John 1V29

“The Lamb of God”

John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.”

Jesus is the Lamb of God. Gentle and meek he went to the cross and gave his life as a sacrifice for sin so that the world might have eternal life. It is Jesus who takes away the sin of the world. This means he can take away your sins and mine.

If not for Jesus, there would be no hope in this life. If not for Jesus we would be doomed to walk in darkness enslaved to sin and die in our sins and go to hell. A slave is someone who can’t help themselves. A slave is someone who is powerless. A slave is someone who has no control. A slave cannot break his own chains. And yes, the chains of sin will drag you down to hell.

Yes, all we like sheep have gone astray. Every man is lost in darkness until Jesus touches our hearts and we trust in him. Jesus is the Lamb of God. This means that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for sin.

I Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

In the Old Testament lambs were used as sacrifices in the temple. This was symbolic of the fact that Jesus would be the sacrifice for sin as the Lamb of God. Hebrews 10:12 says, “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” The last part of Hebrews 9:26 says, “But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” One sacrifice for sin, Jesus: one sacrifice for sins for ever.

Jesus was indeed a sacrificial lamb without spot or blemish, holy. The purpose of Jesus’ sacrifice is to save souls. Normally when a person sacrifices their life for another person that person responds with great love and appreciation. In the Military they give honor to those who sacrifice their lives and shed their blood.

And there have been many who have shed their blood on the battle field and died for their country. We honor them and think of them as great heroes. But what about Jesus. Jesus shed his blood. Jesus died for his country. Jesus died for Israel and not for Israel only but for the whole world.

Jesus put it this way in Romans 5:7-9, “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”

Jesus gave his life for the sins of the world. That means for your sins and mine. To a Christian, it might be obvious why so many people do not respond to that sacrifice and do not honor God or respond with love and appreciation for what he has done. It is because such people are lost in their sins. If you are a Christian, then you should at least appreciate that Jesus is the Lamb of God. You should appreciate the sacrifice that Jesus made in giving his life on the cross for your sins. You should be thankful for what Jesus has done in taking away your sins. In fact it would do you good to pray to him and thank him for it. You should take the time every day to think about the gospel and Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. If thinking about Jesus on the cross does not stir your heart, then something is wrong spiritually with you. Do not take for granted the grace of God and the love of God.

God does not like it when we do not appreciate what he has done for us. Yes, God does many things for us: he provides for us, guides us, answers our prayers, and blesses us but it all starts at the cross. If you cannot appreciate the cross, how are you going to truly be thankful for what else God does for you. It does not make sense to me to say thank you God for this food and to not thank him for forgiving me of my sins.

How can you get yourself to appreciate what God has done for? Well, you certainly cannot do it without God’s help. We love him because he first loved us. Just pray to him and ask God to help you to love him more. Just remember that Jesus is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.

Jesus is the Lamb of God. What this means is that you will never meet any one as gentle as Jesus. People can be harsh, pushy, aggressive, wanting to assert their will and their way to get what they want from you. Jesus is not like that. Jesus loves, guides, protects and nurtures his children and their faith. Faith blossoms so serene, as gentle as unfolding wings because Jesus is the Lamb of God and he will nurture and grow your faith in him.

Psalms 103:13, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.” The word pity has the idea of love in it. No one fears God unless they have faith in God. The greater your faith in God, the greater you will fear him. We should pray that God increases our faith. We should pray that God gives us a fear of him. We should fear the Lamb of God.

In the book of Revelation Jesus is called the Lamb of God 28 times. It is very interesting because the Book of Revelation is a book about the Great Tribulation, a book mostly about the judgment of God. So why the emphasis on the Lamb of God? Perhaps it is because God loves judgment. And wants to remind us that Jesus was judged for our sins. He took the punishment of our sins upon himself on the cross when he was separated from God the Father.

God rejects those who reject him. It hurts God when people turn away from him. It makes him angry. So it makes sense in the book of Revelation that Jesus would emphasize himself as the Lamb of God.

Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.

Even with lost people Jesus is gentle. He waits patiently with longsuffering, putting up with their sins while he works in their hearts and lives to bring them to him, to bring them to a place where they see their need for Christ and his forgiveness through his blood because he is the lamb of God. Is God gentle? Yes, he is.

In Jeremiah chapter 12 verse 1 Jeremiah asked this question, “Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? Wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?”

It does seem that way, does not it. Most of the people of this world seem to live very long lives lost in sin and they just continue sinning and sinning and sinning. How or why is that that so many wicked people prosper much? The Lamb of God is being gentle with them. God loves life. He created life. He wants people to live, and more than that he wants them to have opportunities to be saved.

John 1:29, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.”

One day God is going to make a new heaven and a new earth. One day I will have a glorified body uncorrupted by sin. One day the struggle will be over against the flesh. One day I will sin no more. Praise God, glory, Hallelujah! One day I will sin no more. Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.

This is a great statement and something that only God is able to do. Just think of how much sin is in the world. The thousands of murders that happen every year, the theft, the crime, the rapes and molestations the constant lying that fills the systems of this world, the reveling and drinking and drug use and whoremongering and violence and adultery, the evil speaking and profanity, the pride of man and his resistance to God. These things have been going on since the day of Adam and Eve. That is a lot of sin; so much sin it is incomprehensible. Just think about your own sins and how much you sin. Jesus bore all that sin on the cross and the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, washes it all away. Only Jesus could bare the weight of the world and all its sin on himself. As far as the east is from the west so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

There is nothing more important in this life, there is no greater blessing than to have your sins washed away in the blood of the Lamb.

Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before him. Jesus endured the cross for joy of every sinner that comes to the light. Jesus despised the shame because he was made low and suffered to be a man. Yet we can have the shame of our sins wiped away because Jesus is holy.

Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. This is what people need to hear. This is the solution to all the world’s problems that men repent of their sins and find redemption in Christ Jesus. Do you feel that your life has been destroyed by bad choices? There is a way to fix that: come to Jesus. He will welcome you gently with loving arms and a forgiving heart.

Do you have a life destroyed by alcohol or drugs? Are you bitter at the wrongs done to you in life by other people? Have you been a failure as a parent? Have you cheated on your spouse? Have you found that life is disappointing and that the things of this world cannot satisfy? Then you should come to Jesus, come to the Lamb of God, come to the cross. Jesus will redeem you. Jesus will wipe away your sins and the shame. Jesus will give you new life, spiritual life, and out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Today is the day of salvation. Do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Come to Jesus now. He is beseeching you. He loves you and wants and wants to be your friend. Get on your knees right now and pray to God for salvation and accept the Lamb of God and he will save you.

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