Behold, the Lamb of God!
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Last week we left off in our study of John’s gospel with v. 18
18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
And we asked ourselves this question, “what is John really claiming about Jesus?”.
What does it mean that Jesus’ expressly stated purpose is to declare unto us God? Jesus goes beyond just saying that He wanted to tell us about God. He claims to show us God.
If someone came to your home and said that they had a message for you from God, you might laugh and not take that person seriously. If he came, however, and claimed that he was going to show you God, you might become concerned for his mental health. If he were serious, you might ask him to prove that he was close enough to God to be able to show you what God was like.
The problem we face here is what kind of “evidence” are we willing to accept as proof? As we read further in John, this problem will confront us repeatedly.
Are you willing to accept factual evidence for belief? God wants us to have a well-thought-out faith (not blind faith). A well-thought-out faith must be the deciding factor.
Major Premise of our study?
If God wants every person to have a well-thought-out faith, how do we go about producing that in the lives of our unsaved friends?
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
These two verses should be transformative in our thinking about evangelism. It is not my own opinion that is living and active and sharp- it is the Bible. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to pierce soul and spirit, and joints and marrow, and it is the Word of God that is able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart.
If Hebrews 4:12 is accurate, then what should my goal in evangelism be: should it be to give my friends my own opinion about the Bible, or should it be to give them the actual Word of God?
Now what happens when we combine the truths that we learn in Hebrews 4:12-13 with John 20:30-31?
30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
If it is the Word of God that is the judge of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and if the expressly stated purpose of the Gospel of John is so that people might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, then how should that change the way we think about evangelism?
Remember our question?
If God wants every person to have a well-thought-out faith, how do we go about producing that in the lives of our unsaved friends?
What if we invite unsaved people to read the book of John with us. From beginning to end, we take the entire book of John in its context, and we lead people to their own understanding of Scripture. Do you think that might produce in them a well-thought-out faith? Do you think the Holy Spirit could use this kind of method to produce genuine faith in Jesus?
How would we go about doing that?
We should probably think carefully about how we would read the Gospel of John with an unsaved friend. What if we studied the Gospel of John with that lens? Remember we don’t want to give them our opinion of what we think the Bible says, we want them to come to their own conclusions. That means we CANNOT tell them what we think the text says, instead we must be prepared to ask them all kinds of questions to lead them to their own understanding.
What kinds of questions should we ask them? Let’s think about that together.
I. The testimony of John the Baptist concerning himself (John 1:19-28)
I. The testimony of John the Baptist concerning himself (John 1:19-28)
19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Remember the immediate context:
18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
What is John really claiming about Jesus?
What does it mean that Jesus’ expressly stated purpose is to declare unto us God? Jesus goes beyond just saying that He wanted to tell us about God. He claims to show us God.
Are you willing to accept factual evidence for belief?
What factual evidence is being offered in v. 19?
19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
It is the record of the testimony of John the Baptist- this is the first evidence offered to help us believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that Jesus is able to show us or declare to us God.
What question did the priests and the Levites ask John the Baptist?
Who are you?
Why did the religious leaders- specifically the Pharisees (see v. 24), want to know who John the Baptist was?
This is the major question that is answered through v. 28
How did John answer their question in v. 20?
20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
John specifically stated that he was not the Christ, or he was not the Messiah.
Why does John repeat himself in this verse? He confessed, and denied not, but confessed- isn’t that just saying the same thing three times in a row? He repeated himself because this was very important for the Pharisees to understand, John wanted to make himself perfectly clear without any possibility of confusion- he was NOT the Messiah.
Was that a sufficient answer for the religious leaders?
21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
Are you Elijah? No
Are you the Prophet? No
Then tell us, who are you, we have to give an answer to those who sent us to you- who are you?
Again, we are confronted with the major question of this paragraph- Why did the Pharisees want to know who John the Baptist was?
What answer did John the Baptist give?
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
John said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness.”
What is the purpose of a voice? To make yourself heard, to make other people understand something, to make them hear what you have to say.
What was the message of John’s voice? Make straight the way of the Lord.
Who is Isaiah? An OT prophet. So, if John the Baptist is claiming that he is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, who’s voice is John claiming to represent? God’s voice. John is claiming to be a voice or a witness of God.
Remember what vv. 6-7 said about John the Baptist?
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
Did John’s answer satisfy the religious leaders?
24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
No- what else did the Pharisees what to know about John’s ministry?
They wanted to know why he was baptizing hundreds of people. If John the Baptist was not the Messiah or Elijah or the prophet, then why was he baptizing people?
Why did the Pharisees care if John was baptizing people? It was a threat to their position of power and authority. The Pharisees believed that they represented God and that they represented the only way to know God. John’s ministry was threatening because it challenged their position of authority and power. He had begun to baptize hundreds of people; simultaneously, he rejected the leadership of the Pharisees.
John had not gone through the proper channels (i.e., Pharisee Bible School). He did not have the appropriate religious credentials to represent God.
Yet what purpose did John give for baptizing people? In v. 25 the religious leaders ask him the question, “why are you baptizing people?” What is John’s answer to this question?
26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
John is baptizing people because there is one among you whom you do not know.
Who is the one that they do not know?
27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
The one that you do not know is he who comes after me, but He is preferred before me. And this One is so great that I am not worthy to even untie his shoes.
How great does a person have to be to believe that you are not worthy enough to touch their shoes?
Imagine if you and I have never met, you walk up to me and you hold out your hand in greeting. I stop and say, “I can’t shake your hand.” And you ask, “Why not?” And I say, “I am not even worthy enough to tie your shoe.” What would you think of me?
Is there any man on earth that you can think of who is worthy of such a statement?
What does this tell you about who John believed this person to be?
The Main Ideas:
The religious leaders are angry at John the Baptist because he is claiming to be able to represent God, but in their eyes John the Baptist does not have the appropriate religious credentials.
How does a man receive God’s authority?
How does a man receive human authority?
How can we tell the difference?
II. The testimony of John the Baptist concerning Jesus (vv. 29-34)
II. The testimony of John the Baptist concerning Jesus (vv. 29-34)
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33 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.
34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
V. 29 is a key verse in this passage. It could take you an hour to discuss this one verse, so don’t be in a hurry to get through it. Allow people to think through the implications of this verse.
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Let me remind you of an important rule when reading through John with an unsaved friend. Be careful of using cross-references. This verse is especially tempting to go all over the place in the Bible in talking about he Lamb of God. You could do an entire review of the OT from this one verse. Resist the temptation. Let the context of John speak for itself. There is plenty to discuss right here is v. 29.
One important question is that of sin.
“Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the SIN of the world.”
What is sin? Discuss this at length. Get there own understanding of sin.
Who has the right to define what is and what is not a sin?
What standard of measurement should a person use to determine if something is a sin?
Are there any perfect people in the world? Most anyone will admit that no one is perfect, but what make us imperfect? Who says we’re not perfect? What standard should we use to make this determination?
Have you ever heard or maybe even though this for yourself, “I’m better than that person”? What is the problem with that statement? When we say things like this we are measuring ourselves on a relative scale. Who’s scale is the right scale?
Why don’t we compare ourselves with God? How do you measure up compared to God? What does God think of our relative standards of perfection? If God calls something a sin, but we do not, who is right? Who has the right to say something is sin, even when we disagree with them?
When we have finished this life, will God judge us on the basis of our relative standards or will God use his own absolute standards? How can we know which standards God will use to judge us?
Another important idea is that of a lamb.
“Behold, the LAMB of God which takes away the sin of the World.”
What purpose do lambs have in different religions? Sacrifice and scapegoats. Worshipers would sacrifice a lamb to appease God. Appeasing God meant satisfying his anger or his justice and thereby keeping him at a distance. Normally, a lamb would be sacrificed to keep God away. What about the lamb of God? Why would God provide the lamb for the sacrifice? Is God trying to keep himself away? Is He trying to keep us away? What did God accomplish by providing His own Lamb for the sacrifice? The answer to this question is clearly spelled out for us in Romans 3:26, but before we can understand Romans we need to finish John.
How do people attempt to deal with their sin?
Normally, people think about overcoming their sin by doing more good deeds that bad deeds. If my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds then God will accept me. Do people ever think about having their sins taken away?
How can you have your sins taken away?
What are God’s requirements for taking away sin?
“Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!”
Who is the One that takes away the sin of the world?
Is God obligated to accept our requirements, or must we accept his?
Is there a difference between covering over sin (i.e. doing more good deeds than bad deeds), and completely taking away sin?
Let’s think about the rest of John the Baptist’s testimony concerning Jesus. What does John’s testimony say about who Jesus is?
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
What is the contradiction presented in this verse? How can Jesus come after John, that is be born after John, and yet exist before him? What higher rank must Jesus possess in order to exist before John?
Do you remember one of the questions of the Pharisees- “why then are you baptizing people”? How does John answer that question in v. 31?
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
John came baptizing in water, so that Jesus might be made manifest unto the people of Israel.
What is John’s testimony? What did he personally witness in the life of Jesus?
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33 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.
What did God tell John the Baptist so that John would be able to recognize Jesus? The Holy Spirit would descend upon him like a dove. Could everyone see this, or only John? If everyone present could see, then why did John have to give testimony? At least John the Baptist saw this event happen. This is the first of many eye witness testimonies concerning the identity of Jesus.
Who does John the Baptist testify Jesus to be?
34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
The problem we face here is what kind of “evidence” are we willing to accept as proof? As we read further in John, this problem will confront us repeatedly.
Are you willing to accept factual evidence for belief? God wants us to have a well-thought-out faith (not blind faith). A well-thought-out faith must be your own deciding factor.
Are you willing to accept the testimony of John the Baptist as to the identity of Jesus Christ- that He is the very Son of God?
Are you willing to find unsaved friends and ask them to read John’s gospel with you?
Can you picture yourself reading through John 1 with a friend? Why or why not? What is preventing you?
What obstacles do you feel you need to overcome?
I don’t have any unsaved friends
I don’t feel confident that I could lead someone through John 1
What are you going to do about it?
Identify at least one unsaved friend that you can ask to read the Bible with you.
Come up with a creative strategy that would get you outside of the walls of you house and your church and into your Jerusalem so you can start building friendships with unsaved people.
Read through John’s gospel as if you were reading it together with an unsaved friend.
Write down at least five questions that you could ask your friend to help them come to their own understanding of what the Bible says.
Pray repeatedly that God would use you to reach people with gospel- if you have people in mind that God could use you to reach, pray for them by name- every day, multiple times per day.
Put hands and feet to your prayers trusting that God will accomplish through you what you might think is impossible- it is possible with God.
Jesus said this to His disciples in Acts 1:8
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Are you being a witness for the sake of Jesus Christ? My goal, my hope, my prayer is that this message would equip you, the saints, to actually go and do the work of the ministry.
This is John’s witness
34 “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
What is your witness?