As The Lamb of God

The Lamb Showed Up For Us

12.22.23 [John 1:29-41] River of Life (2nd Sunday after Epiphany)

Have you been to the World Wildlife Zoo? If you’ve been there before, you know that you need to develop a plan. It’s a great, big place and the animals are really spread out. It doesn’t take too long before legs get tired, the sun gets hot, and bellies start rumbling. So in order to have a great day at the World Wildlife Zoo, you’ve got to know what everyone really want to see. So which animals are on your list?

My family needs a plan at the zoo because what we all want to see is all over the place. Fiona likes the tigers. Gigi, the llamas. Zeke has to sees the peacocks and they seem to only be where you don’t want them to be. Jenni loves the arctic foxes. My favorites are the rhinos—even though, at the World Wildlife Zoo, they named them after the Kardashians. And none of those animals are close to each other

When you go to the zoo, what do you want to see? Maybe you want to see the big cats. The lions and the tigers, the cheetahs and the leopards. Maybe you’re excited to feed the giraffes or the lory parrots. Perhaps you’re looking forward to the sea lion show or petting the stingrays. Maybe you really want to see that row of primates or the colorful birds or do the kangaroo walkabout.

When you going to the zoo, just about everyone has an animal that they’re hoping to see. When you leave a zoo, it’s not hard for anyone to come up with their favorite animal that they saw that day.

But you know what animal isn’t on anyone’s list? A lamb. It’s not fearsome like the big cats or powerful like the rhinos. It doesn’t put on a show like the sea lions or leap from one place to another like the spider monkeys. It doesn’t have the beauty of a peacock, the exotic mystique of the arctic foxes, or the marketing cache of a llama.

But today, John’s Gospel and another John—the Baptizer—tells we need to be looking for and thankful for the Lamb of God. In fact, recognizing who the Lamb is, what he came to do, and why we need it is the most important thing in life. In fact, the forerunner John the Baptist knew it was so important that people recognized the Lamb, that he cries out for our attention before pointing us in the right direction. Then he repeats himself. In case we weren’t listening.

Twice in a matter of (Jn. 1:35) two days, John declares: (Jn. 1:29,36) Look! The Lamb of God! It’s clear John wants people to see the Lamb of God is God’s Chosen One, who will take away the sin of the world. It’s also clear the Holy Spirit wants us to see the Lamb of God because it is repeated and a catalyst for Andrew and Peter following Jesus. Any time God repeats himself, we do well to listen well and think carefully.

But that title, the Lamb of God, isn’t the only thing that is repeated here. Look at what else John bring our attention to. (Jn. 1:31,33) I myself did not know him. Consider that for a moment. John’s sole job was to prepare the way for God’s Chosen One. When people asked him if he was the Messiah, he knew he wasn’t and said as much. He kept telling anyone who would listen that there was one coming after him who had surpassed him, because he was before him. But John didn’t know who he was until God revealed him at the Jordan River.

We heard how that happened last week. When Jesus stood in line with the rest of the sinners to be baptized in the Jordan River. John thought Jesus didn’t belong. He recognized that Jesus was already a righteous individual. He even humbly admitted that Jesus should be baptizing him, not the other way around. But when Jesus insisted, John acquiesced. And something remarkable happened. When the Father spoke and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove, the dots were connected for John. This is the One I’ve been looking for. This is the One that Israel has been waiting for for generations.

This is the Lamb we need, too. But, we don’t always think and act that way, do we? Time and again, we are looking for something else, someone else, and we look past the Lamb of God who came for us.

Sometimes, in life, we are looking to be entertained. We want some excitement. A thrill. Sometimes, we overlook the Lamb and get all wrapped up in games and movies, shows and adventures. We can spend hours watching complete strangers do the silliest things, over and over again, but we can’t seem to get half as interested to read the familiar words of life. At times, we look at the Lamb and we grow disappointed that he doesn’t do something impressive.

We likely wouldn’t be as crass as Herod and say we need to see a miracle, but we do want to see some show of power and might. We grow listless when we read God’s Word and we don’t learn anything new or don’t experience some spiritual spike of growth, wisdom, or maturation. We get frustrated that God doesn’t do healing miracles like we see in the Gospels anymore. We get discouraged when it seems like every other place—or even others churches—is where all the excitement and the fun is at. We get bored with the liturgy. Disappointed with the hymns. Sometimes, without even realizing it, we are looking for a sea lion show to dazzle us with stunts and tricks and not the Lamb of God who patiently plods alongside people at an unhurried pace.

Other times, we are looking for someone to inspire and lead us into great victories in this life. We feel like we are bring hunted in this world. We want someone who will defend us. Put the fear in our enemies. We want someone who will get us fired up. Get us going in the right direction. Someone who will unlock our potential, rouse us when we are in a funk, and energize us when we are feeling run down. Don’t get me wrong. Jesus is an inspiring champion. He knows what you need to do and he knows exactly what to say when you’re feeling weary. But he is not the lion you’re looking for. He is the Lamb of God who has come to deal with your sin.

And still there are other moments, when we want a Savior who is like an animal we don’t even have to go to the zoo to see. There are times when we are most concerned with finding comfort, security, and soothing. We’re sad. We’re worried. We’re lonely. We are looking for a friendly pet to lay at our feet and keep us warm and cuddle when we are feeling insecure, not the Lamb of God who came to lay down his life as a ransom for sinners.

Truth is, the Lamb doesn’t rank real high on our list of animals to see. Not until we see the ugliness of our sin first. And really, not until we see that our sin in a matter of life and death. When we feel the weight of our guilt, our shame, and all our sin come crashing down on us, then we are deeply interested in a Lamb who will take that away.

That’s why, God, in his infinite wisdom and mercy, has embedded wake up calls into this broken world. Of course, the one that jumps of the page first is the direct consequences we experience when we make sinful choices. When we lie and have to deal with a diminished reputation or a broken relationship, we get a glimpse into what a big deal the truth is to God and to his creation. When we behave selfishly and hurt ourselves and the people we say we love, we see the ugliness of our sinfulness. In a thousand different ways, day by day, we see that (Rm. 3:23) the wages of sin is death. We die because of our sins. Our relationships and our legacies die because of our sins. Ultimately, our sins separate us from the One who is Life, Truth, & Goodness. God.

That’s what we need. We need God to give us life. We need God to take away our sins. We need God to make us, not just feel good, but actually be good. And because we know we cannot do that ourselves, that this is something only God can do for us, we might expect him to do it in some magical or divine way. Something really heart pounding, show stopping, or mind blowing. But that’s not how God works. God gives us the Lamb, even though almost no one is looking for one.

There was one man, once, who was looking for a lamb. His name was Isaac. He was an only child. His father’s pride and joy. And one day, his dad, Abraham told him to get ready to go on an important spiritual journey. The two were going to go out for a three day trip to offer a sacrifice. On the third day, as it seemed they were getting closer to the right place, Isaac acknowledged out loud something he must have noticed from the very start. They had the fire, the knife, and the wood for the sacrifice, but not the lamb. And Abraham owned many flocks of sheep, but he didn’t bring any of them. So Isaac asked his father: (Gen. 22:7) Where’s the Lamb? It was a logical question. And a good one. Abraham replied, (Gen. 22:8) God himself will provide the lamb.

But here’s the thing. God had commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, not a lamb. And Abraham intended on obeying God. So when he got to the place God told him about, he built an altar and took out his knife. He was about to kill his son. At that very moment, God stepped in and put a stop to this. He commended Abraham’s faithfulness and when Abraham looked up, there was the Lamb Abraham had said God would provide. Abraham wasn’t looking for it. He was expecting to have to sacrifice his own Son, but God provided another. A substitute.

That is what God has done for us in sending his Son. As that ram did for Isaac, the Lamb of God has taken our place. Isaiah says, (Is. 53:4) he took up our pain. He bore our suffering. (Is. 53:5) He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The Lord laid on him the iniquity of the world, of us all. But Jesus is more than a metaphorical lamb. He is also like Isaac. The beloved only Son. His Father’s pride and joy. Except when Christ was laid on the cross, God the Father did not step in. Jesus was (Is. 53:7) led like a lamb to the slaughter and put to death. The Lord made his life an offering for our sin, (1 Jn. 2:2) a sacrifice of atonement for the sin of the world.

And this is what we all desperately need most. Jesus can do miracles, but what we needed from him most was to make atonement for our sins. Jesus is all-powerful. No one can defeat him. But we needed him to lay down his life for us. Jesus is God, so he is omni-present, he is everywhere and always with us. But we needed him to take away our sin and give us the comfort of knowing that we are forgiven. We may not always recognize that we need the Lamb, but the Lamb does. That’s why he came. That’s why he was revealed to the world by the Scriptures. That’s why he lived, so that we might have his righteousness. That’s why he died, so that we might be his own. That’s why he rose, so that we might see him as reigning on his throne. Because that’s where eternity ends up for us. In heaven, at the center of the throne of heaven, we will see a Lamb. Looking as if it had been slain, but very much alive. That’s is our Jesus. And one day, we will proclaim with all the saints and angels in heaven. (Rev. 5:12) Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!