The Lamb of God

John 1:29–34 AV

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

The Theame of our message today is

Behold the Lamb

The word behold means to see or observe something that is remarkable or impressive in nature

Lamb Only john the disciple uses this name to depicted our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

But why did John the baptised use this name to call out our Lord Jesus christ.

The simple answer is that God revealed to John that upon whom that he would see the spirit descending and remaining would be the one that would baptise in the Holy Ghost

John 1:33 AV

And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

John new that God had sent him to do an important work and that was to prepare the way of the Lord

Isaiah 40:3–8 AV

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Here isaiah Is stating that one was to come and would prepare the way for the LORD

Preparing the way for Jehovah

Jehovah is the jewish name for God.

so John was preparing the way for God.

But what about John what do we know about him

Mark 1:1–8 AV

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

here we have a bit about his ministry but who was he.and why was he so important to the work that Jesus was about to do.

Luke 1:5–10 AV

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

Luke 1:11–16 AV

And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

Luke 1:17–20 AV

And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

Luke 1:21–25 AV

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

there are several things to note about Johns family which is very important

His father Zacharias was a priest of the course of Abia and his mother was a daughter aaron

so John would have been eligable to be a priest on his 30 birthday

We find that his work was not in the temple but in the community

from our reading we can see that zacharias was in the Holy place when the angel of God spoke to him

Luke 1:9 AV

According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

This was the closest to God that he a priest could get.

from this passage of scripture we can determin at what day and what month the angle spoke to Zacharias.

enough to say that Gods Angel spoke to Zacharias and he was to have a son even though his wife was well stricken in years. and that from the wowb he would be filled with the Holy spirit.

so lets look at the life of John and see if we can put some meat on the bones of these claims.

we know from scripture that the Holy spirit is a gift sent from the father on the request of the son.

John 14:16 AV

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

that word comforter

. παράκλητος paraklētŏs, par-ak´-lay-tos; an intercessor, consoler:— advocate, comforter.

but what about john being filled with the holy spirit in the womb

Luke 1:39–42 AV

And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

so here we see how John was filled with the holy spirit from the womb

here we see that John and Jesus are cousins.

here we see how God is fulfilling his word but what about that statment at the begining of the massage

Behold the Lamb

lets use the full QUOTE

Behold the lamb that taketh away the sin of the world

This is a bold statement to say but is he qualified to say this

well yes he is as a prieast or from the priestly family

it was for the priest to say weather the lamb that was to be offered was perfect no marks or scars only the prieast could say

but john was not an ordinary priest he was one filed with the Hol y spirit and on a mission from God Preparing the way for the one who would take away the sins of the world

Jesus was identified by john the one who saw the the holy spirit rest.

Jesus was identifeid for the work that he was to do

1 Peter 1:19–23 AV

But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

JESUS CAME TO BRING YOUR FAITH AND HOPE IN GOD TO NEW LIFE THROUGH THE DEATH AND RESURECTION OF CHRIST WE HAVE A NEW LIFE IN HIM AS WE ACCEPT THAT HE IS THE

LAMB OF GOD

BEHOLD THE LAMB

Take a look at the Lamb of God and accept that he is the Lamb of God who can take away your sin.