Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
The title of our sermon today is Agnus Dei.
This is a latin expression that has been used throughout church history.
Agnus Dei means: Lamb of God.
The lamb of God is a biblical concept that has its origins in the Old Testament.
In our reading of the Bible this year we have already come upon the concept of the lamb of God two times:
We first encounter this concept in the sacrifice of Isaac where Abraham and Isaac go up to mount Moriah.
Isaac notices that there is no animal to offer up to God as a sacrifice and Abraham says:
Gn 22:
Although God had commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, God himself provides a substitute.
God provided a ram for Abraham to offer as a sacrifice.
The second time we encounter the concept of the lamb is during the Exodus narrative.
Today we will consider:
The passover lamb.
The God who provides a substitute.
John’s declaration.
I.
The passover lamb.
I. El cordero de la pascua.
To understand the Exodus narrative we must turn our attention to .
The people of God have been slaves in Egypt for at least 400 years.
They have lived a life of hard labor.
God had heard his people’s cries and had raised up a deliverer - Moses.
God had given Moses a special calling.
His message to Pharaoh was simple:
God was going to deliver his people from the bondage of slavery so that they would be free to worship God as he had commanded.
They could not worship God under slavery.
They must be liberated so they could live as God’s free and chosen people.
Pharaoh’s heart has been hardened.
Pharaoh was determined to not let the Jewish people go from Egypt.
Time and time again God sent plagues upon the Egyptians.
God would make a great display of his power to demonstrate to all that it was he who would liberate his people through the power of his hand.
God sent various plagues:
The Nile became blood.
Frogs.
Lice.
Open sores.
Hail that destroyed all the crops.
God sent a total of 10 plagues.
The last of the ten plagues would be the death of the firstborn.
The plague of the firstborn would be 10th and final plague.
This plague is explained in .
God’s last and final judgment upon the Egyptians was to take the life of the firstborn:
All the firstborn children of Egypt would die, but God offered his grace through the passover lamb.
That night, the angel of death would pass throughout all Egypt.
The Israelites were commanded to celebrate a feast unto the Lord as they prepared to leave their house of bondage.
The centerpiece of this celebration would be a year old lamb.
God commanded:
Ex 12:
The lamb would have to die and its blood spilled so that the children of Israel may live, specifically the firstborn in their home.
God was very serious about this.
It would not matter that they were Israelites if they did not follow God’s command:
That final and dreadful day came to pass.
Ex 12:29-30
The stench of death was all around the land of Egypt, except for the homes of the Israelites.
God had fulfilled his promise.
God has saved his people from destruction.
The people of God were now liberated and free to journey towards the promised land, just as God had promised 430 years earlier.
II.
The God who provides a substitute.
II.
Dios provee un sustituto.
Although the people of God were free someone had to die.
Although the people of God were alive, joyful, liberated - someone had to die in their place.
That someone - was the passover lamb.
The passover lamb died a substitutionary death - in other words, the lamb died in their place.
The lamb did not deserve to die.
The lamb did nothing wrong.
The lamb was not a slave.
The lamb had no sin.
Nevertheless, God looked upon the blood of the lamb and spared the children of Israel.
In the same way, when Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, God provided a substitute.
The ram would die in Isaac’s place.
It is through the ram’s death that we see Isaac’s life spared.
God acts in the same way through providing a substitute on our behalf.
We are all sinners in the eyes of God.
As sinners we deserve God’s just condemnation.
God cannot simply forgive those who have sinned against him.
He cannot ignore the breaking of his law.
Otherwise, he would be justly accused of corruption.
God is so holy, that he must punish sin.
He must carry out justice and punishment for each sinful act.
We cannot save ourselves.
There is not enough good we can do to save us from God’s just punishment.
Since we cannot save ourselves, God has to intervene and provide a substitute that will take on God’s punishment on our behalf.
The primary message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that we cannot save ourselves and therefore we need Jesus Christ!
III.
John’s declaration.
III.
La declaración de Juan.
John the Baptist sees Jesus from afar and points to him saying:
The moment John sees Jesus he remembers God’s way of providing for his people.
God has sent his substitute.
This is a glorious event!
God has entered into time and history to act on behalf of humanity once more.
God has come to offer up a sacrificial lamb for the salvation of the world.
John’s declaration teaches us that Jesus is the only lamb of God.
There is no other savior.
There is no other gospel.
There is no other way of salvation.
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