📖 Biblical Definition
When John the Baptist saw Jesus He did not say "Behold the Rabbi" or "Behold the Messiah" but "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). The title compresses the entire OT sacrificial system into one man. Revelation picks it up: the Lamb standing as though slain, the Lamb worthy to open the scroll, the Lamb whose book of life is the final record, the Lamb whose wedding supper is the consummation of redemption, the Lamb who is the light of the new Jerusalem. Twenty-eight times in Revelation the Lamb is the center of everything.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
LAMB (of God), n.
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LAMB OF GOD. John the Baptist's title for Jesus Christ, in which the whole Levitical sacrificial system is declared to converge: the Passover lamb whose blood caused the destroyer to pass over, the daily tamid lamb slaughtered morning and evening in the temple, the sin-offering lamb whose life was exchanged for the penitent's, and the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 led like a lamb to the slaughter. Behold Him.
📖 Key Scripture
John 1:29 — "The next day He saw Jesus coming toward Him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!""
Revelation 5:12 — "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"
1 Peter 1:19 — "But with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."
Isaiah 53:7 — "Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
"Lamb of God" has become liturgical background in many churches. Reclaim the full weight: 1,400 years of sacrifice converged on this one man.
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Every Christian should pause before the phrase. When John the Baptist said "Behold, the Lamb of God," he was summarizing fourteen centuries of morning-and-evening sacrifices, Passovers, and Yom Kippurs. All of them pointed here. The Lamb you hear in the Agnus Dei is not a sentimental metaphor; He is the final, sufficient, willing victim whose blood paid for all who would ever believe. Sing the Agnus Dei with your lungs on fire.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
G286 — amnos. G721 — arnion (Revelation).
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G286 — amnos (ἀμνός) — sacrificial lamb; John's title for Christ.
G721 — arnion (ἀρνίον) — little lamb; Revelation's 28 usages of the enthroned Lamb.
H3532 — kebes (כֶּבֶשׂ) — lamb; OT sacrificial lamb.
Usage
"Behold the Lamb. Fourteen centuries of sacrifice pointed at this man."
"The Lamb stands in heaven as though slain. The marks of the wounds are eternal, not erased by resurrection but consecrated by it."