Greek (Johannine): ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (ho amnos tou theou, G0286), gospels + 1 Peter Greek (Revelation): τὸ ἀρνίον (to arnion, G0721), diminutive form used ~28× in Revelation First NT use: John the Baptist at John 1:29 "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
OT background, three lamb categories
- Passover lamb, Exodus 12, slain lamb's blood applied to doorposts protects firstborn from death-angel. Type for Christ's death-deliverance.
- Daily / continual offering, Exodus 29:38-42; Numbers 28:3-8, two unblemished lambs daily, morning and evening, perpetual atonement.
- Isaiah 53 servant-lamb, Isaiah 53:7 "He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn't open his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent." Direct prophecy of suffering servant.
NT occurrences
| Passage | Text |
|---|---|
John 1:29 | "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John the Baptist) |
John 1:36 | "he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God!'" (John the Baptist, second day) |
Acts 8:32-35 | Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah 53; Philip explains the passage refers to Jesus |
1 Corinthians 5:7 | "For indeed Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place", Paul applies Passover-lamb type |
1 Peter 1:18-19 | "knowing that you were redeemed… with precious blood, as of a faultless and pure lamb, the blood of Christ" |
Revelation 5:6-13 | Heavenly throne-room scene: "a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain" … "Worthy is the Lamb who has been killed to receive the power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing!" |
Revelation 7:9-17 | "the great multitude… before the throne and before the Lamb" |
Revelation 13:8 | "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (KJV, LSV). Translations divide here: others attach "from the foundation of the world" to the names written rather than to the slaying, giving "whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed" (WEB, and similarly BSB and ASV). Both readings are defensible from the Greek word order. |
Revelation 14:1-5 | Lamb on Mount Zion with 144,000 |
Revelation 17:14 | "the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings" |
Revelation 19:7-9 | "Marriage of the Lamb has come", wedding-supper feast |
Revelation 21:22-23 | New Jerusalem: "the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple. The city has no need for the sun or moon to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb" |
Revelation 22:1-3 | River of life proceeding from "the throne of God and of the Lamb" |
Theological framing (multiple views)
Substitutionary atonement (Reformed, mainstream evangelical), Christ as Lamb takes the sinner's place; his death satisfies God's justice for sins he did not commit. Anchor texts: Isaiah 53; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:25.
Christus Victor (Eastern Orthodox emphasis, some Anabaptist), Christ as Lamb conquers the powers (death, sin, satan); the sacrifice is victory rather than legal payment. Anchor texts: Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 5:5-6 (Lion-Lamb).
Moral influence / exemplarist (Abelardian, some liberal Protestant), Christ as Lamb demonstrates God's love; the death changes human hearts rather than satisfying divine justice. Minority view in historic orthodoxy; The view is recorded here.
Recapitulation (Irenaeus, ancient), Christ as Lamb recapitulates Adam + Israel + humanity, undoing the Fall through obedience-to-death. Some Eastern + Methodist + N.T. Wright-style readings.
All four traditional views share that Christ's death is salvific; they differ on the mechanism. The NT itself uses multiple metaphors (lamb, ransom, propitiation, reconciliation, victory) without canonizing a single theory.