John 1:29

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

The law required that our sin required a sacrifice of blood. Typically you would use a lamb, but there were also other animals that were used and acceptable. Now a lamb was very valuable to the owner. It represented a part of his income which of course, is very important to have when raising your family. It would be very easy to take the runt of the litter or the one with the sickness or broken leg, and use it for the sacrifice, since it would likely die anyway. But God required our best lamb. God deserves only our best, and often that is a sacrifice in itself. It can cost us something. The lambs, or whatever animal, had to be the best of the flock or herd. It had to be without blemish or defect. It would have brought him the most money at the market. It represented a perfect, sacrificial offering. This is why Jesus is called the lamb of God. He was perfect, sinless and gave Himself as the final, sacrificial blood offering for all of our sins. No longer do we have to offer sacrifices, but rather we embrace the forgiveness and grace that Jesus died for. What a mighty God we serve!

Additional Reading

Romans 5:1-11

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ¹⁰ For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹ Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Lord you died, gladly, for each one of us. You came to this earth, lived among us, knowing what was to come. We thank you for your sacrifice on the cross. Again today, bring to our minds the reason we celebrate this season. I pray this will have incredible meaning for each of us and that this will be our priority on Christmas day. Jesus, we love you, amen.