Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." – Revelations 7:13-17

There are thirty-five references to the Lamb in the New Testament. It is interesting to note that twenty-eight of them are from the book entitled, The Revelation of Jesus Christ. A man named John, who was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos because he was a follower of Jesus, wrote this apocalypse. The book was written to comfort Christians who were being persecuted by the Emperor Domitian. Many died horrible deaths in public arenas. These words must have been very precious to Christians of that day. If you read the book from that perspective it takes on a whole different meaning than that offered by popular writings such as the “Left Behind” series.

In the gospels, Jesus is compared to the Paschal Lamb. In Exodus, that lamb was slain as an offering to Yahweh. When the blood of the Paschal Lamb appeared on the doorpost, the death angel passed over the house and no one was harmed. For Christians, Jesus, the Paschal Lamb and the Lord of life, is the source of our redemption from personal bondage. The symbolism is somewhat different in John’s vision. In his vision, the martyrs used the blood to wash their garments, rather than putting it on their doorposts. The symbolism seems to be more of a purification rite than one of protection. The blood turned the garments white. This is reminiscent of a quote from Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

When Domitian threw the Christians to the lions, their garments must have become bright red with their own blood. These gory scenes were most surely on John’s mind. Yet the blood of the Lamb, the Lord of life, turned the clothing of the martyrs to a pure white. What a stark contrast to the gory scenes visited on them by Domitian, the Lord of death.

For the martyrs and for us, the Lamb is not only our source of redemption, but he is also pictured as our protector, provider, and source of comfort. For John, the Lamb becomes the Shepherd. Wow! That is profound. Because of the Lamb, God wipes away our tears. What a contrast that is to the God of Moses who would slay people for simply coming too close to the Holy Mountain. God is Love.

Prayer: Most Holy God, we thank you for providing the Paschal Lamb. We come to your Holy Mountain in awe and reverence, knowing that you love us, protect us, and comfort us. We regret that it was man who slew the innocent Lamb, yet like the martyrs of old, we offer our garments to be cleansed in the blood of the Lamb. In the name of Him who died for us, we offer this prayer. Amen.