Jesus: The Lamb as if Slain

Tuesday Night Bible Study | Monday, June 15, 2020

We have been discussing the phrase used by John the Baptist to herald the coming of Jesus. In both John 1:29 and 36, John calls Jesus the “Lamb of God.” We have also traced that phrase throughout the book of Revelation, beginning in chapter 5. And amazingly, John describes Jesus as a “Lamb as though it had been slain” or as a “Lamb as if slain” (Revelation 5:7). But what does that phrase mean? And what are the implications? Let’s look at the text together:

And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. (Revelation 5:6-8).

The Lamb as if Slain

Later in the same chapter, we see Jesus identified, once again, as the “Lamb.” Not Christ, not Son of God nor the Son of Man, not even Messiah. But simply, the “Lamb.”

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:

“Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

But this is only the beginning. We will soon discover the identification of Jesus as a “Lamb” runs all through the book of Revelation. Did you ever wonder why? What is the Lord trying to say to us?

Let’s dig a bit deeper into the description of John, a “Lamb as if slain.”