WEDNESDAY 15th
John 1:29, 35-36
NIV – ‘The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! . . . The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, Look, the Lamb of God!’
ESV – ‘The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! . . . The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, Behold, the Lamb of God!’
I am not what you would call an avid sports fan, but I do like motor sport and snooker, and in regard to football I would say I am a Southampton and England supporter, in Rugby, England of course! One of the features of a snooker match is when at the beginning the MC gets to do the big introductions. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we have xxx xxx from xxx the 5 times world champion etc. and then to the cheering of the crowd in comes the player he has just introduced.
In our verses today, we find that the Baptist, has the great opportunity of introducing the Lord Jesus Christ to the crowd! What a job to have! And yet, we all have this opportunity, of finding some way of introducing Jesus to people!
Up to this point in the chapter it is as if the two Johns have been describing the one who is the Word, the light that was coming into the world, and he himself has been standing behind the scenes, and suddenly he comes and John declares ‘Behold, or look, the Lamb of God’, and then announces what he is going to do, not become a world champion in some major sporting arena but the One who is going take away the sin of the world. This is a loaded statement for within it is the theme of being a champion, for in taking away the sin of the world, this Lamb presented to them in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ was going to triumph. He was going to take head on the devil, sin, death, the grave and he was going to come out as the Conqueror. The Lamb was going to prevail and become the Lion of Judah.
The announcement that the Baptist made, was the news that the world needed to hear, because it meant that the greatest need of mankind was going to be met, the need of salvation and reconciliation to God.
The subject of a lamb and sin was not new to those who heard the Baptist talking, they would have been used to the regular practise of finding an unblemished lamb to sacrifice based on the OT law, but the problem was that this would have to be done regularly because sin was not taken away but only covered. This Lamb, who John was introducing to them was going to offer himself as a permanent sacrifice which would not cover the sin temporarily like a sticking plaster but would take it completely away. That must be good news! It is news on a par with the news that the angel gave to the shepherds on the night that the Word had become flesh and began to dwell among us, ‘For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.’ The baby that they would find wrapped in swaddling clothes, was the Lamb who would be slain, and the Lion who would conquer.
The ‘Word’ in verse 1, is creator in verse 2, life and light in verse 4, becomes flesh (v14), full of grace and truth (v14) Jesus Christ (v17) and the Lamb of God in verse 29.
Behold the Lamb of God . . .! In the Old Testament the people would go out and select from the flock the lamb that was to be chosen and used for the sacrifice (see for an example Leviticus 1) it needed to be without blemish.
Not anymore, we cannot choose our own lamb to bring about redemption, God has already made the choice, the lamb to be used for the sacrifice was to be the lamb that God has given and that God had sent, that is the Lamb of God. This is important in our presentation of the gospel, when we come across those who are seeking to earn salvation, or who are seeking to reach salvation through effort, or foreign gods, there is only one way, the appointed way, which is through the shed blood of the Lamb of God. This is the way of the Cross, for that is the place where the sacrifice which was a once for all sacrifice took place and it was the sacrifice that takes away the sin of the world. By faith we must come to the cross, relying not on our own effort but upon what Christ has done for us, we come for cleansing we come for pardon, we come for salvation. 1 Peter 1:18-21 ’ . . . knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.’