The concept of the Lamb of God fits well within
John's "agent
Christology", in which sacrifice is made as an
agent of God or
servant of God for the sake of eventual victory. The theme of a
sacrificial lamb which rises in victory as the
Resurrected Christ was employed in early Christology. For example, in 375
Saint Augustine wrote: "Why a lamb in his passion? Because he underwent death without being guilty of any iniquity. Why a lion in his passion? Because in being slain, he slew death. Why a lamb in his resurrection? Because his innocence is everlasting. Why a lion in his resurrection? Because everlasting also is his might." and cross; half-relief on the wall of the atrium
Euphrasian Basilica,
Poreč, CroatiaThe 11th century Christology of Saint
Anselm of Canterbury specifically disassociates the Lamb of God from the
Old Testament concept of a
scapegoat, which is subjected to punishment for the sins of others without knowing it or willing it. Anselm emphasized that as Lamb of God, Jesus chose to suffer in Calvary as a sign of his full obedience to the will of the Father.
John Calvin presented the same Christological view, of "The Lamb as the agent of God", by arguing that in his
trial before Pilate and while at
Herod's Court Jesus could have argued for his innocence, but instead remained mostly quiet and submitted to
crucifixion in obedience to the Father, for he knew his role as the Lamb of God. In modern
Eastern Orthodox Christology,
Sergei Bulgakov argued that the role of Jesus as the Lamb of God was "pre-eternally" determined by the Father, before the creation of the world, by considering the scenario that it would be necessary to send The Son as an agent to redeem humanity disgraced by the fall of Adam, and that this is a sign of His love. Multiple hypotheses about the suitable symbolism for the Lamb of God have been offered, within various Christological frameworks, ranging from the interpretation of Old Testament references to those of the Book of Revelation. One view suggests the symbolism of
Leviticus 16 as
scapegoat, coupled with
Romans 3:21–25 for atonement, while another view draws parallels with the
Paschal Lamb in
Exodus 12:1–4, coupled with John 1:29–36, and yet another symbolism relies on Revelation 5:5–14 in which the lamb is viewed as a lion who destroys evil. However, as above, the view adopted by Saint Anselm and John Calvin rejects the scapegoat symbolism. They view Jesus as making a knowing sacrifice as an agent of God, unlike an unwitting scapegoat. In modern Roman Catholic Christology,
Karl Rahner has continued to elaborate on the analogy that the blood of the Lamb of God, and the water flowing from the side of Christ on
Calvary, had a cleansing nature, similar to
baptismal water. In this analogy, the blood of the Lamb washed away the sins of humanity in a new baptism, redeeming it from the fall of Adam. ==Liturgy and music==