The Lamb\'s Mission

[God] made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:21
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The Lamb's Mission
It is laudable and good to comply with these Commandments. By doing so we abstain from outward sin in the world. But it is futile to try to expunge sin before God through the Law. The one thing that is effective in this respect is spoken of here: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" And in Isaiah 53:6 we read: “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." And again (Isaiah 53:8): "The Lord will strike Him for the transgression of my people." Everything centers in Christ. Therefore a Christian must adhere to this verse with simplicity of heart and not let anyone rob him of it. Then he will be aware of the blindness of all heathen, of the papists, and of the godless, who themselves want to render satisfaction with pilgrimages and with good works. They make much of these and console themselves with purgatory. But they are blind. For Holy Scripture declares that the sin of the world does not lie on the world, or St. John's sin on St. John, or St. Peter's on Peter; for they are unable to bear it. The sin of the world lies on Christ, the Lamb of God. He steps forth and becomes a vile sinner, yea, sin itself (2 Corinthians 5:21), just as if He Himself had committed all the sin of the world from its beginning to its end. This is to be the Lamb's office, mission, and function.

From Sermons on the Gospel of John, Chapters 1-4 (Luther's Works 22:167-68)