CHOOSING THE LAMB

"This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats. And ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening'" (Exodus 12:2-6). As Christians, we all know Who the lamb represents; it is Jesus, the Lamb of God, our Passover (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7). But who chose Him to be our Passover Lamb? And when was He chosen?

John 3:16 tells us that the Father sent Him to die for us. Philippians 2:7-8 tells us that Jesus, Himself chose to be our sacrifice for sin on the cross. Luke 4:18 tells us the Holy Spirit led Him to preach the Gospel that included the cross. Revelation 13:8 tells us that even before the world was created, Jesus was already accounted as slain. The crucifixion occurred on the fourteenth of Nisan, four days after Jesus, the Lamb of God, was chosen on the tenth day of the month. But again, who chose Him?

Six days before the crucifixion, Jesus went to Bethany where He stayed with the family of Lazarus, and I believe He stayed two days before going to Jerusalem (John 12:1-11). On the tenth of Nisan, Jesus entered Jerusalem and two groups of people chose Him. The crowds chose Him as their King, not knowing their King would be put to death, and His enemies chose to have Him put to death rather than allow Him to ruin their livelihood (John 11:47-57). Again, the crowd being disillusioned when it became obvious that Jesus was not going to free Israel from the Romans, chose Jesus to die when offered the choice between Him and Barabbas (Luke 23:13-21).

People today are still being offered a choice. The Gospel has been preached. The Spirit has convicted hearts and provided the faith to believe. Now it is all up to us. Will you choose to recognize Jesus as your Lord and Savior, or will you choose to ignore God's tug on your heart, and continue being the god of your own life? The choice is really that clear: choose to repent of being your own lord and accept Jesus as Lord, or reject Him. Rejecting Him will not change what happened to Him, but it will definitely change what will happen to you. You are going to spend eternity somewhere; it is your choice. Time is short; won't you please choose Christ?