Blessed are...

Spotless Lamb

“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.” Isaiah 53:7

The One who opens His mouth to bring us words of blessing is the One who stayed silent before His accusers. His authority is not the bluster and bombast of the bully, it is the gentle voice of One who lays down His life for His friends. His Kingdom is not maintained by violence or threats. Its fortress is a faithful heart; its pride is suffering. We are citizens of that Kingdom not by birth but by the conquest of Love.

They still did not understand that Christ was the Passover Lamb, sacrificed for their salvation.[1] Years before, John the Baptist had recognized Him, and predicted His fate as he called, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”[2] But the disciples did not make the connection until later. As the body of Jesus lay within the tomb, all they could think was that their dreams were ended. They could not grasp that, in His death, Christ had been “pierced for our transgressions,”[3] becoming their substitute, and ours. They could not see that He bore the sins of many “in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.”[4] In their grief, they were blind to His sacrifice, not seeing that, on the Cross, He had “given Himself for our sins.”[5]

One day, everyone will understand, for everyone will stand before the Lamb.[6] When that day dawns, how much better it will be if we have accepted, by faith, His sacrifice for our sins. How much better if, in glad and joyful obedience, we have lived as citizens of His Kingdom, blessed beyond measure in this life and the next, sharing that blessing with others. How much better it will be if we have acknowledged His Kingship, and surrendered to His redeeming love.

Lord Christ,
You are the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead,
the ruler of the kings of the earth.
You are the Lamb without blemish or defect.
And by Your precious blood,
I have been redeemed.
Amen.



[1] I Corinthians 5:7
[2] John 1:29
[3] Isaiah 53:5
[4] I Peter 2:24
[5] Galatians 1:4
[6] Revelation 7:9