Behold the Lamb of God - John 1:29-34

Intro

Have you ever met someone famous? Or maybe just some who is really important?

Ben Anderson example. I was confused about who this guy was, but once he told us who he was, I believed him.

John wants us to do the same. This morning, John is going present to us once again the truth of who Jesus is and we must not be confused about him but must believe in him for salvation.

Read text.

Know who the Lamb of God is.

Last week, if you recall the Pharisees had sent people to where John the Baptist was at, and they were playing a big game of Guess Who. John told them very plainly that he wasn’t the Messiah, he wasn’t Elijah, and he wasn’t the Prophet, but he was the one who was preparing the way for the the Messiah. But as of last week, John had not told anyone who the Messiah was.

I want to provide some context on this. In John’s gospel, he leaves out a major event in Jesus’s life, that is his temptation. So just to fill in some gaps and point out some chronology, before verse 19, Jesus is baptized, then goes out into the wilderness and is tempted for 40 days, and then comes back to Galilee. That is where we pick things up in verse 29.

Now this week, we get into our text and Jesus enters the scene. And John sees him and says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

So before we get into this, think about what Jesus would have looked like. He had just finished up not eating for 40 days. He would have looked rough. Skin and bones, almost literally. Hardly any muscle, and this is the one Who is going to save everyone from their sins? See the humility of Jesus to subject himself to testing, and humanity so that he can take away the sins of the world. That’s the picture of the man who John points out.

Behold - Look! Don’t miss this!

Lamb

Why lamb? 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.” This is the lamb that Isaiah said was going to come.

Because lambs were the daily sacrifice every morning and every evening for the priests to make. So that way Israel could have a relationship with him.

Who is this Lamb? Lamb of God. He is God’s Lamb. The Lamb that came from God. This Lamb is God.

What is he going to do? Take away, to remove sin completely.

Who? Not just Israel, but the whole world. He is salvation to everyone who believes.

Acts 16:31 “And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.””

John gives more detail who Jesus is.

He is a man.

He came before John

Crazy because John was born first.

What’s the point? Jesus is eternal. Jesus is God

Jesus is God and Man.

Jesus is here to be revealed to Israel.

Don’t be confused with who Jesus is. Not only does John bear witness

Believe who the Lamb of God is.

Don’t just take John’s word for it. John saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove. John says the God told that Jesus is the Son of God.

Matthew 3:16–17 “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.””

2 times in our text, John says “I myself did not know him”. John knew Jesus because Jesus was his cousin. But he had not realized that Jesus was the one sent from God. He is God.

Don’t be confused with who Jesus is. He isn’t just a good teacher. He isn’t just a good dude. HE is God. Believe in Him. Place the full weight of your trust on Jesus, because he is God and He is the one who takes your sin away.