream and they can receive blood from anyone. They are known as universal donors.

Type O people can give blood to anyone but can not have type A, B or AB transfused into their body because their immune system would react to that blood causing them to get very sick.

Ok... That was a bit complex I know and I may have lost some of you... let's shift gears...

"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the BLOOD OF ABEL." Heb 12:22-24

Christ's blood speaks 'better things', it is non-reactive, Abel's blood cried out from the ground in the fourth chapter of Genesis. Jesus' blood is not screaming for vengeance. It is non-reactive like a little lamb is.

"Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth." Acts 8:32b

Jesus was all that a man is and that is what qualified Him to be our Savior. He is like us... but more... much more. He will not react to what we as fallen men would react to. Psychic infections have produced antibodies in us that lash out... so much so that like someone with an autoimmune disease we attack ourselves and are damaged by friendly fire in our soul.

Not Jesus. He is at peace. He is a relaxed little lamb sunning Himself and basking in the warmth of His Father's love.

At our rebirth we become like little lambs. It is a new nature. God does it to us and in us. We remain human but we are also more. That is why salvation is done 100% by God and not even 1% by us. We might change our behavior but we could never shed our old fallen nature.

The new nature is non-reactive. Sin is not attached to it and never will be. We don't cry for vengeance as a new man. We can plead for mercy for those that offend us.