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When we talk or think about the lamb, we have a positive impression. He is a symbol of meekness, innocence, humility and submission. He is liked by people because of his peaceful way of life. However, there are also people who do not consider the gentleness and humility of the lamb as worthy of the so-called strong man. And the term “meek as a lamb” can often take on a negative or even offensive color towards an adult human being. Such conclusions are probably drawn from the behavior of the lamb at key moments in its life, especially at the time of death. When the animal instinctively senses the end, it surrenders without resistance to the enemy’s fate and accepts it with stoic humility. Pathetic bleating and tears gathering in sad eyes indicate animal suffering and are the only signs of resistance to the destiny that is about to be fulfilled. Such behavior is considered stupid in the human world.
From the earliest times, the lamb has served as a sacrificial animal. And its wool and good meat have always been appreciated by the peoples. For the Chosen People, the lamb was the basic source of income (wool for clothes: Job 3:20; Prov 27:26; meat to eat: Am 6: 4). The lamb was sacrificed as an atonement for God’s sins. And the ancient shepherds of the East, during the full moon in the spring – before setting off for pastures – made a sacrifice of a lamb, which they wanted to ask the patron deities for prosperity. The unbroken bones of the sacrificial animal were to ensure the acceptance of the sacrifice. It was also believed that the precious lamb would return to the multiplied flock in the coming year.
For millennia, a lamb bred by various peoples has become an indispensable animal in the East. He provided food and wool to the tribes that led a nomadic life. So the shepherd saw in the lamb not so much wealth, but the irreplaceable good and almost a family member. In this light, one can understand the parable told by the prophet Nathan to King David: “… the poor man had nothing but one little Sheep which he had acquired. He fed her and she grew up with him with his children, she ate his bread and drank from his cup, she slept by his side, and she was like a daughter to him ”(2 Samuel 12: 1-3).
In the Old Testament of Genesis, God, wanting to test Abraham’s loyalty, ordered him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Isaac was then the only son of the ancient patriarch. Desperate, Abraham decided to obey God’s command. As he was about to deliver the killing blow, the Angel of God stopped him, pointing to the lamb that the patriarch should sacrifice in place of his son. The animal took the place of the son who had been spared his life.
Among all the lamb sacrifices made to God, the most important and well-known privilege belongs to the Passover sacrifice. Through Moses, God commands the Chosen People: “On the tenth day of this month, let each one obtain a lamb for the family … Lamb without blemish, one year old; you can take a lamb or a kid. You will keep him until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the whole congregation of Israel will kill him at dusk .. ”. (Ex 12, 3-5-6). Over time, the liturgical cult of Jews became centralized. The only acceptable place for the sacrifice of the paschal lamb was the Temple of Jerusalem. “The ceremony was held on the evening of the fourteenth day of Nisan. Accompanied by trumpets and singing psalms, each Jew killed his lamb while the priests gathered up blood and poured it out at the foot of the altar of burnt offering.” The Jews were obliged to offer a continual sacrifice: “… two year-old lambs every day and continuously. You offer one lamb in the morning, and the other lamb at dusk” (Ex 29, 38-39). The sacrifices became great in the course of time. Azariah in the Book of Daniel, in Babylonian captivity, broods over to sacrifice animal sacrifices: burnt offerings of rams and bulls, and thousands of fat sheep (Dan 3:39).
To avert all dangers and avoid death at the hands of the Destroyer Angel, the Jews sprinkled the blood of the lamb on the tent piles and the thresholds of their houses. The lamb was hung on cedar beams based on eight columns in the priests’ vestibule. The lamb’s insides were burned on the altar, and the skin-wrapped meat was taken home by the donor. Lamb meat was the main dish at feasts and festive celebrations. The rule of not breaking bones was strictly adhered to by Jews, and even those who did not break it were punished.
The prophets also foretell the Lamb – the Servant of Yahweh. The prophet Jeremiah, in a pathetic confession, in the voice of the future Messiah, says: “But I, like a meek lamb they lead to slaughter, did not know that they had devastating plans against me.” Likewise, the Prophet Isaiah in his book, in the fourth song about “the Servant of Yahweh”, announces the Messiah: “Like a lamb to slaughter, as a sheep is mute before shearing it, so He has not opened His mouth.” All four songs of the Servant of the Lord characterize the Messiah. Only through the humiliation, suffering and death of the Servant – the Messiah, who will share the fate of an innocent lamb; it will be possible to reveal God’s will to people and transfer the strength to fight sin. And rejected Israel in the Book of Psalms laments: “You gave us like sheep to slaughter, and you scattered us among the Gentiles” and “But it is for You sake that they still murder us, they consider us sheep to be slaughtered.”
In the Old Testament, the Law defined the lamb as a substitute sacrifice for sin (Ms 4:28, 32). It was also offered at the wedding (Numbers 6: 12-14), after the leper was healed (Lev 14:10, 13; cf. Mk 1:44), and as a feast (Le 3: 7; 23:19). The Lamb has become like a permanent symbol of sacrifice, a sign of trampled innocence and humility. The blood of this animal was also symbolic. Thanks to the release of the Chosen People from Egyptian slavery, propitiatory or sacrificial gestures become a ritual reminding us of the Lord’s coming and the “passing” of God’s people from slavery to freedom.
In the New Testament, the image of the lamb emphasizes the positive qualities of a Christian. Saint Matthew writes: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep among wolves. So be prudent as serpents and as spotless as doves! ” ; and in Saint Luke, Jesus says: “Go, behold, I am sending you like sheep among wolves. Do not carry a purse or bag or sandals with you; and greet no one on the way! ” Christ describes the People of God with the image of the lamb of the lamb: “Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” and in the parable of the Good Shepherd in the Gospel of St. John. Christ is also the true and good Shepherd of this flock. During Jesus’ earthly life, shepherding was considered a beautiful calling in life, not just a profession. The care that Jesus puts around his lambs symbolizes God’s great and true love for people, especially for sinners. The shepherds who were invited by the angels to worship the Child of God in the stable in Bethlehem wanted to imitate the Good Shepherd.
During Christ’s ministry, crowds of Jews made their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover. Many sacrifices were made, and the temple square resembled a slaughterhouse. In the person of Jesus, the true “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” appeared (Jn 1:29). John the Baptist thus describes Jesus who came to be baptized. On the Jordan River, the Lamb of sacrifice for the new Passover was revealed to the world, and the Servant of Yahweh – the Messiah who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus comes to reveal the will of the Father to people and give him strength to fight sin. In him, the Old Testament predictions of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah are being fulfilled.
Through His shed blood on the cross, Jesus brings people deliverance from Satan’s slavery. “For Christ was sacrificed as our Passover” (1 Cor 5: 7b) – Jesus became the Lamb without spot, without sin. He came to redeem the world “not with something fleeting, silver or gold, but with the precious blood as a lamb without blemish and spotless” (1 Pet 1: 18-19) “. He redeemed people not for the sake of his death, but because his whole life was free from the slightest offense. It is His mission that frees the world from all sin, in its place, introducing the kingdom of righteousness and truth.
The circumstances of Jesus’ passion and death bind the Sacrifice of the Cross and the pouring out of the blood of the Paschal lamb. Jesus was questioned in the early morning of the day when Mosaic law required the Jews to eat the Passover. Saint John the Evangelist emphasizes this temporal link several times: Christ was going to his death at the time when the sacrifice of the paschal lamb was being prepared: “From Caiaphas they led Jesus to the praetorium. It was early in the morning. But they themselves did not enter the praetorium, so as not to defile themselves but to eat the Passover ”(Jn 18:28). Like the paschal lambs, Christ’s bones were not broken. On the cross, the old law ends and the new covenant and the new law of love begin: “He is the true Lamb who took away the sins of the world; He, by dying, ruined our death and, rising from the dead, restored us to life “(Easter Preface)
Already through Moses God commanded to repeat the paschal sacrifice over and over again “This day will be a memorable day for you and you will celebrate it as a feast in honor of the Lord. After all ages, you will celebrate on this day forever ”(Ex 12:14). Jesus too, “having finished supper, took the cup, saying:” This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me ”(1 Cor 11:25). The New Covenant – the Covenant of Love was concluded and commemorated in the daily sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Lord during the Eucharist. The priest, lifting the consecrated host before inviting him to a common feast, reminds us that it is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Eusebius of Caesarea – the writer of the Church in the fourth century says: “we belong to the New Covenant … we take as food the body of the savior and we share in the blood of the Lamb.” During each Eucharist, with the humility of a lamb, Christ constantly comes to us, sacrificing his life. Then the gates to the sources of salvation open, then our heart tries to imitate the ineptly divine Shepherd: “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come to me, but just say the word and my soul will be healed.”
In the last words of the Gospel of St. John, Christ, Shepherd of our souls, addresses Peter with the words: “” Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? ” He replied, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him: “Feed my lambs!” (Jn 21:15). In this way, the risen Lord made Peter a shepherd responsible for the entire People of God. Jesus’ disciples also share the life and work of Christ. It is them that he sets out as laborers into his harvest and “as sheep among wolves” (Lk 10: 3). This task is not easy. The times on which the wise Syrach ponders: “Will the wolf and the lamb have intercourse? Likewise, the sinner will be with the righteous? ”(Sir 13:17), in which“ the wolf will dwell with the lamb ”and“ Justice will be a girdle on his loins, and faithfulness a girdle on his loins. (Isaiah 11: 6) are difficult to achieve and require a lot of work.
The Book of Revelation shows us Christ as the Lamb who already dwells in the glory of the Father. It was Jesus who offered himself as the paschal sacrifice (Rev 5: 6); he made men to God “a kingdom and priests” (Rev 5:10); He cleansed the faithful – they made their garments white in His blood (Rev 7:14). Therefore, Christ – the Lamb standing next to the “One seated on the throne” (5: 1), has the power to hold the book of the fate of the world (Ap 5: 7); open her seals (Rev 5: 9) and receive homage as equal to God (5: 12-14). The apocalyptic Lamb has apostles (Revelation 21:14) and leads a virginal retinue of the elect (Revelation 7:17; 14,4). His full triumph comes at the moment of marriage to the Bride – the Church (Rev 19: 6-9). Then it gains full victory over the beast and the false prophet (Rev 19: 19-20). The fifth chapter of the Apocalypse refers to the prophet Isaiah (Is 53: 7) showing the Lamb as the new ruler in Zion – the messianic capital of the kingdom of David (Rev 14: 1). Reflection on the anger of the Lamb, identical to that of God (Rev 6: 16-17) is an eschatological accent.
All life of the Chosen People, all life of the Church on this earth is pad sign of the Lamb. Also, the whole life to come, in the Promised Land, in the Father’s House, as suggested by Revelation (7:17; 14: 4), will be dedicated to the Lamb. The world will be finished in the name of the Lamb who will honor the Father. And then every creature will say, “To the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, blessing and honor and glory and power forever and ever.” (Rev 5:13) The Lamb will lead the called, the chosen and the faithful (Rev 17:14) to the springs of the waters of life; he wipes every tear, makes him sing a new song (Revelation 14: 3), allows him to accompany him wherever he goes (Revelation 14,4). It is thanks to him that believers are watered and satisfied, and no falsehood has been found on their lips, for they are blameless (Rev 14: 5).
Can this behavior of the Lamb be called foolishness? The Lord Jesus made himself a simple Lamb. He was always in simple filial dependence on the Father. (“The Son cannot do anything of himself, only what he sees the Father doing” (John 5:19). humility. Today you can also see people trying to defeat the evil of this world with similar methods. Taking peaceful actions (eg Gandhi) leads to a better understanding of oneself and others, and thus to spreading the New Covenant of Love. When we adopt the features of a lamb in our lives – trust, meekness, kindness, the evil of this world dies in us – pride, anger, anger, regret. We are imperfect and weak people, but God’s power and strength can help us overcome everything. The life of the Lamb – Jesus was not in vain. He gave his life for us so that we might live with dignity. We have been reconciled with God, we can walk in His light. It is worth approaching each person with humility and love in order to be able to walk in the community of God.
References:
1. Millennium Bible
2. Encyclopedia Katolicka 2, Lublin 1985 Lamb
3. Lexicon of Christian Symbols Michel Feuillet, Poznań 2006),
4. “Holy Mass” No. 3 (123), March 1967, the article “On the Lord’s Day” Fr. S. Stefanka
5. “Holy Land” quarter (IV-V-VI) 1995, article: “God’s Lamb” C. Paczkowski OFM
6. “Holy Land” q. (IV-V-VI) 1996, article: “Pokorny Lamb” by D. Chrupała, OFM
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