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29 The
next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he
of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was
before me. (John 1:29-30)
35 Again the
next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 36 And looking
upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! (John 1:35-36)
Consider the great astonishment of the multitude as John the Baptist pronounced
this truth of prophecy. There were many poor and lowly people present who had
no knowledge at all of prophecy and its meaning. They had relied upon the
corrupt and cunning rulers of Israel to ‘tell them what they wanted them to
believe’ much as the multitudes of today rely upon false evangelists and
ministers to tell them what they want to hear instead of confirming all things
through dedicated Bible study. So those gathered about the Banks of Jordan had
no idea what John could have meant by referring to a person (Jesus) as a Lamb,
and particularly the Lamb of God.
These people had faithfully kept the Passover Feast for all of their conscious
lives, but never fully comprehended the significance of this Feast. These had
not been taught the deeper things of God, and could not have understood that
the lambs, goats, and oxen sacrificed at the Temple were only faint and
unworthy types of that greater Lamb that God would be offered to absolve the
believer of sin and wickedness. The Ram, whose horns were caught in the thicket
of briar, was a direct shadow of the true substitute to follow in the fullness
of time in the form of the Lamb of God. 3 Even
so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the
fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made
under the law, 5 To redeem
them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because
ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts,
crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore
thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God
through Christ. (Gal 4:3-7)
Now there was a young girl who was a virgin living in the remote province of
Israel (Galilee) who would not have understood John’s proclamation had she not
known sooner by the Annunciation of the Archangel some thirty years removed
from John’s words by Jordan Waters. She was by no means a girl of popular
society. Nazareth was a small hamlet of Galilee derided by the Jews as one of
total insignificance. Many times, those people and places of insignificance to
the world are the very people and places that are central to the heart of God.
So it was with Mary. God had known this young woman from the remote ages of
Eternity, and arranged that this young virgin would be mother to His only
Begotten Son through the agency of the Holy Ghost.
I was blessed in the first grade to have a wonderful and Godly teacher, Mrs.
Dorothy Painter, who reinforced that same faith taught in my home and in church
concerning the fundamentals of the Christian faith. For doing the same today,
she would probably be scourged, ostracized and banned from further teaching as
a ‘child abuser.’ She not only had her first graders recite the pledge of
allegiance each morning, but also to read, and memorize, selections from the
Psalms. One lesson I vividly remember was that of Mary’s Lamb.
Almost every man or woman my age will remember Mary’s Lamb written by a famous
and influential writer and editor of the 1800’s named Sarah Josepha Hale
(1788-1879). Mrs. Hale was the main proponent in convincing Abraham Lincoln to
declare Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday to be observed throughout the
United States. She wrote these words that are as applicable today as they
were when written at a time of national crisis when our country was involved in
the War Between the States: Everything that contributes to bind us in one
vast empire together, to quicken the sympathy that makes us feel from the icy
North to the sunny South that we are one family, each a member of a great and
free Nation, not merely the unit of a remote locality, is worthy of being
cherished. Her famous child’s poem was published in a collection of
children’s poems in 1830. Her poem was later made into a song which every
school child could sing by heart:
Mary’s Lamb
Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow;
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.
It followed her to school one day,
Which was against the rule;
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school.
And so the teacher turned it out,
But still it lingered near,
And waited patiently about
Till Mary did appear.
Why does the lamb love Mary so?
The eager children cry;
Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know,
The teacher did reply.
Mrs. Painter was able to discover truth and beauty that often evaded those who
were looking too low to find it. Yes, Mary had a little lamb whose fleece
was white as snow, taught Mrs. Painter. 6 And
so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she
should be delivered. 7 And she
brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid
him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:6-7) And, yes,
its fleece was white as snow because it was the Lamb of God without spot or
blemish. Remember that first Passover in Egypt: 5 Your
lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from
the sheep, or from the goats: 6 And ye
shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole
assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they
shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper
door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. (Ex 12:5-7) That
vertical and horizontal application of the blood of an innocent Lamb
foreshadowed the vertical and horizontal bar of the Cross of Calvary upon which
the blood of the Lamb of God was shed for us as the Passover of the Lord. 7 Purge
out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.
For even Christ our PASSOVER is sacrificed for us. (1 Cor 5:7)
The Lamb followed Mary everywhere, even to the Feast of the Passover in
Jerusalem. 41 Now
his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. 42 And when he
was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. (Luke 2:41-42) Do we go
with Jesus everyplace, or do we wander away as a lost lamb at frequent moments?
If
Christ is not welcomed where your travels take you, perhaps you could
reconsider the kind of places to which you travel: It followed her to school
one day, Which was against the rule; It made the children laugh and play To see
a lamb at school. I wonder when did it become against the rule for Christ
to be taught in school. Certainly, Christ was taught in the schools of the
author’s day as well as the days of my youth. But wherever Christ goes, even if
against the rule, He brings joy and celebration to the hearts of the innocent.
And so the teacher turned it out, But
still it lingered near, And waited patiently about Till Mary did appear. In
1962, a godless US Supreme Court overruled the 1st Amendment
of the US Constitution by prohibiting prayer in public school. The original
intent of the Framers was to protect religious faith from government, not
government from religious faith. But wherever hearts are stayed on Him, Christ
will not be vanquished, but lingers ever near. Behold,
I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I
will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Rev 3:20)
Why
does the lamb love Mary so? The eager children cry; Why, Mary loves the lamb,
you know, The teacher did reply. The lamb
was sweet and innocent. It loved Mary at first glance, and that love was
returned by Mary because Deep calleth unto Deep. 17 I
love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. (Prov 8:17) Mary was
young and innocent. The innocent respond easily to love. She loved the Lamb and
the Lamb loved her. This is the simplicity of the Gospel in a single verse from
Proverbs 8:17. If we love our Lord, it is unassailable evidence that we are
His. Would it not be a great blessing if we had teachers such as Mrs. Painter
today? God bless her and the greatest generation from which she sprang.
