{"id":11188,"date":"2017-07-12T00:10:11","date_gmt":"2017-07-12T07:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lccredding.com\/lcc\/?p=11188"},"modified":"2017-07-12T00:10:11","modified_gmt":"2017-07-12T07:10:11","slug":"july-12-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2017\/07\/12\/july-12-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"July 12, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Speak to all the congregation of Israel saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household\u2026 Your lamb shall be without blemish\u2026'”<\/em> Exodus 12:3, 5<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep\u2026. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again\u2026\u201d<\/em> John 10:11, 18<\/span><\/p>\n

A Lamb of the Household<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

We have heard how the Israelite fathers of the Old Testament days would choose an unblemished lamb to raise as a pet within their home; the children in the home would love on that little lamb, knowing that it would one day be offered as a sacrifice for their sins. They would give him up as an atonement\u2014surely not by their own choice, but by the choice of their father.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Easter approached this year, I was struck by the similarities between the perfect lambs offered yearly<\/strong> to atone for the Israelites\u2019 sins, and the Lamb of God\u2014our good Shepherd\u2014who gave His life for the sheep once and for all<\/strong>. As we see in today\u2019s Scripture, the lambs were chosen by men \u201caccording to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.\u201d<\/em> Likewise, our heavenly Father chose the beloved, unblemished Lamb of His house to atone for the sins of His children (us). Jesus was with the Father in the beginning (you might say, \u201cin His Father\u2019s household\u201d), and also He was of the house of Israel, because He was begotten as a man. From His house in heaven, Jesus was chosen and sent as the sacrificial Lamb; and from the house of Israel, He was the only unblemished Lamb.<\/span><\/p>\n

The difference between the pet lambs and Jesus is that our Lamb offered Himself. He laid down His life, because He alone had the power to save us. He knew there was no one else that could. He was the only One who could beat death\u2014His own, and ours. No one else had lived a worthy, sinless life, so clearly there was no other way for us to be saved. \u201cNor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved\u201d<\/em> (Acts 4:12).<\/span><\/p>\n

Stop and think about this: the Lamb is also the Shepherd. I ponder such a contradiction, but I realize it is no contradiction at all in the kingdom dynamics of our great God. No one had to force this Lamb. No one had to tie Him onto the Cross. It would have taken His power to get down off the Cross\u2014but it also took power to keep Himself on the Cross. Self-preservation is a powerful motive for us, and I\u2019m sure Jesus battled it. But He endured the Cross for the JOY of returning to His Father and to secure our salvation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJesus, You are the Lamb without blemish, chosen by the Father of our household to atone for our sins. We thank You profoundly. Amen.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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