Route 55 Lenten Devotional Week 1
Posted on 2/17/2021 12:00:00 AM
THUS IT IS WRITTEN
ISAIAH 53:7 HE WAS OPPRESSED AND AFFLICTED, YET HE DID NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH; HE WAS LED LIKE A LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER, AND AS A SHEEP BEFORE HER SHEARERS IS SILENT, SO HE DID NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.
When Jesus’ ministry was about to begin, John the Baptist identified him as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) Throughout Israel’s history, probably the most common sacrifices to be offered at the Temple for the forgiveness of sins were lambs. In New Testament times the place where most of the lambs to be offered at the Temple were raised was Bethlehem which was just a few miles south of Jerusalem.
So, Jesus, the Lamb of God who was the promised Messiah from the line of David the Shepherd King, was born in Bethlehem the “sheep town”. He was crucified during Passover – the feast that celebrated God’s redemption of Israel from slavery in Egypt - at the time when the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple. As he died, the veil in the Temple that separated the Holy of Holies was torn in two from top to bottom. That last Lamb had paid the price for our sins. The redemption promise was complete. The way was open for us to have a personal relationship with God.