Behold! The Lamb of God
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22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
25 They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.
27 “It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
28 These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Title: Behold! The Lamb of God
Explain Gospels synoptic vs John’s gospel
John on the other hand begins with a profoundly theological statement:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
From the start John is taking a different approach in describing the Gospel of Jesus Christ…
In fact, John’s gospel largely looks at the life of Jesus through the lens of a Jewish holiday called Passover…
Explain the events of the first passover… and the significance of the lamb
Describe that they were to put the blood on the doorpost and eat the meat
7 ‘Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.
8 ‘They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
It is after this that Pharoah sends Israel out of Egypt… This was their deliverance…
Then God tells them, to remember it always…
14 ‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.
Over and over again they are commanded to remember their day of deliverance…
Remember how I brought you out of Egypt, remember how I delivered you from slavery…
Remember the day you walked out, having been spared from death because of the blood of the lamb over your doorpost…
Remember when times are good so that you do not forget it was God who put you where you are…
Remember when times are bad because if He saved you once, He will do it again…
This was engrained in their teaching, their songs, and their traditions…
Remember the God who brought you out by the blood of the lamb…
In fact, the whole passover feast was held at the command of God to be an annual reminder of their deliverance…
But Israel, as an example to all the world, turned away from God again and again…
1 When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son.
2 The more [the prophets] called [Israel],
The more they went from them;
They kept sacrificing to the Baals
And burning incense to idols.
Just as we were in our sin, so Israel keeps turning from God, chasing their own desires…
God reminds them that He is the one who delivered them, but this reminder is not for them to turn back, but to look forward…
Because God also says…
5 They will not return to the land of Egypt;
But Assyria—he will be their king
Because they refused to return to Me.
And just as was prophesied, Israel is taken into exile by the Assyrian empire…
Explain exile as conquering strategy
But God’s reminder of their earlier deliverance remains…
A kernel of hope remains in that if God could deliver them from Egypt, He can deliver them from exile…
14 “Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’
15 but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.
So God again tells them, remember your deliverance on the day of passover!
For there is another day coming when you will once again be delivered…
As time continued on, that deliverance is hoped for, prayed for, but not yet seen…
Promise after promise of deliverance as they were delivered from Egypt…
The Assyrian empire is taken over by the Babylonian Empire, then they are permitted to return home and rebuild the temple! But they are still not a nation of their own.
The greeks rise and the Roman empire assumes power, and yet their deliverance is still not complete.
So they continue to look for a savior that would deliver them from the bondage of their oppressors…
The passover feast becomes not only a memorial to what was, but a look forward to what will be…
Then Jesus shows up on the scene!
But He comes with a different type of deliverance than they were expecting…
He comes with deliverance from a bondage called sin…
His deliverance isn’t just for Israel but for the whole world…
And this time, the lamb is not from a field, but from Heaven’s throne…
So when John’s gospel begins he starts with this background in mind and writes from a place of remembering the passover…
Just like Israel, all mankind has turned from God again and again…
Just like Israel, all mankind has turned from God again and again…
In fact, if we are honest, all of us at one point or another have turned from God again and again…
We have pursued our own passions, sought after our own ambition, fell victim to the trap of sin put before us…
In fact,
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
John records that just as Israel was in bondage to Egypt, so we who have all committed sin are now in a bondage of our own:
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
That’s why you can’t just stop and turn your back on it…
That’s why you don’t feel worthy to sit in this sanctuary…
That’s why you feel hopeless when you think about coming to these altars, because you’re a slave!
A slave’s will is of no consequence, not when the master of sin is evil and wicked…
But just when it seems like all hope is lost…
Just when you think you’re going to be bound to this forever…
Just when it seems like God has stopped listening to your cries for help….
You’re in Egypt, you’re in bondage, you’re saying things like,
I’ll never be able to live like them…
I’ll never be able to have it all together…
I’ll never get over this addiction…
I’ll never get over these desires…
This thing has a hold on me and it won’t let go!
Just when you think you’ve tried all there is to try…
29 …Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
See the passover lamb was protection from death…
23 “For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you.
When He sees the blood!
The blood of the lamb!
The bible says…
23 For the wages of sin is death…
Death was coming for you in your bondage…
The destroyer is headed to your house, but if he sees the blood!
The blood of the lamb, but this time not the lamb from a stable…
BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD!
BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD!
His name is Jesus and He gave his own blood that you may have it on the doorpost of your heart and be delivered from penalty of death…
Here’s what I know about the blood… it had to be from the right lamb…
5 ‘Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
It couldn’t be just any old lamb, it had to be unblemished, perfect, spotless, in good health…
It had to be from the right source…
It had to be from the right source…
The blood is only effective because it comes from the right source…
Great care was taken to choose the right lamb, because if it was not a lamb as God required, then the blood was no use.
The blood of a pig would not substitute for the blood of the lamb…
Not just any blood would do. Not just any sacrifice was enough…
That’s why it’s important to know the source…
If we are going to talk about the blood you better be able to identify the source.
It’s not just the blood that holds power and cleansing, it’s only the blood of the spotless lamb of God without blemish or wrinkle…
I’m afraid we have a whole group of people who have been around church long enough to pick up on the language, but miss out on the source…
They think just because they plead the blood that they are covered but they have no connection with the source…
What am I saying? There’s only one source of cleansing blood that can take a heart black with sin and turn it white as snow…
13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
There is only one way and His name is Jesus!
There is only one way and His name is Jesus!
He told Martha, I am THE way…
You’ve gotta know that you know that you know… There’s no room for half commitment. The blood is either there, or it isn’t.
Choose this day whom you will serve… As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord…
I’m not here to condemn you, hate on you, or judge you. I’m here to tell you all that can be wiped away in a moment!
In fact, the bible says,
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
If you are in Him and His blood marks the doorpost of your heart, there is no longer any condemnation!
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
People are often worried that they will be judged in the church, but for the believer who has committed themself to Jesus, all judgement has been done away with!
Jesus, the spotless lamb, the sinner’s savior, came, wrapped himself up in flesh, born to a virgin, laid in a manger, lived 33.5 years, and died as the sacrifice that would deliver you and I from the bondage of sin and death!
The sacrifice is already made, the price already paid, now He’s just waiting on you!
Call Worship Team
Here’s the last point I want to make:
When God instructed them on how they were supposed to eat the lamb, this is what he said:
11 ‘Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover.
Eat it in haste! Don’t hesitate! Let’s get this done!
There’s nothing you’re waiting on from God.. .
The sacrifice is made, the path has been laid out…
He’s waiting on you…
He’s waiting on you…
Just like He instructed Israel on how to partake of the lamb, let us not hesitate, but do it ready to go!
Why wait? Today might be the last chance you get….
Don’t hesitate, don’t delay. Come as though you’re ready to go…
Altar Call: Would you answer His call today?
Would you put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of your heart?
Would you give your life to Him because He gave His life for you?
After Second Song: Communion
Just as Israel was given a feast to remember the day of their deliverance, so Jesus gave us instructions on having a meal and remembering the deliverance He gave to us…
Explain last supper as passover meal, redirected by Jesus with the instruction to remember your deliverance
Just as Israel is reminded by the feast of passover, so we are reminded each time we gather to eat a meal together that it was his blood and his broken body that was given for us… for our deliverance…
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
