During our Lenten Midweek services this year, I have been preaching on our stained glass windows. Today, I will preach on the last of our side windows, and then, forty days from today, on Ascension Day, I will preach on the large window at the back of the church. Today’s window is the one with symbol of the Lamb on it. And so today, for our Easter sermon, we will behold the Lamb. We will behold the Lamb portrayed in our text as we behold the Lamb portrayed in our window.

First of all, let us behold who this Lamb is. Now, you will notice that in our stained glass window this Lamb has a sort of circle around its head. This is called a nimbus. A nimbus is used in Christian art to designate a holy person. In our stained glass window it is used to show us that this Lamb is Jesus, the Son of God.

In both the Old and New Testament of the Bible, Jesus is spoken of as a Lamb. The prophet Isaiah, for instance, referred to God’s suffering servant as “a lamb who was led to the slaughter.” When John the Baptist saw Jesus at the Jordan River, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God.” And in our text this morning, Jesus is also called a Lamb.

And this Lamb in our text is also portrayed as having something on His head. We are told that he has seven horns. A horn is a symbol of power. To say this Lamb has seven horns is to say He has all power. Besides this, He is pictured as having seven eyes. This is saying that this Lamb is all–seeing. And this Lamb is seen as standing in the very center of the throne of heaven. All of this tells us that this Lamb is God Himself. He is the second person of the Holy Trinity, who, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is the eternal, all–powerful, all–knowing God.

Now, behold, this Lamb had been slain. In our text, the Apostle John says, “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain.” Literally, it had been slaughtered for sacrifice. In our window, you will notice that the Lamb is lying down. This is to indicate that he has completed His work. And we know what the work is that this Lamb had come to do. The work of this Lamb was to redeem us from sin and death.

These are the great enemies we face in this life. Death came into the world as a result of sin. St. Paul says that “the wages of sin is death” and “death spread to all men because all have sinned.”

Are you afraid of death? The French philosopher Rousseau wrote, “He who pretends to face death without fear is a liar.” The famous Swiss psychologist Carl Jung said that he found the fear of death at the bottom of every soul, even those who profess to be indifferent toward dying. A Gallup pole that just came out found that a majority of Americans, most of whom describe themselves as Christians, say that when they think about their death they worry that they will not be forgiven by God.

Are you afraid of death? Undoubtedly all of us have some fear of death. And as sinners we have good reason to fear death. That’s why it is so important for us to behold, carefully, this Lamb Who had been Slain, and to remember He is the Son of God who was sacrificed to redeem us from sin and death.

Now, behold, this Lamb who had been slain is alive again. Look carefully at the Lamb in our window. He may be lying down, but this is definitely a picture of a Lamb who is alive. And the Lamb in our text is definitely alive as well. He is pictured as standing tall at the center of the throne of heaven.

And this brings us right to the heart of the Easter message. We heard it read in our Gospel lesson this morning. When the women and then the apostles went to the tomb that first Easter, looking for the body of Jesus, it was not there. The tomb was empty. And, as we can see from our text, that tomb is still empty. You will never hear of Christians making pilgrimages to Jesus’ grave. For He is risen from the dead.

Are you afraid of death? Look intently at this Lamb who was slain, but now is risen from the dead. Listen carefully to His words of eternal life. Think of what it means that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.

Now, behold, this living Lamb who is your Shepherd. Notice that the Lamb depicted in our window has a shepherd’s staff in His hand. The Lamb who was slain for us is now the Shepherd of the flock. The flock is the Holy Christian Church, the body of all believers in Christ. Can you think of a better Shepherd to have leading you and caring for you than Christ? In our text, the apostle John speaks of a scroll that this Lamb received from the Father. Earlier in this chapter, this scroll was described as being sealed with seven seals. This scroll is a book of the future. It contains the knowledge of what will happen throughout the future, up to judgment day and beyond. We are told that the only one who is able to open the seals of this book is Jesus, the Shepherd–Lamb. This is a way of saying that Jesus is in control of the future and holds it in His hands.

What comfort it ought to give us to know that this One, whom we call our Shepherd, holds time and eternity in His hands. The future is very uncertain for us, and there are frightening things out there. But there is no uncertainty for Jesus. He knows what is ahead for us, and He knows how to help us.

Finally, behold the Lamb who is worshipped by the multitudes in heaven. In our text, we see angels and archangels and all the saints who have gone to heaven gathered around this Lamb who had been slain. In a loud voice, they sing, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise.” The number of this heavenly company is said to be “thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand.”

But this is not all. Our text goes on to say that this heavenly multitude is joined by all creation. We read in our text, “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing, ‘To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’” We remember how on Good Friday, when Jesus was hanged on the cross, an eerie darkness covered the whole earth. But now this Lamb, who was slain, is risen and alive. Now, the whole creation responds again by praising the Lamb who was dead, but is now alive forevermore.

And on this Easter morning you and I join together with all the multitudes of heaven, and with all creation, and with thousands upon thousands of Christians throughout the world in giving praise, honor, and worship to this Savior, Jesus Christ, who, for us, has conquered sin and death, and who now leads us as our kind and loving Shepherd. And, together with Christians all over the world, we look to this Shepherd to raise up our bodies on the last day and give to us and all believers in Him everlasting life. Surely, this Lamb, who was slain for our sins and is alive again, is worthy to receive “praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

And what more appropriate day is there for us to dedicate this window, which depicts this Lamb who is risen from the dead, than this Easter Sunday. May it always serve as a vivid reminder of our victory over sin and death through the risen Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen