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". . . . . there shall be no blemish therein. Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen,
or scurvy, or scabbed . . . . . ye shall not offer unto the Lord that which is bruised, or
crushed, or broken, or cut . . . . . they shall not be accepted for you" (Lev. 22: 21-25).
All such animals must be set aside "It shall be perfect to be accepted" (verse 21). The
lamb was to be taken on the tenth day of the month and sacrificed on the fourteenth. This
would give time and opportunity for careful inspection.
The true Lamb of God was constantly under inspection by His family, His disciples
and the multitudes around Him. One day He threw out a challenge `which of you
convicteth Me of sin?' (John 8: 46). No one could reply for it was impossible. He was
`holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners' (Heb. 7: 26) and only as such could
He be the Saviour of failing men and women. Had He sinned but once in thought, word,
or deed, He would have needed a saviour Himself. A sinner cannot atone for or put away
his own sin and put perfection in its place, let alone atone for the sin of the whole world!
Luke 23: contains the finding of those who examined the true Lamb of God:
Pilate.
I find no fault in this man (verses 4 and 14).
Herod.
"No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing
worthy of death is done unto Him" (15).
The Malefactor.
"We receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath
done nothing amiss" (41).
The Centurion.
". . . . . glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous
man" (47).
Matt. 27: adds further evidence:
Judas.
"I have betrayed the innocent blood" (verse 4).
Pilate's wife.
"Have nothing to do with that just man" (19).
God's doctrine necessitated the tremendous statement that Christ `was made sin for
us', but it immediately adds `Who knew no sin' (II Cor. 5: 21). Peter insists that He
Himself `bare our sins' but straight away states `Who did no sin' (I Pet. 2: 22-24) and
speaks of "the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot"
(I Pet. 1: 18, 19).
"It shall be PERFECT to be accepted." Such was God's requirement for the type of
His Son for such is the Lamb of God, our Saviour.
Exod. 12: 13 reads:
"And the blood shall be unto you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when
I see the blood, I will pass over you."
The word oth, `token', is often translated `sign' in the O.T. The rainbow in the cloud
is called the token or sign of the covenant (Gen. 9: 12). "The blood shall be to you for a
sign", that is, it signified something and that something was life laid down: