John 1:29-34
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You know what my prayer is for this sermon? I pray you learn something from the Word of God that lights you up. I pray that you come to a better understanding of what Christ has done for you. I pray you have a better understanding of what the mission of the church is and we go do what we have been called to do.
Like John the Baptist: we learned a few weeks ago that God sent Him to “bear witness about the light”.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
God sent John the Baptist to bear witness.
He didn’t send John the Baptist to:
build relationships (although building relationships are good. I have to be careful on what I say in this day and age....you have to be very careful guys). But he didn’t send him into this world to build relationships.
God didn’t send John the Baptist into this world to manipulate the emotions of men to try to get them to make a decision
He sent John into this world “to bear witness about the light”.
So my prayer is that when we get through with this text this morning you see that God has sent his people to do the same thing…to bear witness about the light. I pray you have a better understanding of the Great Commission:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
I want you to see that what is going on here is bigger than you ever dreamed…bigger than you ever imagined. I want you to have a better understanding of who you truly are in Christ Jesus. I want you to have a better understanding of what Christ has actually done for you.
And I want you to understand this as well…The Parish of the Redeemer is not here on Sunday mornings to evangelize the lost. If someone comes here on a Sunday morning that doesn’t have faith in Christ, has not put their trust in Christ Alone, we welcome you every single time the doors are open. And my prayer is that you to trust Christ.
But let me be clear as to why we come together here…it is to feed on the Word of God. We come to Worship our King, our Father, our God and to hear His Word spoken over us. We want to equip the saints for the work of the ministry so that when you walk out of those doors you know who you are and who you belong to. You are bold and you take the gospel to everyone you possibly can. We want to equip you to know the Word of God so you can “GO” and “make disciples”, students, learners…and teach them to observe everything Christ has commanded us.
We are here to make disciples.
Lets read our Text this morning and pray over it:
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
Prayer:
There is A LOT in this text so Im going to give you a few seconds to grab a pen and paper so you can write some scriptures down.
Some of you might be here this morning and you might have some questions and we welcome questions. This might be something you want to discuss a little more in your Community Groups so get your pens out.
And if you have a mouth piece you might want to put that in too....
Here we go!
verse 29
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Hang on..I have to do this real quick....
I want to start with this just in case the Lord calls me home before we meet again…I want you to see something really cool in what John is saying here.
This is what makes Bible Study fun. You’ve heard me say when you read the Old Testament its like putting on a hard hat, you grab your pick axe and flashlight and you dig and dig and dig…looking for Christ in there…because HE is in there…you just have to find him.
Again…thats not my word but Christ’s word:
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
IT ALL POINTS TO CHRIST!
So…look at this real quick.
What are the FIRST THREE WORDS OF VERSE 29?
“The next day”
What are the FIRST THREE WORDS OF VERSE 35?
“The next day”
What are the FIRST THREE WORDS OF VERSE43?
“The next day”
And that brings you to chapter 2…and what are the FIRST 4 WORDS OF CHAPTER 2 VERSE 1?
“On the third day”....What? A WEDDING …UNION...BECOMING ONE WITH THE BRIDEGROOM (THINK OF CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH). AND A MIRACLE! THE Old is GONE…THE NEW…FRESH…THE BEST HAS COME!
That was just LAGNIAPPE, a little extra, just in case I die before I get to it.
THIS BOOK IS AMAZING ISN’T IT?
Alright…back to vs. 29
After the Jewish leaders came questioning John the Baptist…the next day, John the Baptist looks up and sees Jesus coming toward him and he says,
“Behold (LOOK EVERYBODY), the LAMB OF GOD, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Lets get into some context here...
What do you think the people around John the Baptist thought about that when they heard him say “LOOK! THE LAMB OF GOD who takes away the sin of the WORLD”?
They were scratching their heads… “huh?” “A LAMB of God…who takes away the sin of the World?”
You know what happened that very morning in Jerusalem? That very morning when John the Baptist said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”…you know what happened that morning?
A lamb was offered as a sacrifice for Israel
You know what will happen that evening, in a few hours after John the Baptist said “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World”…you know what they are going to do do at twilight?
they are going to offer another lamb for Israel.
THEY WERE SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS BECAUSE they were giving “their” lambs for “their sins”…Israels sins. But John the Baptist is saying that NOW God is bringing HIS LAMB…for the WORLDS sin?
Look at Exodus 29:38-46
“Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old day by day regularly. One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight. And with the first lamb a tenth measure of fine flour mingled with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering. The other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as in the morning, for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.
So for the Jewish people, this was pretty far out there for someone to claim that “THE Lamb of God” takes away the sin of “the world”. Their understanding was that it was their lambs for Israel’s sin…not God’s Lamb for “the world”s sin.
We are going to look deeper into this later on....
Look at verse 30…
This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’
This is a restatement of what John the Baptist has already confessed to in verse 15, which we covered 2 weeks ago.
Verse 31:
I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
This doesn’t mean that John the Baptist didn’t know Jesus AT ALL…he was related to him.
He knew him. But there was a point when he didn’t KNOW him as the Messiah.
Just like you and me…there was a point in our lives when we didn’t see Jesus for who he really was...
And look what John testifies to next...
Verse 32
And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
This was fulfillment of the promises of God for the coming Messiah.
Look at Isaiah 11:1-2
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And look at Isaiah 42…and remember, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the WORLD”…remember the Jewish person’s understanding…we are digging…don’t forget what we are digging for! We are digging for Christ and we want to know what he is up to...
Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.
Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”
So now do you see why this dove came upon Jesus? It was a sign from God that he was the long awaited Messiah!
also…he will establish justice on the Earth
he will bring justice to the nations
the coastlands wait for his law
he will be a light for the nations
he will open the eyes of the blind
he will rescue prisoners, those prisoners who sit in darkness
Look what else John the Baptist says in VERSE 33...
I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
“I MYSELF DID NOT KNOW HIM...”
again, he knew him but he did not KNOW he was the Messiah.
He probably “knew” a lot about Jesus…he just didn’t know HE was the Son of God.
BUT HOW did John the Baptist KNOW that Jesus was the Son of God? When God REVEALED IT TO HIM!
John the Baptist says, “I myself did not know him, but HE who sent me ---THAT would be God (vs. 6) -----SAID TO ME, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit”.
If it was not for God Almighty Himself speaking truth to John the Baptist he would have never truly known who Christ really was.
Remember Peter? Jesus was asking him who the people say he is?
look at Matthew 16:13-17
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
What did it take for Peter to understand that Jesus was the Christ?
the Father revealing it to him
What did it take for John the Baptist to see that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, the Lamb of God, the Son of God?
it took the Father revealing it to him.
So what did it take for you to SEE that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?
your intellect?
your humility?
your deep study?
NO! It took the same thing…it took God opening your eyes because you were blind!
We just read Isa 42:1-9…so let me put this up here again for you just in case you missed it… this was verses 6 & 7
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
That was you and me, Christian! We were once blinded and could not see because of our sin against God. We were spiritually blinded.
We were prisoners, held captive by the evil one…BUT GOD!
look here:
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
That is what it took…it took God shining light in our dark hearts to give us the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ!
It took a miracle!
So look at verse 33 again because there is something else we have to point out here:
I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
“who baptizes with the Holy Spirit”…?
John the Baptist baptized with water…I have baptized people in water. Others in here have baptized people in water. But let me be clear, there is ONLY ONE who can baptize with the Holy Spirit.
And as beautiful and obedient it is for someone to baptized into the visible church by being baptized in water....no one will enter His presence if they have not recieved the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The person who dies without the baptism done by Christ is not saved from the wrath of God. This is the baptism you should be most concerned about.
This baptism is something the Jewish people, the people of Israel have been looking for from the Messiah....
Look at Ezekiel 36:24-27
I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
So many people worry so much about the baptism of water but never think long and hard about the baptism of the heart.
Are you really interested in the Lamb of God?
Do you desire to seek to know him better or are you satisfied with what you think you already know?
I pray that you want to know him more. I pray that you want to know him deeper.
We will see John the Baptist come to know him more…he desired to know him more. Do you desire to know him more.
Let me tell you…when you come to know His Word and grow in your knowledge of God and what He has done for you it it will drive you to the last verse of our text this morning which is VERSE 34...
It is like anyone else you love…the more you know them the more you spend time with them the more you adore them. The more you know what God has done for you in Christ, Christian…the more you can say what John the Baptist says here
Verse 34
And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
So…i want to help you see a better picture…maybe a clearer picture of what Christ has done for you. I want you to know who you are and who WE ARE as believers in Christ.
Most people know that the Jewish people missed Christ because they were looking for a King to come and establish Israel as a mighty Kingdom on Earth. To overthrow the Romans and establish their kingdom.
that is true but there is more to it than that.
but they misunderstood the promise made to “Father Abraham”…just like many of us today have misunderstood the promise.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
God has promised Abraham AND HIS DESCENDANTS 3 THINGS:
LAND
A LOT OF DESCENDANTS
BLESSING
Let me explain to you what the Jewish people missed about what Christ was up to all along....
But first, do me a favor and take off your American Christianity glasses and listen to God’s Word.
NOW that we know what the Jewish people were thinking...
THEY offered THEIR lambs for their sin
The Messiah was for them…ISRAEL
they are going to have a lot of descendants
they inherit a lot of land....
they receive blessing....
We have laid down the wood…now lets start the fire!
Look back at verse 29 of John 1
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
What are you saying John the Baptist? That Israel is no longer God’s chosen people?
Is this talking about Universalism?
IS EVERYBODY going to Heaven one day? I thought this was for Israel…the descendants of Abraham John the Baptist...
so lets get into the mind of a Jewish person…lets have a good understanding of the context:
Israel always believed that they were the chosen ones of God. The Jewish people always believed that “they” were God’s chosen people and the Messiah was for them because they had Abraham’s blood running through their veins.
Let me show you why:
Where do we first see this kind of language in the Bible? A lamb being sacrificed?
in Genesis 22. Turn there in your Bibles…i also have it on the screen:
Look at verses 6-14
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
Did you see what happened there…instead of a lamb…God sent a ram. You know why? Because the day is coming…way in the future that God WILL provide a lamb.
You know where this took place? Look up here at the screen
Remember the Passover in Exodus?
Look at Exodus 12:1-13
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
DO YOU SEE…Lambs were sacrificed FOR ISRAEL! Not for “the world”. This is what the Jewish people thought.
The Day of Atonement…when they made a sacrifice for sin....check this out:
Turn to Lev. 16 if you have your Bibles…or look at the screen, but I would love to hear pages turning.
He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron did as the Lord commanded Moses.
See…the atonement…the sacrifice for sin was FOR ISRAEL!
So THIS IS WHAT THEY WERE THINKING....
AND DON’T FORGET THE PROMISES THEY WERE HOLDING ON TO:
LAND
DESCENDANTS AS NUMEROUS AS THE STARS
BLESSING!
All for Israel
And now, John the Baptist says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the World!”
John the Apostle says this in 1 John 2:2
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
What is going on here?
Propitiation: atonement, means of appeasing, expiation
Expiation: the act of making amends or reparation for guilt or wrongdoing; atonement
There is no more wrath for those Christ died for...
But the wrath of God still remains on those who do not believe:
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
So…this is not talking about Universalism…Christ died for those who will believe in him...
And who are those who will believe? It is those who are born of God!
Remember John 1:12-13....
so you are telling a Jewish person this right? You are telling someone from Israel this...
and they say, “so the PROMISES are NOT FOR ISRAEL?”
“THE PROMISE OF LAND…A TON OF DESCENDANTS, AND BLESSING IS NOT FOR ISRAEL”....
AND YOU SAY… “yes! YES IT IS! But you have misunderstood the promise”
and many of you here may have misunderstood the promises of God…but thank God he brought you here today so you can see the promise and how AMAZING it is....
See, the whole time is was for Abraham and his descendants...
but they thought the descendants of Abraham were those who had his blood line running through his veins…But guess what....guess who are the TRUE DESCENDANTS OF ABRAHAM…GUESS HOW HIs descendants WILL BE AND HOW THEY WILL BE A BLESSING TO THE NATIONS....
IT IS US…CHRISTIANS, WE ARE THE TRUE DESCENDANTS OF ABRAHAM!
IS THAT AMAZING!
Look at Galatians 3 turn your Bibles there...
Look at verses 7-9
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
and look at verses 13-14
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Look at verses 26-29
for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
See…it really is for the descendants of Abraham! It really is for God’s chosen people!
It is just that the Jewish people misunderstood the Promises!
Abraham…you and your descendants are going to multiply! You’re going to be as numerous as the stars in Heaven!
But it’s not people who have your blood running through their veins…its is all of those who have Faith in the Lamb of God!
See, its is for people that I PURCHASE from every tribe, every language, and every nation…its for people ALL OVER THE WORLD...
And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
Abraham…your’e going to have a ton of land one day…and Blessings!
But it’s not going to be just a little piece of land beside the Mediterranean…you’re going to inherit everything!
We are co-heirs with Christ…We will live forever not on a little plot of land but in the New Heavens and the New Earth…in the presence of God Almighty !
What a Blessing that will be!
See Abraham, you will bless the nations because I have people all over the place…from every tribe, every tongue, every people group, and every Nation...
and you will be a blessing to them, you and your descendants…because you will go and proclaim that the King has come…his Kingdom is HERE and the gates of hell will not stop you from entering into those places and getting my people out!
Believe God’s Promises Church!
Believe what he told Abraham
Look...
I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
Believe the Promises
Believe the Promise of Psalm 2
“As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
When we have a better understanding of the Promises of God…when we have a better understanding of the Lamb of God and what He has done and what HE is doing we can say,
And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
So hopefully you see a little clearer what the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world has done...
He saved us…and He has many more out there…and when his sheep hear his voice they will come to him...
So GO! Go Make disciples...
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”