Behold The Lamb: A Message Of Liberation And Witness

Opening

Church, this morning I want to direct your attention to John's Gospel, chapter 1, verses 29 through 42. This passage speaks to us across the centuries with a message that resonates deeply with our struggle, our hope, and our calling as a people.

When John the Baptist looked up and saw Jesus approaching, he declared: "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" These words were not spoken in a vacuum. They were spoken in a context of oppression, occupation, and the desperate yearning of a people for liberation.

The Lamb That Liberates

Brothers and sisters, the imagery of the lamb would have been immediately understood by John's first hearers. They remembered the Passover lamb—the lamb whose blood marked the doorposts in Egypt, the lamb that stood between slavery and freedom, the lamb that made a way out of no way.

Dr. King often reminded us that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. And here, in this Lamb of God, we see the ultimate expression of that divine justice—not a justice that comes through violence or domination, but through sacrificial love.

Jesus didn't come riding on a war horse. He came as a lamb. But don't mistake gentleness for weakness. This Lamb possessed the power to break every chain, to tear down every wall of partition, and to set the captives free.

The Sin of the World

When John says this Lamb "takes away the sin of the world," we must understand what that means for us today. Yes, it means personal sin—the individual ways we fall short of God's glory. But the Gospel is also concerned with corporate sin, structural sin, the sin embedded in systems and institutions.

The sin of the world includes:

- The sin of racism that says some of God's children are worth less than others

- The sin of economic exploitation that grinds the faces of the poor

- The sin of violence that responds to injustice with brutality

- The sin of indifference that walks past suffering on the other side of the road

Jesus came to take away ALL of that sin. He came to reconcile not just individuals to God, but to reconcile humanity to itself, to heal the divisions that tear us apart, to make us truly one.

Come and See

After John's declaration, two disciples followed Jesus. And when Jesus turned and asked them, "What do you seek?" they responded, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" And Jesus gave them a simple invitation: "Come and see."

Church, that's still the invitation today. Come and see where Jesus dwells. Come and see what the Kingdom of God looks like. Come and see a community where:

- The last are first and the first are last

- The mighty are brought down and the humble are lifted up

- Love casts out fear

- Justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream

Dr. King accepted that invitation. He came and saw, and what he saw transformed not just his life, but a nation. He saw that following the Lamb meant nonviolent resistance to evil. He saw that following the Lamb meant standing with the oppressed. He saw that following the Lamb meant being willing to lay down your life so that others might be free.

We Have Found the Messiah

When Andrew encountered Jesus, he couldn't keep it to himself. He went immediately to find his brother Simon and declared: "We have found the Messiah!"

This is the essence of witness, beloved. When you truly encounter the Lamb of God, when you truly experience liberation, you cannot remain silent. You must tell somebody. You must bring your brother, your sister, your neighbor to meet the One who can set them free.

Our witness as the Black church has always been this testimony: We have found the Messiah! We found Him in the cotton fields and the auction blocks. We found Him in the middle passage and the midnight hour. We found Him in the struggle for freedom and the march toward justice. We found Him, and He has found us, and He continues to make us free.

A New Name, A New Identity

Finally, notice what happens when Simon meets Jesus. Jesus looks at him and says, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" which means Peter, the rock.

Jesus had the power to see past who Simon was to who he would become. He saw past the fisherman to the foundation of the church. He saw past the coward who would deny Him to the bold preacher at Pentecost. He saw past present reality to future possibility.

This is the liberating vision of the Gospel. You are not defined by what society calls you. You are not limited by the circumstances of your birth. You are not bound by the sins of your past or the struggles of your present. In Christ, you are given a new name, a new identity, a new destiny.