The LAMB and the SACRIFICE in the Judeo Christian Culture

A sacrifice is something not so usual nowadays in this part of the world. We still talk about a father or a mother "making a sacrifice " for his/her son/daughter, referring to a decision that had a (high )cost but implied gain for the one the sacrifice was made for. The modern era, which frowns on sacrificing living things, goes back only about 2,000 years. But before that, practically everyone in every country was sacrificing something to the gods/deities. From an animal, to enemies, virgins or even children. In the Jewish culture no human sacrifice was allowed. In the last 2,000 years, we - in the Christian world anyway - only talk about how they used to do it. That is due to the fact that JESUS, GOD'S PERFECT LAMB and Humankind's representative, WAS SACRIFICED ONCE AND FOR ALL, FOR EVERYONE. So, no more blood sacrifices are needed to win God's Grace. The old patriarch Isaac was aware of God's intention to send ONE THAT TOOK THE PLACE OF EVERYONE. When he was asked by God to willingly sacrifice what he loved most in his life,which in Abraham's case was his son., he learnt on a personal basis what the Plan of God to reconcile men to Himself was about. When Abraham obediently put his son over the wood to be killed in the usual sacrificial way, he was timingly stopped to do so. An angel pointed out to a SUBSTITUTE LAMB ( a symbol of Jesus ) that was to be sacrificed instead of Abraham's boy: Isaac. From the first lamb sacrificed in Genesis to cover both Adam and Even's nudity after their fall from innocence and companionship of God, to the lamb that was provided to be offered in sacrifice instead of Isaac's son, to the flawless lambs in Egypt that were eaten by the families before they set out of Egypt and whose blood was applied on their doorposts to warn death to remain away from their firstborns, to the sacrifices offered by the priests for the sins of the people and their own sins,all point out to the Real Blameless Lamb from God to be sacrificed in favour of those that were under condemnation for sin. Several painters have presented these Lamb connected events in several ways and at several times of modern history. Here we will be showing some of them, starting with Abraham and Isaac.