Behold, the Lamb of God

Behold the Lamb of God. John 1:29

John 1:29 ESV

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

In John 1:29 John the Baptist a day after telling telling a crowd of people that there was coming a man who was great than he, see that man and refers to him as the Lamb of God, the one who take away the sins of the world.

What an unusual way to refer to someone who is supposed to be great enough to save the World. Why would John refer to this man who goes by Jesus, of Nazareth as a little lamb.

That is our task for this morning. For us to connect the dots throughout scripture to see what the significance is, of this title given to Jesus by John the Baptist.

To understand its significance we have to go all the way back to the book of Exodus, the second book in the Bible.

In Exodus chapters 7-12 we read about God bringing about 10 plagues upon Egypt the land in which God’s people had been enslaved for many years.

Moses who grew up in the house of Pharaoh and now being commissioned by God goes to his adoptive grandfather and says you must let my people go. But, because Pharaoh’s heart was hardened he refused to let God’s people go, causing God to send plagues upon Egypt which included, turning the their main source of water into blood, then sending frogs to take over the land, followed by gnats, flies, death of livestock, boils and sores upon the people, followed by a deadly hail storm, infestation of Locust, followed by darkness over the land.

Then finally God sends one last plague before Pharoah lets God’s people go. God caused every first born of the land of Egypt to die.

Except for those who follow the command given by God starting in Exodus 12 and verse one. And as we are going to see it is here where we begin to see the significance the of the Lamb of God. Notice with me what God commands his people to do. Exodus 12:1-7

Exodus 12:1–7 ESV

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.

Then skip on down to the end of verse 11. Exodus 12:11-14

Exodus 12:11–14 ESV

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. “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

Finally, in this same chapter starting in verse 29 we see that all those who obeyed the Lord lived thanks to the blood of the lamb.

And from this day forward each year Gods people would remember this day as the passover, the day God passed over their houses, sparing their lives because of the blood of the Lamb.

So, what is the correlation here with the lives of these lambs and with the title given to Jesus as the lamb of God.

To help us see and understand more clearly why John gave this title to Jesus lets look at the last week of Jesus life which happens to be the week of the passover celebration.

Through a close examination of the events of this week we will be able to see that through these events Jesus is in fact declaring himself to be none other than the Lamb of God.

In John chapter 12 we read about the triumphal entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem. Jesus while riding on a donkey enters into Jerusalem while the crowds gather around shouting Hosanna! blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Now why is this significant? Well if you remember back in Exodus God commanded the people on the 10th day to take a lamb without blemish into their home for a total of five days. And then on the 15th day they were to celebrate the Passover.

Now look with me if you would at John 12:1

John 12:1 (ESV)

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany,...

Now Look at verse 12. John 12:12

John 12:12 ESV

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

Here we see that next day Jesus enters Jerusalem making it the fifth day before passover or the 10th day of the month.

You see this is significant because around the same time the Jewish people would have been taking a spotless lamb into their home to sacrifice, Jesus was entering their home, their city thus declaring to them that he was going to be the final sacrificial lamb. Never again would they need to select a lamb without blemish because Jesus was that Lamb.

The apostle Peter understood this when he told his audience that Jesus was in fact the lamb with out blemish or spot in 1 Peter 1:19

1 Peter 1:19 ESV

but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

But not only does Jesus triumphal entry point to the fact that he is the Lamb of God but what follows is even more revealing.

Back in Exodus 12:5-6 we learn that each family was supposed to take in this unblemished lamb and examine it for defects for the next few days before it was killed.

Exodus 12:5–6 ESV

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.

If we think back to the days leading up to the passover and Crucifixion of Jesus didn't he to spend his days being examined by the people.

The leaders of Israel were trying to find a defect or flaw in Jesus so that they could prove that he was in fact not perfect. That he in fact had flaws.