Behold the Lamb of God

By Andrew Peterson

Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away our sin. Behold the Lamb of God,
the life and light of men. Behold the Lamb of God who died and rose again.
Behold the Lamb of God who comes to take away our sin.

When it comes to Christmas worship music, this one has quickly become my favorites.

In 2004, Andrew Peterson released a not so traditional Christmas album called, “Behold the Lamb of God.” I highly recommend listening through the whole album from start to finish. Every song is oriented around the Word of God (and by that, I mean it is both scripture-based and Christ-centered). There is even a song written to the genealogy of Jesus from the book of Matthew! But right now, we are going to focus on the second to last song of the album, aptly titled, “Behold the Lamb of God.”

The album itself, which is also presented as an annual Christmas concert, was inspired by the fact that Jesus is the main character of the whole Bible, not just the New Testament.

The Old Testament is filled with characters and stories of a life before Jesus. But even though Jesus doesn’t show up until the New Testament, we can still find him in the Old. There are so many connections scattered throughout the Old Testament that point us to Christ.

One of the places in the Old Testament where we read about the coming of Jesus is in Isaiah 9. In chapter 8, Isaiah talks about those who walk in darkness, who wander around distressed and hungry. And then, in chapter 9, Isaiah gives us hope of a time when the Prince of Peace will come and there will be no more darkness.

Take note in particular Isaiah 9 verses 2 and 6 on the left, and compare it to the first stanza of “Behold the Lamb of God” on the right:

2 The people walking in darkness                                                    We who walk in darkness deep
have seen a great light;                                                                       now see the light of morning
on those living in the land of deep darkness                                  the Mighty God, 
a light has dawned.                                                                              the Prince of peace                                                                                                                                                                 a child to us is born

6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Hundreds of years later, Isaiah’s prophecy becomes a reality. The child that Isaiah foretold is born, and that child grows into a man, Jesus Christ, who died and then rose from the dead to save us from our sins. Every Christmas we celebrate his birth, because the day our Savior was born was the day when everything changed and light was brought into a world of darkness.

Beholding the Lamb of God is what Christmas is all about. Like I said in last week’s post, Christmas is not a feeling, and it’s most certainly not about us. It is about worshiping our Savior and beholding the miracle that is God incarnate.

So come, behold the Lamb. Be in awe of his love for us, gaze into his beauty, and revel in his glory and majesty. Behold him in your worship and in your daily conduct. Behold him every time you open the scriptures and see how every story relates back to Christ.

Behold the Lamb of God.

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29

You can listen to “Behold the Lamb of God” by clicking here.

If you are interested in learning more about Jesus’ relation to the Old Testament, I recommend
Nancy Guthrie’s devotional, “Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament.” Pastor George also discussed the importance of the Old Testament during our Christmas Eve Pajama Service (this link is only available till January 2, 2021.

Bonus Song: For a fun, upbeat Christ-centered Christmas song, check out
“Today Is the Saviour’s Day” by Rend Collective.