Who is the Lamb?

As I was putting away my nativity today, wrapping each ceramic shepherd and angel in tissue paper, the last remaining items were baby Jesus and a lamb.  I wasn't really paying attention to my work since I was listening to some music while working and was caught up in the moment of the music.  But when I saw the baby and the lamb, my hands stopped working and I looked at the two fragile figurines sitting together in the empty stable.

The lamb and the baby that became the lamb.

One creature who was completely oblivious to the weight of the world's sins, and one Being who would carry the weight of the world's sins.

For the longest time I thought that the sacrificial lamb represented Jesus.  But I had a difficult time with that picture because in all the stories of the shepherd and the lambs, the lambs are the ignorant ones.  They are the ones always getting lost and completely unaware of the dangers that they step into.

I suppose it's because the Bible tells us that a "spotless" lamb had to be offered for the sacrifice and so we figure that must be like Jesus.  But there is nothing spotless in this world.  Everything has been touched by the hand of sin. Finding a spotless lamb would not even be possible. I'm guessing the priests found the most perfect lamb that they could. And that would just have to do.  But in all reality, there was nothing perfect.

How could Jesus represent a dumb animal?

Well...He can't.

So every time they made a sacrifice to God for their sins, they did their best to offer up the most innocent thing they could find.  But in spite of all their efforts, their sins were not washed away.  Instead, the stains of the blood, from the sacrifice, only deepened as they added one sacrifice after another to that cold, stone alter.  Because there is nothing we can do, no "perfect" offering we can offer, no sinless act we can sacrifice, that would wipe the slate clean.

And that's when Jesus came down, picked up the not-quite-perfect lamb with his gentle hands, and laid Himself down on that alter and said, "Sacrifice me instead."  And so we did.  We raised the knife with our own hands of sin and brought it down into the heart of perfection and spotless beauty.

The Bible says that we are all part of a holy priesthood.  The priest's job was to kill the lamb for the sake of our sins and we - each of us - have done that.  When we accept our imperfect nature, when we acknowledge that we are ignorant and foolish and prone to getting lost, when we recognize that we're no different than a stupid animal, we place that on the alter.  And then Jesus steps up, removes our sinfulness and takes our place.

But He can't do that unless we give it up to Him.  We need to recognize who we really are and who He really is.  We are that lamb, nuzzling beside him in the stable, completely unaware of our impending fate, until He stands up and takes our place.

The lamb is dumb.  One of the dumbest farm animals, actually.  And yet, every time we look at the lamb in the context of the Spirit, we see the Son of God.

When Jesus became a human, He did not reduce Himself and give up His status in Heaven.  He elevated us.

There is this overwhelming urge inside my spirit to bow down and worship Him when I try to wrap my head around this insanity.  How can Someone love me this much?  I can't even comprehend that kind of love.

When I ponder these things, how can I continue to doubt that my life is in His hands?  And yet I do.  Almost every day.  I doubt and I fear and I wonder if He's near.

There are so many stories and references in the Bible to Jesus as the Shepherd. How could I have missed it?  I am that lamb.  And He is my Shepherd.  And there is nothing He won't do to protect me.  He would even lay down His own life for mine.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want...