19 you shall offer of your own free will a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep, or from the goats. 20 Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. 21 And whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the LORD, to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it.

Lamb of God

The Old Testament contained a foretaste of what was to come. Under the Old Testament Law, people had to follow the strictest of rules and regulations. Often when we think Old Testament, we think “judgment” and not “mercy”.

These verses in Leviticus show us the very beginning of the plan of God. His full intention was to one day bring Jesus, THE Lamb of God, the perfect, sinless sacrifice for all of mankind, which was originally spoken of in Genesis Chapter 3.

In John Chapter 1, we finally see the culmination of God’s plan begin to unfold. John baptizes Jesus and declares, “Behold the Lamb of God!” In Luke 3:23, we’re told that Jesus (at this time) “began to be about 30 years of age”, which just happens to be the exact age when those designated for the priesthood (under the Old Testament) became priests. Jesus actually became the lamb (sacrifice) and the priest, as He offered Himself.

But, my point is this: When we look as the passage in Leviticus, we notice something. If the lamb that was offered had to be free of any defect, it had to be INSPECTED. Many times we feel that we are under God’s microscope and that WE are the ones being continually inspected. However, it was not the people that were inspected, it was the lamb. Jesus was and is our true sacrifice, making us totally acceptable in God’s eyes.  Happy Easter everyone!
Blessings!

Dan Owczarzak