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Epiphany 2
John 1:29-41
January 16, 2005
*We Need A Lamb! *
after* *E.
Frey
Introduction: A tourist visited a church in Germany and was surprised to see the carved figure of a lamb near the top of the church’s tower.
He asked why it was there and was told that when the church was being built, a workman fell from a high scaffold.
His co-workers rushed down, expecting to find him dead.
But to their surprise and joy, he was alive and only slightly injured.
\\ How did he survive?
A flock of sheep was passing beneath the tower scaffold at the time, and the worker landed on top of a lamb.
The lamb broke his fall and was crushed to death, but the man was saved.
To commemorate that miraculous escape, someone carved a lamb on the tower at the exact height from which the workman fell.
\\ The source of that story is unknown, and, whether it is simply legend or truth, it still bears out one fact: we need a lamb for our survival.
WE NEED A LAMB! We need Jesus 1) who is named by God, 2) to take away our sins, and also 3) to redirect lives.
*I.
Named by God \\ * John the Baptist was the first to call Jesus the “lamb of God.”
That was a title.
Titles are symbols of prestige.
For example, not every one can bear the title “Doctor.”
That’s a privilege.
A title also describes an individual for good or for bad.
\\ When a sports team is formed a lot of work and trouble goes into finding the right name.
All kinds of suggestions are made to try to find the right name and a mascot.
Now, imagine these people choosing a lamb for its mascot and for it’s name – can you imagine the University of Wisconsin Lambs – why, they’d probably be the laughing stock of the entire Big Ten.
After all, lambs are helpless creatures.
They’re born virtually defenseless.
Lambs also tend to be awkward and clumsy.
They seem to have a knack for getting into trouble.
With this in mind, why in the world would John the Baptist refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God? Could it be that he was implying that Jesus was weak or unimpressive?
No.
The opposite is true.
This was actually a prestigious title, “The Lamb of God” which John the Baptist had given to Jesus.
To appreciate the significance means we must understand how the Jewish people perceived a lamb.
\\ God had given the lamb a special place in the mind of all Israelites.
For the Jews the lamb carried religious connotations.
The lamb was one of the animals used to symbolize the forgiveness of sins; that God would make atonement with all people, setting the world “at-one” with him.
\\ In the Old Testament, the lamb carried this special meaning.
Lambs played an important part in the Passover meal, commemorating how God delivered Israel from Egypt and from death.
In fact, the word “lamb” became synonymous with the Savior.
Isaiah uses the word in his prophecy concerning the Messiah: “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7).
\\ God promised he would send one who would come to be our Savior, to carry our sins for us.
And one day while on the bank of the Jordan River, John saw that one who was revealed to him by God.
He saw Jesus, and he gave him the title, “Lamb of God.” John knew that this was God’s Lamb; this was his sacrifice for us.
That’s a prestigious title no one else could dare hold.
\\ In a culture that sacrificed lambs twice a day in the temple, Johns’ words were a kiss of death.
"Here is the Lamb of God" also means, "Look, everyone, here’s the one that is going to be sacrificed."
Suddenly, the title might not seem all that prestigious.
Yet, as we understand the work of the Lamb of God, we see that this name is prestigious it is honorable.
John says that this lamb, Jesus, is the one who takes away the sins of the world.
Do you understand the all-important work this Lamb accomplishes?
He takes away the sins of the whole world!
Literally, he rips us off.
He actually steals away our collective and individual sins, prying them from us.
\\ *II.
To Snatch Away Our Sins \\ *One day I was robbed.
It was in broad daylight.
I was fishing beside the river near my home.
I was minding my own business and enjoying being outside, and catching small mouth bass.
Along came a person older than me, not much older but still older.
We talked for a while and then He asked to borrow my bike.
I was uncomfortable with this request and even more uncomfortable with the person making it, but I yielded to His request.
He got on my bike and rode away.
I never saw my bike again.
Of course I went to the police, I even had the kid’s name, Sonny but it didn’t matter, my bike was gone and there was nothing that could be done about it.
I also recall my initial feelings.
I was angry.
I felt hurt and violated.
That bike was mine, how could anyone take it away from me.
Believe it or not we often feel the same way about our sins.
“We consider them our own private business.
We hold all sorts of sin in our hearts and minds – greed, lust, hatred, jealousy, lack of self-control – the list goes on.
\\ As it is, we are born into this world intent on keeping hold of our trespasses and sins.
This sinful flesh wants nothing more than to hold on to its decrepit nature.
Our hearts want nothing more than to wallow in lust, envy, and greed.
Our minds desire nothing more than violence and hatred towards God and one another.
We don’t want to let go of a single one.
We treat our sins as if they’re our prized possessions.
We’re not willing to hand them over to Jesus.
After all, it’s a matter of privacy!
How dare God violate us and take away the things we love!
And so, Jesus, the Lamb of God – the perfect sacrifice – must come to us and snatch our sins away.
He breaks into our hearts and minds and steals away all sin and unbelief.
\\ This is how it must be! Christ Jesus must come and rip us off!
He has to snatch our sins from us.
Just think of how Jesus does this.
He doesn’t crush or break us.
He doesn’t smash his way into our lives.
Jesus snatched our sins from us by sacrificing himself for us.
He came into this world to suffer and die on the cross, so that we wouldn’t have to face punishment.
Jesus bore the wrath of his heavenly Father in our place.
And in doing so, he paid the price for every last one of our sins.
He snatched them from us by labeling himself as “Sinner of sinners”, and allowing himself to be nailed to the cross with our all our transgressions.
Then he rose from the dead proving that our sins are dead.
They no longer count.
The price has been paid.
\\ *III.
To Redirect Our Lives.
\\ * The wonderful thing is that we have God’s Word to remind us of this truth!
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