He came as a man. Then as a man, he became the lamb.

“Behold the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29

As the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ came to bear in himself the judgment due on our sins. Consider the price he paid. No other founder of any of the religions can boast that he laid down his life for the pardon of his followers. But that’s exactly what Jesus Christ did even though at the time, no one understood that. Scripture tells us that had they known what they were doing, they would never have crucified him. The religious leaders did not believe in him, and they thought they held the power over him as they crucified him.

“He is despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,
and we hid, as it were, our faces from him;
he was despised, and we did not esteem him.

But he did it for us, so that sinners could have the hope of forgiveness that his sacrifice in their place would deliver them from judgment. See the extent to which he went to obtain OUR salvation.See how this vicarious atonement was made on OUR behalf.

“Surely he has borne OUR griefs
and carried OUR sorrows,
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded FOR our transgressions,
he was bruised FOR our iniquities,
the chastisement FOR our peace was upon him,
and BY his stripes we are healed.”

All human beings are born in a fallen human nature, inherited from our father Adam who brought sin into the world. Therefore we all sin, because we are all fallen. We sin by nature.

“All we like sheep have gone astray,
we have turned, every one, to his own way,
and the Lord has laid ON HIM the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:3-6

Jesus Christ took upon himself the judgment due for all the sin and the effects of our fallen human nature. HE bore the punishment in our place. Truly he was wounded for our sins, he was bruised for our iniquities, and he bore the chastisement that will bring all believers to peace.

Though all go astray, though each one chooses to control his own life and insists on “doing it MY way,” yet the Lord laid upon Jesus Christ the judgment due on all our sins. He allowed Jesus to be spit on, mocked, flogged, and crucified. He did these in our place. He sought no vengeance. He allowed it all – FOR US.

On Passover, Jews take the blood of the lamb and apply it to their doorposts. They apply it once on the upper left part of the doorway, once on the upper right, and once on the top horizontal beam. It’s a visual. It makes a cross. A visual of a cross dripping with blood, the blood of the Lamb.

On the first Passover, those who applied the blood of the lamb upon their doorposts, were PASSED OVER when the angel of death went through Egypt. This too is a visual. Those who bear the blood of the Lamb will be PASSED OVER and will not be brought into judgment.

The only way of salvation is through the blood of the Lamb of God, because this is the provision God made for our salvation. That’s why there is no other way. No one else has borne our sin.