The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, `A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."

Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, `The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ) (John 1:29-41).

This reading is an interesting one. It tells us who Jesus is, and His purpose for coming among us. Yet these verses can be a little confusing, so today I’d like to help you make sense of them.

Some names are more common than others—there are lots of people named Chris or Dylan or Ashley, for example. In Jesus’ time, John was a popular name. Two men named John figure prominently in Jesus’ life. One is John the fisherman, brother of James and son of Zebedee. The other John was the only child of the priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth; this man was Jesus’ older cousin, although the two boys grew up in different towns.

John the fisherman was called by Jesus to be a disciple. John was one of the three disciples who were closest to Jesus; he was permitted to see the Lord’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. John was the only disciple with enough courage to approach the cross and stay with Jesus as He suffered. John was the disciple who cared for Mary after her son Jesus had died. John was one of the first disciples to find Jesus’ tomb empty on Easter morning. John wrote the story of Jesus’ life in the Gospel of John; he also wrote three letters that are preserved in the Bible, and he was given a look at the future which he recorded in the book of Revelation.

John the cousin of Jesus was something of a miracle baby. His mother Elizabeth had gone through life unable to conceive; it was only after an angel visited Zechariah that the elderly woman became pregnant. Like his father, John grew up to be a religious man. When he turned 30, he went out to the wilderness along the Jordan River and began a ministry of preaching and baptizing. John gave up the trappings of civilization; he dressed like an Old Testament prophet and ate what he could find growing wild in the area. He preached a powerful message—repent and be baptized, because the kingdom of God was close at hand. He became something of a celebrity—people traveled miles to see him, and some stayed to learn from him as disciples. But John’s outspoken ways rubbed some people the wrong way; he got thrown into prison for criticizing the morals of the royal family, and was eventually put to death by beheading.

John the Gospel writer was a fisherman by trade, but he had a sharp mind; after three years being taught by Jesus, John became quite the philosopher. Of the four Gospels, John’s is by far the most thoughtful. John the baptist was a prophet who heard God’s voice; as such, he too would speak of mysteries beyond the ken of human minds. So when John the Gospel writer tells us about John the baptist, it’s not surprising that deep thoughts are involved.

John the baptist did not lay eyes on Jesus until the day when they met as adults at the Jordan River. John was sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah; John says the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel. ‘Messiah’ is the Old Testament name for Christ; both titles refer to the one special person sent by God to free mankind from sin. John had no idea who the Messiah was; all he had to go on was what God had told him: The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel writer John does not give us the details of Jesus’ baptism. Of the four Gospels, John was written last; as a result, John did not feel the need to rehash what others had already written. Matthew, Mark and Luke each tell us of how Jesus was baptized by John and what happened immediately afterwards: as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased" (Luke 3:21-22). John the baptist was one of the few people to hear the Father, touch the Son and see the Holy Spirit, all at the same time!

The coming of the Holy Spirit convinced John that Jesus was the Messiah. I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. So the next day, when John saw Jesus coming toward him, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" For any foreigners in the audience, this would have made no sense. But the Jews who were there immediately understood what John was talking about.

The first time a lamb in mentioned in the Bible is back in Genesis chapter 22. Abraham was an old man before God blessed him with a son. Abraham waited so many years for that boy that he was tempted to prize Isaac over everything else in life. But God is our maker; God is the source of all good things in our lives. Because of this, God demands first place in our hearts; Jesus said, Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:37). So God put Abraham to the test; He said Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about. As father and son climbed the mountain, Isaac asked an important question: where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." When they reached the spot God had chosen, Abraham steeled himself to go through with the sacrifice—he loved and trusted God above everything else in life, his son included. At that moment, God gave Isaac a reprieve; Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. This is the first reference in the Bible to a lamb.

Hundreds of years later, God’s people found themselves as slaves in Egypt. God sent Moses to lead them to freedom, but Pharaoh refused to let them go. On the last night of their captivity, each family was instructed to choose a spotless lamb and slaughter it. The blood was to be painted on the doorways of their homes. During the night, the angel of death killed every first born son in Egypt, but he passed over the homes marked by the lamb’s blood. The next day, a grieving nation allowed the Israelites to leave. Forever after, lamb’s blood reminded the Jews of God’s deliverance from captivity.

All of us are by nature slaves to sin. All of us need deliverance from captivity. That is what Jesus came here to do—rescue us from sin. Jesus was pure and without sin; it is His blood that protects us from eternal death, blood that flowed from His sacrifice on the cross. When we are marked by the blood of Christ we are protected from God’s judgment, like the lamb’s blood protected the Israelites from the angel of death. Jesus was offered to God as a sacrifice to spare us from eternal death, like the ram was offered to God in place of Isaac. And so John calls Jesus the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is verbal shorthand that any Jew would instantly understand.

John went on to say this is the one I meant when I said, `A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' In one sense, Jesus came on the scene after John. John the baptist was older by most of a year; he had been preaching for months before Jesus made His public debut. But Jesus was far older than John; although born of a woman, Jesus had God as His Father. Jesus was old when the world was young. Daniel referred to Him as the Ancient of Days; the prophet Micah spoke of Jesus as someone whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Jesus Himself said, before Abraham was born, I AM (Jhn 8:58). Because Jesus is so much older—eternal, in fact—John recognized that the Messiah surpassed him in every way. John said, He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie (John 1:27).

John the baptist wraps up his testimony about Jesus with these words: I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God. John is God’s prophet, and these are the most important words of his career. If Jesus is only a man, then He’s just another prophet or priest or future king. His life would eventually end, and while it might send ripples through history, He could accomplish nothing of lasting permanence. But Jesus is more than just a man—He is the Son of God as well! Jesus would only live on earth for 33 years, yet He would change history forever. Sin is mankind’s ultimate problem—it separates us from God, turns us against each other, and results in death and hell. Only the Son of God could fix this. Only the Son of God could offer His life to free us from sin’s curse, visit hell to tell Satan that he’s defeated, and rise from the grave to lead us to heaven. Our Messiah has reunited us with God, and teaches us to forgive each other so that we don’t have to go through life bitter and alone. Jesus changes the hearts of killers, cheaters, liars and thieves; He takes hearts wounded by hatred and fills them with love; He takes souls quivering with fright and gives them hope for a better tomorrow. Only the Son of God can forgive sins, and correct the problems caused by sin.

John the baptist had disciples of his own, but now that Messiah had come, it was time for them to leave and learn from the Master. The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus…They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "Come," he replied, "and you will see." The career of John the baptist was over; soon he would be arrested and put to death. But he had carried out the task God had given him; he had prepared the people for Messiah’s coming, and pointed them to Christ. Now it’s your turn. Will you follow Jesus and eagerly learn from Him? Will you tell others that He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world? I hope that you will be moved to spread the message of Andrew with everyone you know: "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ).