Jesus is the Lamb of God

Call to Worship

Psalm 40:2–3 (NIV)

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.

Scripture Reading

John 1:29-42

Kidz Message

Opener

Sin is like something really stinky but God intends the world to smell nice

Let the kids smell the “stinky” bottle

Sin is like the stinky bottle, you don’t want to be near it and it makes you uncomfortable, but we end up sinning and making the world stink when we don’t trust God.

Message

In ancient Israel they knew that sin made things stinky, but it is easy to forget how our actions can make the world stinkier. So, God let them sacrifice a lamb, a baby sheep.

Would you be happy that the lamb died? Of course not!

killing the sheep reminded them of how bad their sin made the world

The sheep also reminded them that God would always give them a way to clean up the stink and make things right, even if it hurt God himself.

Today, in the scripture reading we heard John the baptist point to Jesus and say “look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Jesus is like the lamb that the ancient Israelites killed, but the ultimate one who died so that all the stink that our sin creates can be cleaned up.

That’s why we follow Jesus, because he has made away to make all the bad in this world better.

Pretty cool huh?

Prayer

Dear God

Sometimes we do things that hurt others,

sometimes other people hurt us,

when we hurt each other, we feel sad, lonely, and scared.

Thank you for sending your son Jesus

The Lamb of God, to fix all the bad.

Show us how we can help.

Amen

Sermon

SLIDE - Opening Question

Opening

Q: “What do you believe will make the world a better place?”

Morality: If people would only choose to do good

Ex: More kindness and empathy, being self-sacrficial etc.

Ideology: If people believe the right things

Ex: If we only cared more about ______ (family, hard work, people who are different)

Policy: If those in power made the right rules

If we only got (so and so) out of office

If those darn (republicans, democrats, etc.) would stop getting in the way

Nihilist/ hedonist: It’s not possible.

We are all to insignificant to do anything about the world, so just do whatever makes you personally happy

I believe they all actually have a shred of wisdom, but none will do the job.

Epiphany: Jesus is God

Slide - Epiphany

Epiphany is about having an “ah-ha” moment about who Jesus really is

Today, we will look at what John the baptist meant when he said Jesus is “The Lamb of God”

It matters because anything we believe will make the world a better place will inevitably fall flat without Jesus at the foundation.

Today, my aim to to invite you to a fresh epiphany as to why that’s true, and perhaps debunk some unhelpful interpretations of scripture along the way.

SIN & Injustice

If we want to look at how to fix the world, we need to start with why it’s broken.

Sin Cycle

SLIDE - Sin Cycle

Self-defence -> Trauma -> Distrust

Note: Adjustment to sin cycle language around self-reliance/defence

The Sin Cycle creates Injustice

SLIDE - Sin Cycle -> Injustice

Injustice is simply when good things turn bad

This was in the garden and since the fall.

Slide - Sin Cycle->Injustice->Division

Q: How does God respond to injustice?

Retaliate or Release: Two competing interpretations that color our whole worldview

Example: The Flood in Genesis 5-9

God created by putting order to chaos in Gen 1

- Retaliate: God retaliates against human sin by inflicting pain

Justice demands vengeance, badness must be punished & destroyed to ensure goodness remains.

Punishment is what we deserve if God is just

- Release: God releases chaos into creation, resulting in pain & death.

Order & goodness comes in proximity to God, so the consequence of departure is chaos & injustice.

We can only truly live if we are close to God

Either way you interpret it, the result of sin is death

Scripture: Rom 6:23a

“For the wages of sin is death...”

How is The World Made Right?

So far, we’ve seen that the world is broken because of sin and the resulting injustice.

Q: How is the world made right?

Scripture Rom 6:23

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Today, in our scripture, John the baptist said…

Scripture John 1:29

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

So, Jesus is the Lamb of God, a gift that takes away the sin of the world AND brings Eternal Life.

Remember how I said we would tackle some unhelpful interpretations?

Lamb of God Theology breakout

Side-note Q: What is a sacrificial Lamb?

Scripture Isaiah 53:4–5 (NIV)

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Scripture Isaiah 53:7 (NIV)

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

The suffering servant was compared to a lamb

- “The Lamb” was part of temple rituals preparing holy space. By witnessing the daily death of a lamb, the people were reminded of the cost of sin.

- Contrast Pagan Sacrifice and Jewish Sacrifice.

Back to the Question

Our two interpretations from before end up with quite different answers.

SLIDE - Two Interpretations (1)

Retaliation:

Jesus takes what we deserve, but Jesus is God?

Does God punish himself?

In the end we all get what is Just, but you can choose Jesus and avoid punishment

Jesus choosers get eternity with God

Jesus deniers get their just punishment of eternal death

SLIDE - Two Interpretations (2)

Release:

Jesus takes what we created

Jesus experiences the consequence of our sin

Jesus reverses the sin cycle & illuminates a Life-Cycle

Self-sacrifice -> Trust -> Healing

Those who follow Jesus experience life by reversing the cycle themselves

Those who reject him continue in death by staying in the cycle

SLIDE - Big Idea

Big Idea: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Note what John doesn’t say

Who takes on the punishment the world deserves

Who eliminates the consequences of sin

It’s only in the “release” interpretation that Sin actually goes away!

Conclusion/ Application

So let’s ask our question once more...

Slide - Core Question

Q: “What do you believe will make the world a better place?”

The world will be a better place because Jesus has made it possible to take away sin, and our following him out of the prison of sin and into eternal life will make the world a better place.

So, what now?

Call to Action

SLIDE - CTA

Are you unconvinced, though curious?

Are you convinced, but don’t know where to start?

repent & be baptized

Are you trying to process the new interpretation against a lifetime of believing in God’s punishment as Justice?

Keep chewing and send in your questions.

Benediction

Look on the Lamb of God and be at peace, my friends.

As you go, do not go as slaves, fearfully obedient to a hard master.

Go as the free children of God,

who are loved with a depth-less and everlasting love.

Amen!