From Mount Moriah to Golgotha: The Story Behind the Lamb of God
Mass Readings for January 18, 2026
John the Baptist’s electrifying declaration—“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”—sets off an avalanche of Old Testament echoes few of us today appreciate in full. In this episode, we’ll trace the theme of the sacrificial lamb from Mount Moriah to the Exodus, through the Temple, and into the prophecies of Isaiah, before landing at the foot of the Cross. Along the way, we’ll uncover the surprising links between ancient Jewish worship practices and Jesus’ Passion, discover how the minute details of sacrifice point to Christ, and unravel the mystery of why the Eucharist is more than mere remembrance. Prepare to see the Lamb anew and to let Scripture set your heart ablaze!
Diving deep into our Gospel we'll spend our episode looking closer at:
The unique way John's Gospel identifies Jesus as the "Lamb of God," and how rabbinic tradition puts Isaac near 33 years old and carrying the wood for his own sacrifice [00:12:03]
The game-changing significance that God binds Himself by oath in Genesis 22, using a "grant-type covenant" where the obligation is on God—and how this shifts the whole logic of salvation history in the lead-up to Christ [00:19:08]
How the Passover is described as a remembrance, a technical term indicating that the original act’s power is made present at every Jewish Passover—and how this reality is taken up and fulfilled when Jesus commands: “Do this in remembrance of me” in the Eucharist [00:29:07]
The detail that the place of the near-sacrifice of Isaac—Mount Moriah—later becomes the site of the Jerusalem Temple and just yards from where Jesus is crucified, fulfilling Old Testament prophecy in the most concrete geographic way [00:35:22]
Cutting-edge scholarship arguing that Jesus may have celebrated Passover with the Essenes, a sect that kept Passover without a lamb because they rejected the Temple sacrifices, raising the mind-blowing idea that Jesus Himself is the missing Lamb at the Last Supper [00:44:49]
Why the lambs sacrificed at Passover in the Jerusalem Temple were roasted on a double-spitted cross, often called the "crucifixion of the lamb," and how this detail parallels Jesus' death on the cross, especially as the Passover lambs are being prepared at exactly the hour Jesus carries his cross to Golgotha [00:46:50]
The interpretive tradition that the ram sacrificed instead of Isaac wore a “crown of thorns,” prefiguring Jesus crowned in thorns before his death [00:48:06]
References
"Take your son, your only begotten son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I shall tell you." (Genesis 22:2)
"Behold the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" (Genesis 22:7)
"God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." (Genesis 22:8)
"By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this and not withheld your son, your only begotten son, I will indeed bless you. And I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. Your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. And by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice." (Genesis 22:15-18)
"This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the 10th day of this month, they shall take every man a lamb according to their father's houses, a lamb for a household." (Exodus 12:2-3)
"Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male, a year old. You shall take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the 14th day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening. Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them." (Exodus 12:5-7)
"You shall observe this day as an ordinance forever." (Exodus 12:17)
"Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." (Isaiah 53:7)
"The bronze altar in the Jerusalem Temple was much bigger than it had been in the tabernacle of Moses. According to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, who served as a priest in the temple, the first-century bronze altar was over twenty feet high. It had to be approached by the priests by a means of a ramp going up to its summit. As this fascinating description shows, at the time of Jesus, the bronze altar was almost like a small hill or mountain which the priests walked up carrying the wood and sacrifices to the very top where they would be offered to God." (Brant Pitre, "The Jewish Roots of the Catholic Altar")
"Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah." (2 Chronicles 3:1)
Bibliography
Hahn, Scott W. Kinship by Covenant: A Canonical Approach to the Fulfillment of God’s Saving Promises. New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2009.
Pitre, Brant. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist : Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper. New York: Image, 2016.
Pitre, Brant. “The Jewish Roots of the Catholic Altar: The Bronze Altar (Part I) - Adoremus.” Adoremus, 12 May 2025. https://adoremus.org/2025/05/the-jewish-roots-of-the-catholic-altar-the-bronze-altar-part-i/.
Discussion Questions
What significance does the title "Lamb of God" carry when John the Baptist points to Jesus, especially when considered from the perspective of a first-century Jew?
How does the near-sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22) foreshadow Jesus as the Lamb of God, and what parallels did Katie draw between Isaac and Jesus in their willing participation?
Why emphasize the different types of biblical covenants? How does the idea of a "grant-type" covenant impact our understanding of God's promises to Abraham and their fulfillment in Jesus?
In discussing the Exodus and Passover, what connections are made between the Passover Lamb, the blood on the doorposts, and Jesus' passion and death?
What is the significance of the Hebrew concept of "remembrance" during Passover, and how does that deepen our understanding of the Eucharist?
What details about the Jerusalem Temple and its bronze altar help us better understand the connection between Old Testament sacrifices and Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary?
How does Isaiah’s prophecy about the suffering servant as a lamb led to slaughter relate to Jesus’ mission and identity?
Why might John the Baptist’s declaration of Jesus as the Lamb of God have sounded odd or unexpected to his listeners? How is this echoed in the Old Testament background explored in the episode?
What was the significance of Jesus saying "It is finished" on the cross, especially in light of Passover traditions and the timing of His death as outlined?
After hearing this episode, how does your understanding of the phrase "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" at Mass deepen or change? What new or surprising insight did you find most moving?