The Lamb of God

Jesus is Worthy of our Punishment (Jn1:29)

The Significance of the Lamb

John blends the ideas of OT sacrifice and the Passover Lamb into a catch-all idea. (Particularly, see Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; 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.” and Isaiah 53:11 “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”)

Second, this Lamb is no ordinary Lamb, but it is God’s Lamb. The Lamb that is truly acceptable to God is the One provided by God. (See also Genesis 22:8 “Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.” Genesis 22:13 “And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.”)

How does He take away sin?

Sacrifice. This theme has been present throughout Scripture.

The animal skins provided by God after the fall.

Offerings for sins of omission

Yom Kippur

Then we get this word about Christ in 1 John 2:2 “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” and 1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

All of this sacrifice is pointless, however, if the lamb is blemished in any way. Enter Jesus’ perfection! God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that by His stripes we would be healed, that He might bear the weight of God’s wrath so that we might be spared.

Finally, it’s not just His defeat that secures our safety. It’s His victory as well. Every man in the history of the world, minus Enoch and Elijah, have tasted the sting of death. Yes, Jesus tasted death for us, but if He had only died, then we of all people should be pitied. Instead, He conquered death, the victorious and final affirmation of God the Father that indeed, this is His Son, with whom He is well-pleased. We would do well to follow Him! And in His resurrection, the sting of death is forever removed. We no longer dread death, but instead, we have a settled peace that this world is simply temporary, but our forever home lies on Canaan’s distant shore in the presence of a Heavenly Father who fiercely loves us.

Only One was worthy to stand in our place, to bear the stripes of our rebellion, and He did it freely, to boldly proclaim the Father’s love for us! Isaac Watts’ hymn beautifully captures this:

“Not all the blood of beasts

On Jewish altars slain,

Could give the guilty conscience peace

Or wash away its stain.

But Christ, the heavenly Lamb,

Takes all our sins away;

A sacrifice of nobler Name

And richer blood, than they.

Believing, we rejoice

to see the curse remove;

We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,

And sing His wondrous love.”

Jesus is Worthy of our Worship (Jn1:30-34)

He is worthy because He was before (Jn.1:1)

Jesus ranks before JTB, even though according to time of birth He came after JTB, because he was before JTB. This points back to the beginning of John’s gospel where Jesus’ eternality and equality and distinction and oneness with the Father is shown (Jn 1:1). With His eternality in mind, Jesus is before all for He is pre-existent and the One by whom all things were made. This then by extension shows Jesus’ superiority to all.

He is worthy because the Spirit remained

Confirmation of the Christ. Typically the Spirit came upon people for a task. Here, He remained on Jesus, symbolic that He is more than just a ruler, more than just a prophet. Further, there was a general understanding that the arrival of God’s Spirit would mark the beginning of the messianic times.

Confirmation of God’s presence. This the beginning of the fulfillment of the Temple of God. The Spirit filled the Temple, and this was in part symbolic of God’s presence among His people.

He is worthy because He is God

He baptizes with the Holy Spirit, a task reserved for God alone. This is deeper than simply sending the Spirit — He immerses His followers in the Spirit.

John bears witness that Jesus is the Son of God. Being called the Son of God is claiming that Jesus is God. In other “Holy Spirit baptism” passages, the Father’s voice comes from heaven proclaiming Jesus as the beloved Son. John may be echoing that sentiment. Ultimately, this is probably an allusion to Ps 2:7 and Is 42:1.

Psalm 24 resolves to the proclamation, “Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory!” We recognize the infinite worth of Christ and we sing, “You are worthy of it all, You are worthy of it all, for from You are all things, and to You are all things, You deserve the glory.” And it’s not a new song, but an ancient one that will be sung anew by all of creation, bowing before the throne of God at the end of days as we proclaim, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.”

Jesus is Worthy of our Commitment (Jn1:35-42a)

They followed Jesus

His isn’t humble in word only, but truly believes that Jesus is greater than he. Teachers would often be rivals, and conflict was not uncommon between the disciples of rival rabbis. Disciples were rarely recommended to other teachers, and only when there was exceptional respect for the other teacher.

John didn’t just glance at Jesus. Rather, he fixed his gaze on Jesus. What an appropriate response to Christ. Elsewhere, in the book of Hebrews, believers are called to fix their eyes on Jesus.

Disciples followed their rabbis. The call to follow was issued by Jesus Himself to anyone who would come after Him.

Disciples would often have deep personal attachments to their teachers. However, notice how quickly JTB’s disciples abandon their relational attachments for the sake of allegiance to the truth he taught them. May it ever be so for believers, willingly surrendering personal attachments in this world for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

They stayed with Jesus

Jesus gives the disciples an opportunity to respond. They wanted to know where Jesus was staying. Oftentimes students would learn from instruction and observation. They could follow Jesus to where He was staying and then learn from Him when they reached their destination. Teachers often taught in their own home, especially if they didn’t have a place to formally educate others. The question about where Jesus was abiding was not mere curiosity. Their desire was an invitation for a longer conversation, an opportunity to learn from the Lamb of God, the Son of God.

The call to come tends to be an invitation to follow, the call to discipleship already mentioned. It could be seen as a test to determine the sincerity of commitment of would-be disciples. Their genuineness of their commitment is evident by the fact that they stay with Jesus that day.

Would we know Christ? Then His call still stands today, “Come.” If you will come, you will not be turned away.

They brought others to Jesus

Andrew finds his own brother Simon and declares to him, “We have found the Messiah” — that is, the Christ.

Honest and true believers have this challenge set before them: conviction that Jesus is the Christ and pointing others to Him. In God’s scheme, this work begins at home.

Witnessing, in its simplest form, is simply introducing people to Jesus. That’s what Andrew does, and Jesus takes it from there.

Jesus is worthy of our surrender. Indeed, this is the very call of salvation, to die to self that we might live for Him. And so the church sings, “I surrender all, I surrender all. All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.”

Jesus will Change your Life (Jn1:42b)

Just as JTB set his intent gaze on Jesus, now Jesus sets His intent gaze on Simon Peter. As He sets His gaze on Peter, He changes His name. Is Simon the “Rock” that he will become? Not yet, but what a reminder that while Christ takes us where we are, He doesn’t leave us there.

Name changes were significant in Scripture, indicating a change in that person and describing a new characteristic. Abram was changed to Abraham, Sarai was changed to Sarah, and significantly, Jacob was changed to Israel. One day, the Lord will give all of His followers a new name, a name that is known by only by the Lord and the one who receives it. It’s the assurance that God will finish His work, that there’s never a time when He throws up His hands because He “just can’t with us” anymore. He will complete the good work He has started in us. He will change us…shape us…mold us into the image of His Son. Will it all be smooth sailing and easy days…our best life now? No, because the road to change is paved with trials and passes through tribulation. But, we’re better for it on the other side.

Knowing that Jesus took our punishment, knowing that He is worthy of our worship, worthy of our commitment, we surrender to His refining work in our life, praying,

Take me…mold me…use me…fill me

I give my life to the Potter’s hand

Make me to know your ways…teach me your paths

Lead me in your truth and teach me

For you are the God of my salvation.

There’s no better way to worship our risen Savior than to lay down our lives in worship. As we’ve gathered today to remind ourselves of the gospel truth, that Jesus is the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world, the One who is worthy or our worship, worthy of our commitment and surrender, the One who takes us as we are but molds us into something new, we sing a song of response to the worthy One, but we remember that our worship is more than a song…it’s the life we live to declare to the world that Jesus is the greatest treasure of all.