The Lamb of God - John 1:29-51

Intro:

You ever swear you wouldn’t like something, only to find out later you were wrong?

Sushi is just “bait on rice”? Guacamole looked like baby poo?

Or maybe it was a place—“Branson? That’s just for old folks!”…

We’ve all had those moments where we had the wrong idea, and it completely changed how we treated it, responded to it, and what we expected from it.

The same as true spiritually. What you think of Jesus determines how you respond to him. Too many people in the world have the wrong expectations of Jesus and the wrong view of Jesus. But if we’re gonna follow him as we should, then we need to see and understand him accurately.

1. The Messiah Is A Lamb

John 1:29-34

V.29

Jesus takes away the sin of the world. Not just Israel’s sin, but the world’s. His mission is broader than Israel was looking for.

The “LAMB” to Israel meant...

The Passover lamb from Exodus 12, whose blood shielded God’s people from judgment. It would remind them of that and their yearly celebration of it.

The temple sacrifices, offered daily for sin. (Num.28)

The Isaiah 53 Servant, led like a lamb to the slaughter.

These are the pictures that would come to their mind as John states “Behold, the Lamb of God”. Overall, it meant “SAVIOR!” and they wouldn’t have missed that meaning at all.

The “LAMB” to us means...

Redemption & Atonement

1 Peter 1:18-19— “RANSOMED” by His blood

Think back to Exodus and the Passover lamb — What was the difference in Egypt between the household who’s child was spared and the one where their child died? The difference was the blood of the lamb!

Blood makes all the difference. There is no salvation for those that reject the blood of the lamb! For them, they contacted the blood on the doorpost so God would Passover them. For us, we contact the blood at baptism and Jesus covers over our sin!

Romans 6:3–4 says that we are baptized into His death. That’s where His blood was shed, and that’s where we meet it. Romans 6:3–4 “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

At the moment of baptism, we bury our dead sinful self and are buried with Him, and rise to walk in newness of life. It’s there that His blood covers over our sin—completely, eternally.

Without the blood, there is no salvation. Without baptism into Christ’s death, there is no contact with the blood. But at that moment we do get baptized — we are ransomed, redeemed, and raised!

The LAMB of God to us means He is Our PERFECT SAVIOR!

“The Lamb Of God” — not said anywhere else in the NT, except Revelation.

Notice Revelation 5:1-6.

The power of a lion, the visual of a lamb. Slain, but living. And where is He? The Throne Room in Heaven, He’s the only one WORTHY out of all the others there - He and God alone.

V.30-31

John admits, “I myself did not know Him.” Recognition of Jesus’ isn’t something you’re born with, but something you LEARN then ACCEPT. John had done both, recognizing that though Jesus was born after John, He’s existed forever in eternity and is preeminent!

Having learned who the savior is, his mission was to get Israel ready for Him - that’s why he was teaching and baptizing, he was calling them back and awakening them spiritually to be ready as the Messiah, the Lamb of God, was preparing and on His way!

V.32-34

Lamb of God also = the Son of God. The Spirit descending confirmed His identity.

John 7:37-39

Jesus here is stated as The Lamb of God, the Son of God, and both are proved by the Spirit of God.

2. Pursuing Personal Encounter

John 1:35-42

V.35-38

“What are you seeking?” = what are you wishing for or desiring?

Ask yourself that. What are you looking for? What are you looking to get out of Jesus?

Is what you want from Jesus only “sin management”? Do you only want Jesus to fix your sin, not your life? Do you want eternal life but not transformation? Are you trying to get that salvation you need because I’m a sinner, He’s the sinless savior, I put Him on in Baptism - and now the transaction is complete, I got what I wanted. “I’m good to go!” Do you do that and never really pick up your cross to follow?

Jesus is the perfect lamb we needed - but He states Himself that He is more than that, because we still need more than that! But you can’t get it elsewhere, He says that HE is ALL of what we need.

He is the Good Shepherd (10:14) who keeps protecting and leading and lays down His life for His sheep.

He is the Bread of Life (6:35) who satisfies the deepest spiritual needs we have.

He is the Light of the world (8:12) to show us TRUTH and guide us into a better way of living while we’re in the world.

He is the Resurrection and the Life (11:24) — not only did He die on my behalf, but he became the conqueror of death and the giver of eternal hope!

Are you tired? Jesus says he is rest for our souls (Matt.11:28). Are you anxious and battling your own mind? Jesus is the peace you need (Jn 14:27).

So what is it you need today? Because Jesus has what you need.

Illustration: If you go to the doctor with a serious disease, you don’t want him to just give you Tylenol to hide the symptoms—you want him to actually cure the problem. Too many people come to Jesus like He’s spiritual Tylenol—“Just cover my guilt, make me feel better.” But Jesus didn’t come just to treat symptoms. He came to heal us completely, from the inside out.

Just like v.29 where the Mission of The Lamb is the whole world, so much broader than what the Jews were looking for, we too can be short sighted and accidently put limits on Jesus, we can think too little of Him.

And when Jesus isn’t enough in our lives, we look elsewhere. We look in the world for what we know we’re lacking, and we misplace our trust in what the world offers. Solomon devotes a whole book to this, he wrote in Ecclesiastes that its vanity and like “chasing the wind”. If anyone could gain the whole world, Solomon came close and told us “it’s not worth it, it’s a shell of disappointment”. But God isn’t!

That’s why WE need to COME AND SEE Jesus for who He really is!

The disciples had heard John’s testimony, but now they have to come and see for themselves. Faith requires both knowledge and personal pursuit.

The same is true for you and I. You can hear the preacher talk about what and who Jesus is and the difference maker in my life — but YOU need to come and see for yourself.

V.39

“mental perception”. John pointed him out visually, now Jesus says “come and have a deeper look”. There is both knowledge and experience involved with that. And both of those combined will lead to transformation. But that has to be personal! There is a personal aspect to following Jesus, a REALNESS to it for you.

“Teacher, where are you going? What are you doing?” — Jesus said come and see, come and be part of it. What I’m doing, you can be part of. What an awesome statement!

“My father can be your father. My knowledge can be your knowledge. My sacrifice can be your salvation. My Kingdom can be your family. My eternal dwelling place can be yours too! So come join me!”

V.40-42

They accepted the invitation, then became the ones inviting others. Their encounter changes everything. Andrew is so moved that he runs to tell his brother Simon Peter. Encounter with Jesus always leads to invitation.

Our relationship with Jesus must be real and personal. You cannot live on borrowed faith. You cannot thrive on someone else’s faith. You must “come and see” for yourself—and then, like Andrew, invite others to do the same.

Their following of Jesus had an invitational aspect to it. You can’t grow in Jesus without giving an invitation for others, as He did with compassion, or mentoring as He did with patience.

3. From Skepticism to Faith

John 1:43-51

V.43-46

Some first start to follow because of seeing Jesus’ serve, some because of His teaching, and some because of seeing His divine nature.

We each have had, and maybe still have, some hinderances in following. For Nathaniel it was the case of not being exactly what he had expected (being from Nazareth).

What were you skeptical about?

For some, its only a failure to see or be informed - Philip followed pretty fast after He was informed.

For others, it’s past disappointments that cloud their faith — prayers they felt went unanswered, hardships that made them question God’s goodness.

For some, it’s intellectual questions — “How could God…? Why would God…?” that make them hesitant to trust.

For others, it’s hypocrisy they’ve seen in people who claimed to follow Jesus, leaving them skeptical if faith is real at all.

And for some, it’s simply pride — “If this isn’t how I pictured God working, then I don’t want it.”

But notice Philip’s response to Nathaniel’s doubt: he didn’t argue, he invited. “Come and see.” Sometimes the best answer to skepticism isn’t a debate but an encounter with Jesus Himself.

V.47-51

Jesus was the one that broke down the barrier and the skepticism - so it doesn’t always need to be you, maybe you just need to say “Come and See”!

He was drawn to Jesus when he realized that Jesus KNOWS Him, not in a passing by sort of way, but a SUPERNATURAL way!

What did Jesus see?

Could’ve been Him studying.

Could be completely symbolic of “positioning himself to see God’s kingdom come”, better than the other Israelites around (hence his compliment from Jesus).

Regardless, what brought conversion was finding out that Jesus SEES him and KNEW him in a way no one else would’ve - He knew his actions and He knew Nathaniel’s MOTIVES, the character and his inner man. That’s what only God can know, not even your parent or spouse could know you that well! BUT GOD DOES.

In John’s Gospel, He emphasizes over and over again the divine nature of Jesus, His nature being just like God’s! If John and the Holy Spirit thought the details of what Jesus meant exactly were Revelation and needed information for you and I He would’ve included it outright. But his whole purpose in writing this Gospel is to show His Supernatural and Divine character - and here, its the fact that he is ALL KNOWING as God is all knowing!

Jesus also challenges Nathaniel saying that you will learn more and understand more THROUGH Jesus! Because Jesus is the link between Heaven and earth - thats why the angels are used as a picture going up and down between Him and Heaven. Jesus is the necessary link between us and God! There is no other way to understand God, there is no other way to be with God — it’s all through Jesus!

Jesus tells him that by following me you will deepen your understanding of God’s will. You will see God working powerfully.

Whatever reason you started following Jesus is great! But we need to know that faith grows when we realize He knows us better than we know ourselves and trust Him more because of that - lean on Him more, pray to Him more, intentionally let Him guide us more because we know He Knows better! And like Nathaniel, you and I will deepen our understanding of God and His will, we will see God work powerfully when our eyes are opened to that - whether that’s in our own lives or those around us. But when we KNOW God’s will, we can see then how He is working in the world right now!

Isn’t that exciting and enticing? Don’t we want to know what God is up to? Wouldn’t we want to be part of that work? And it starts with coming and seeing. Taking a deeper personal look and deciding to follow because I want to believe and I want to be guided - because I love the lamb of God.

Conclusion

Where are you in relation to Jesus? Have you really gone to Him and see Him accurately?

You can stand back with curiosity. You can wrestle with your doubts. You can even stay where it feels safe and familiar. The choice is yours. But Jesus’ call is the same: “Come and see.”

He is asking you to take a deeper look, He invites you into a more genuine understanding and personal following.

This call to action lead to a lifetime of transformation and faith. Jesus wants that for you too, because He wants you to have the eternal reward at the end.