Behold! The Lamb of God!
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!!
Scripture Text: John 1:29-34
Last week, we saw a brief glimpse into John the Baptist’s ministry. John was such an important man. He was the forerunner of Christ. He came to usher in the Lamb of God. He was such a faithful man, that Jesus Himself said concerning him:
Luke 7:28 (NKJV)
28 For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist...
Though, John was such a Godly man, we only see a brief glimpse of him from Scripture. His ministry ends about as quickly as it began.
19 But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,
20 also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.
John was a man of truth. Regardless of who they were, how much power they had, or what their response was, John always called it straight down the middle. He was not a mean man. Jesus called him a righteous man. This means that he dealt with people kindly. But though he was kind, he was also honest.
Sometimes, when you tell people the truth of God’s word, they don’t like you for it, even if you do it kindly. It is truly difficult to handle those conversations. You never want to upset someone. You never want to give others bad news, or tell them what they don’t want to hear. Nevertheless, the truth shall set you free. If you live and speak according to God’s word, He will take care of you.
John being honest with Herod landed him in prison. But the truth that he revealed before hand was steadfast and accurate. One of those truths that he revealed is the point of topic today, which is “Who is Jesus?”
John provides the answer to that question in our verses for this morning.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’
31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.
33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
Context
Context
As we saw last week, John is baptizing in the Jordan River. Many people, from all over Jerusalem and surrounding territories are coming out to John. They are hearing his message of repentance and being baptized, confessing their sin. It is estimated that John spent 6-8 weeks at the Jordan River baptizing those who would come humble in Spirit, confessing their sin before God.
During this time, several different groups of people came to John for baptism.
Pharisees and Sadducees
When John saw the religious leaders coming to be baptized, he rebuked them. He called them a “Brood of vipers.” He sternly tells them that if they are to be baptized, they first need to bear fruits worthy of repentance. He explains that judgment is coming. Those who have fully trusted in the Messiah will be rewarded and those who reject Him will be cast out and thrown into the fire.
In other words, he says, “You are nothing more than slithery snakes who think you are going to jump into the creek to avoid a brush fire.” You can’t just take a dip in the water to avoid the fiery judgment of God. You first need to fully turn from your sin and live a life consistent with your claim of repentance.
The Wealthy
If you have two tunics, give one to someone in need. If you have spare food, do the same.
The Tax Collectors
Collect no more than what is appointed for you to collect.
Soldiers
Stop intimidating others and falsely accusing them, and stop complaining about your wages. Be happy with what you make and treat people fairly.
Jesus
John also tried to deny baptizing Jesus, but for different reasons. Everyone else had been denied baptism because they did not bear fruit worthy of repentance, Jesus on the other hand had no need to repent for He was sinless. John tells Jesus, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
John did not feel worthy to baptize Jesus. Jesus insisted that he do so, so that all righteousness could be fulfilled.
John’s account of Jesus’ baptism is different from the rest. Matthew, Mark, and Luke record the baptism of Jesus as it happens. John’s record of Jesus’ baptism is actually several weeks after it happened. Some even estimate up to 6 weeks later. If you will notice, John the Baptist speaks of the account here in John in past tense as he tells it.
I am thankful God allowed John the apostle to include this account of Jesus’ Baptism, for we too are looking back at the account, just as he is. After living through the event personally, and having had time to reflect back on what had taken place, John the Baptist was able to make a startling claim concerning Jesus as He approached on this day: “Behold! The Lamb of God...”
What was it about Jesus that made John say that? That is what we want to look at today. Maybe if we can see what John saw in Jesus, then we too can say what John said, “Behold! The Lamb of God”
Content
Content
The Prophecy
The Prophecy
The first thing that brought awareness to The Baptist was the prophecies concerning the Messiah.
Notice that he did not know before this moment that Jesus was the Messiah. Twice in this text, as John the Baptist is looking back on the moment of Jesus’ baptism, he says, “I did not know Him...”:
31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
The Baptist did not know who the Messiah was previous to the baptism of Jesus. Nonetheless, he was eagerly awaiting the moment with expectation when this man would be revealed.
The Baptist was driven by prophecy, largely because his own purpose in life was driven by it. He knew his purpose in life because he knew the prophecies concerning his purpose in life. He was to usher in a new age; He was to pave a way for the Messiah; He was to prepare the hearts of the people so that they could receive Jesus; He was to initiate a ministry that would forever change the world.
Even according to the standards of their day, John the Baptist was a weird man. He came preaching in the desert a message that had been long since forgotten. The message of urgent repentance had not been preached in over 400 years. Furthermore, he wore camel’s hair for clothing and ate locusts and wild honey. John would be having a hayday right now with our current increase of cicadas coming through the state!!!
Don’t ever judge a book by its cover. Don’t ever fall trap to looking at someone who dresses down from you or has less than what you have and think that you are inferior to them. John the Baptist may have been out of touch with society, but he was more in tune with the Spirit than any of his counterparts.
Because of the prophecy concerning his life, he lived with an eager expectation of seeing and worshipping the prophesied Messiah.
He also understood that the prophecy concerning his own ministry was heavily intertwined with the prophecy of the Messiah’s. After all, his purpose was to usher in the Messiah.
The Baptist lived off the grid with Scripture as his guide. He did not grow up in society with the rest of civilization so he knew very few of those whom he baptized. With every person who stepped into the water, a rush of eager expectation awaited the fulfillment of God’s Word unto him:
33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
The prophecy concerning Christ was the very thing John the Baptist was hanging onto. The fulfillment of that prophecy was how John would know who the Messiah was.
The fulfilled prophecies of Christ are also a major contributor for how we are to know the Messiah as well.
Moses prophesied the Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that his lineage would come through the tribe of Judah. (Gen. 12:3, 17:19, 49:10; Num. 24:17)
Isaiah prophesied the Messiah would be a descendant of King David (Isa. 9:7)
Isaiah also prophesied that the Messiah would be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14)
Daniel gave a timeline of the Messiah’s birth (Dan. 9:25)
Micah prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Jerusalem (Mic. 5:2)
Hosea prophesied that the Messiah would be called out of Egypt (Hos. 11:1)
There are many other prophesies that stated the Messiah would have a Galilean ministry (Isa. 9:1-2), he would speak in parables (Psa. 78:2-4), he would be rejected by His own people (Isa. 53:3), he would be adored by children (Psa 8:2), he would be betrayed by a close friend for thirty pieces of silver (Psa 41:9; Zech 11:12), accused by false witnesses (Psa 35:11), he would be crucified with others (Isa 53:12), pierced through his hands and feet (Zech 12:10), pierced in his side (Zech 12:10), soldiers would gamble for his clothing (Psa 22:17-18), forsaken by God (Psa 22:1), buried with the rich (Isa 53:9), resurrected (Psa 16:10, 49:15), ascend to the Father (Psa 68:18), and also that God would declare Him His Son (Psa 2:7).
No one else in history could have fulfilled every one of those prophecies. Jesus is the Messiah.
The Profession
The Profession
I have to take a second and give thanks to a certain someone before I continue with this point. It was earlier this year when a brother in Christ shared this thought with me. I had never seen these verses this way before, but this second point was made aware to me by him and it is amazing.
Can you imagine for a moment what it must have been like for Mary, Joseph, and Jesus? Mary and Joseph fall in love, like so many others had done, and their story was much like everyone else’s until....she comes up pregnant.
This event throws a rift into their story. Joseph, like any man, doubts Mary’s love and devotion unto him at first and separates from her. Mary, becoming pregnant while yet a virgin, is also confusing. Their relationship is strained almost to the point of breaking.
Then God reveals his working unto both of them, but not to anyone else. They knew what was going on, but everyone else is still left wondering what exactly happened. Joseph still maintains his integrity as not having relations with her until after Jesus was born, but Mary continues to maintain her integrity of not cheating on her soon to be husband. Something doesn’t add up.
Can you imagine the rumors that are flying around concerning the both of them?
Who is this boys real father?
Who did Mary cheat on Joseph with?
How can we know if Jesus is available for temple service without truly knowing who His father is?
All of these questions, amongst many others are floating about concerning Jesus and His family. Everywhere they went, whispers are heard amongst the onlookers.
At the beginning of Matthew we see one genealogy. In Luke 3, we see the other. One of them comes from Joseph’s lineage, the other from Mary’s. But who does this child belong to? Where does He fall into place?
But God finally settles the issue. God decides to put an end to all of the skepticism, all of the rumors, and all of the whispering.
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
God interrupts all of the commotion concerning Christ’ heritage and sets the masses clear. “You all have been questioning amongst yourselves you Jesus belongs to. You have been wondering what would become of Him. Let me tell you now. Jesus is my Son and I am will pleased with Him.”
God settled it for them and for us. Listen, you don’t have to wonder as they did, trying to find an answer to a question that has already been settled. Maybe you have been wondering in your own heart who Jesus is, trying to answer that question for yourself. God just answered it for you. Jesus is the Son of God.
As John the Baptist looks back at this event, as well as all that has happened since then, he now proclaims without hesitation:
34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
Many others since then have come to the same conclusion and have held to the same testimony as John did.
29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
24 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.
10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.
11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
When Jesus was baptized, God plainly spoke that Jesus was His Son. To believe or say anything different from that is to call God a liar. God Himself testified of the deity of Christ. How much more proof does one need that Jesus is the prophesied Messiah, Savior of the world, and Son of God?
Commitment
Commitment
As we come to a close, I want you to take notice of one final detail found in vs. 29:
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
He is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
One might ask the question, “Why is it so important that I make a decision concerning who Jesus is?”
That is why. Sin is found within every single person, and how you respond to the question, “Who is Jesus to you?” will determine what effect that sin in your life has upon you, now and for eternity.
33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
This baptism of the Holy Spirit speaks of salvation. Remember that the picture of baptism is a full submersion into something. As we are completely submerged by the Holy Spirit, are sins are covered by the grace of God. Not only are they covered, but they are forever forgiven. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit seals us unto the day of redemption.
He also takes up residence in our hearts and begins to reveal unto us the truths of God. It is through the leadership of the Holy Spirit that we are able to learn of God and draw near unto Him. Without Him, we would have no understanding of who God is or His amazing love for us.
Have you decided? Have you decided your answer to the question? Who is Jesus to you?
If you are truly convinced, just as John the Baptist and so many others were, that He is the Son of God, then submit yourself unto Him as Lord of your life and quit playing games. Today is the day you
