The Lamb Without Blemish
Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 1:13-21
You were redeemed . . . with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
The lamb sacrificed for the Passover had to be a lamb “without defect” (Exodus 12:5). This ritual pointed to the perfect and complete sacrifice made by Jesus Christ for us many years later.
There is no remission of sins without the shedding of blood. But the blood of lambs cannot truly atone for sin. On Passover night, when the lamb was sacrificed and its blood was sprinkled on the doorframe, that pointed to the Lamb of God, “without blemish or defect,” who died for our sins and shed his blood on the cross so that we might be redeemed from sin and death and cleansed from all impurity.
The lamb for sacrifice could not have any defects. This pointed to Jesus Christ, who was without sin but suffered and took on the curse of sin for us. He died for our sins—the just for the unjust. His death was substitutionary. He suffered the blow of the law that we should suffer. He drank the cup of wrath that we should drink. He died our death to give us his life.
O God, we exalt your great name for the great mercy you have shown us. We deserved all of the punishment for our sin. But Christ suffered in the place of us all. Praise be to you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
About the author — Hernandes Lopes
Rev. Hernandes Dias Lopes grew up in a Christian home in Brazil. Following his 1981 graduation from Seminário Presbiteriano do Sul in Campinas, Brazil, he served two congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Brazil. In 2000, he earned a doctor of ministry degree from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. Rev. Lopes has been the voice of the television program Verdade e Vida (“Truth and Life”) since 2006. In 2010 he was appointed Portuguese ministry leader for Back to God Ministries International. Rev. Lopes and his wife, Tinha, have two college-age children.
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