Daily Gospel

By: Rissa S.

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” – John 1:29

In the Old Testament, when the angel of death claimed all the firstborn sons in Egypt, Israel’s sons were spared. How? Each family took a lamb that was free from any defect, slaughtered it and applied its blood on the doorposts of their homes. Whenever the angel of death saw this sign, it passed over that house and went to the next. In other words, the slaughtered lamb took the place of the firstborn, saving his life. This is the festival called Passover that Jews commemorate to this day.

After celebrating the joyful Christmas season and welcoming Jesus as a wonderful God-Child who has come to our world, it’s difficult to picture Him as the man who would later be brutally scourged then crucified on the cross. But that is the realization the passage above gives us.

Because of our sins, we deserved the death sentence (Romans 6:23). But Jesus took upon himself our sins to rescue us (Galatians 1:4). Just as the Passover lamb spared the lives of Israel’s firstborn, Jesus, the Lamb of God, saved us from eternal damnation. For that we should be eternally grateful.
REFLECTION:
“The center of salvation is the Cross of Jesus, and the reason it is so easy to obtain salvation is because it cost God so much.” (Oswald Chambers)

Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to the Lamb of God!