The Lamb of God
Text: John 1:29-34
Introduction
1. Illustration: Dr. H.A. Ironside once shared a story that was the clearest illustration of the Gospel I have ever heard. He said that he was visiting in South Texas and had the opportunity to visit a sheep ranch. While he was there, he spotted what he thought to be a two-headed lamb. He asked the foreman of the ranch, "Why in the world does that lamb have two heads?" The foreman smiled and said, "You are a city slicker. Let me explain what we did. The other day we had two ewes who gave birth to lambs. One of the ewes died in childbirth and one of the lambs died, also. We took the living lamb and put it in the pen with the living ewe to see if she would nurse. She smelled of the lamb and walked away. It wasn’t her own." "What did you do?" Ironside asked. "Well, we took the coat off of the dead lamb and wrapped it around the living one and put it back in the pen. When the mother smelled the blood of her very own lamb......she accepted the little lamb and began to nurse." Dr. Ironside said, "Thank you for sharing with me the greatest picture of the Cross I have ever seen. For without Christ, I am hopeless for eternity. God will not accept me into Heaven on my own works. But, when I stand before Him covered in the blood of His own Son, Jesus........He accepts me and allows me to be part of His family!"
2. So far in our study of John's Gospel we have focused on who Jesus is and that he came to earth
3. Now we are going to look at why Jesus came...
a. To take away sin
b. Baptize with the Holy Spirit
Proposition: Jesus came to make spiritually healthy.
Transition: First, Jesus came...
I. To Take Away Sin (29-31).
A. Takes Away Sin
1. After being interrogated by the religious leaders the day before John the Baptist went right back to work.
2. In v. 29 it says, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
a. "The next day" speaks of the day following the delegation's inquiry.
b. "Look the Lamb of God" is a forceful declaration.
c. The indication is that it had been revealed to John the Baptist that the Saviour's death was to be a fulfillment of Isaiah 53 as well as the Passover lamb of Exodus 12.
d. Any Jew would connect a lamb (especially the word used here which speaks of a sacrificial lamb without blemish) with the Passover.
e. In addition, lambs were used in the daily sacrifices at the temple, and lambs without blemish were sacrificed as guilt offering (The Complete Biblical Library – John, 33).
f. The verb "takes away" conveys the notion of bearing off.
g. It is perhaps not specific enough to point to any one particular means of atonement, but it does signify atonement, and that by substitution.
h. "Jesus bears the consequence of human sin in order that its guilt may be removed" (Hoskyns). It is removed completely, carried right off.
i. John speaks of sin, not sins. He is referring to the totality of the world's sin rather than to a number of individual acts.
j. The expression "the sin of the world" does not appear to have been used prior to this passage.
k. The reference to "the world" is another glance at the comprehensiveness of Christ's atonement. It is completely adequate for the need of all people.
l. Right at the beginning of his Gospel John points us forward to the cross and to the significance of the cross (Morris, The New International Commentary on the New Testament – The Gospel According to John, 130).
3. John then continues his pronouncement of Jesus by saying, "He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’"
a. "He is the one" refers to the prior verses. The Baptist had been explaining the chief work of Jesus.
b. When he saw Jesus coming, he lifted his voice and cried, "He is the one!" (The Complete Biblical Library – John, 33).
c. While the Christology of this Gospel is of the highest order, the writer never loses sight of Jesus' manhood.
d. Before leaving this verse we should perhaps also notice that, though the Baptist says he is quoting words he spoke on a previous occasion, there is no record of that occasion in this Gospel (Morris, 131).
e. We should also notice something else. Although John the Baptist was a well-known preacher who attracted large crowds, he was content that Jesus take the higher place.
f. John demonstrated true humility, the basis for greatness in preaching, teaching, or any other work we do for Christ.
g. Accepting what God wants us to do and giving Jesus Christ the honor for it allows God to work freely through us (Barton, Life Application New Testament Commentary, 376).
4. John then buts his ministry into perspective by saying, "I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
a. The Baptist was not saying that he had never met Jesus. He may have gone with his mother, Elisabeth, to visit Joseph and Mary on occasion.
b. What John was saying was that he had not recognized Jesus for what He was. Knowing Christ for who He is is a work of the Holy Spirit.
c. John had been looking for the Messiah, but he did not know who he was. Yet the whole purpose of his baptism was to make the Messiah known to Israel. The Greek construction emphasizes this point.
d. One might have thought that John's baptism was concerned largely with leading people to repent. But this was not its final purpose; John baptized so that the Messiah should be "revealed ('made manifest') to Israel."
e. "With water" may perhaps be another small depreciation of the Baptist, for it contrasts him with one who "will baptize with the Holy Spirit" (Morris, 132).
f. "Revealed" (phanerōthē) is an absorbing word occurring 9 times in John and 49 times in the New Testament.
g. The denotation is "to reveal," "make known," and "to know by revelation."
h. The last meaning fits this context. John declared that the reason he "(came) baptizing with (or 'in') water" was that Christ might be revealed to Israel (The Complete Biblical Library – John, 35).
B. Sacrifice Lamb
1. Illustration: Bryan Chapell tells this story that happened in his hometown: Two brothers were playing on the sandbanks by the river. One ran after another up a large mound of sand. Unfortunately, the mound was not solid, and their weight caused them to sink in quickly.
When the boys did not return home for dinner, the family and neighbors organized a search. They found the younger brother unconscious, with his head and shoulders sticking out above the sand. When they cleared the sand to his waist, he awakened. The searchers asked, "Where is your brother?"
The child replied, "I’m standing on his shoulders"
With the sacrifice of his own life, the older brother lifted the younger to safety. The tangible and sacrificial love of the older brother literally served as a foundation for the younger brother’s life.
2. Jesus came to be the sacrifice lamb for the sins of the world.
a. Hebrews 9:27-28 (NLT)
And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.
b. Jesus didn't come to earth to be a great teacher, or to start a new religion.
c. Jesus didn't come to be a revolutionary and set the Israelites free from Roman rule.
d. He came to be the sacrifice lamb and make atonement for us with God.
e. He came to stand in our place and make us right with God the Father again.
f. He came as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.
Transition: Secondly, Jesus came...
II. To Baptize With The Holy Spirit (32-34).
A. Baptize With The Holy Spirit
1. The Baptist now moves from Jesus mission of bringing redemption to his mission of bringing the power of the Holy Spirit to the church.
2. In v. 32 we read, "Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him."
a. John is not writing of something that he saw once and that soon passed away, but of something that had continuing effects.
b. The verb saw is used in this Gospel of seeing with the bodily eye.
c. John is not talking about a vision. He actually saw the Holy Spirit come down upon Jesus in a form like that of a dove.
d. The Spirit not only descended but remained on him. We should probably understand that the Spirit remained with him permanently (Morris, 132).
e. Jesus did not receive the Holy Spirit at the time of His baptism in water.
f. He possesses the fullness of the Spirit, for He is God.
g. The sign was a confirmation of God's revelation as to the messiahship of Jesus.
h. The physical form of a dove was clearly visible. The dove was a fitting symbol of the Spirit because it was harmless.
i. It is a word which also signifies purity both in purpose and in character.
j. Some believe the text is saying that "as a dove descends from heaven, so came the Holy Spirit upon Jesus." (See Isaiah 11:1ff. which says that "the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him [the 'Branch'], the spirit of wisdom and of understanding....")
k. The Spirit remained upon Jesus, in contrast to most Old Testament manifestations of the Spirit which were temporary anointings for specific tasks (The Complete Biblical Library – John, 35).
3. John continues saying, "I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’"
a. Most Jewish groups believed that the Spirit was not as active in prophetic inspiration as in the Old Testament period.
b. The emerging rabbinic movement and many of their allies, who linked the Spirit almost exclusively with prophecy, emphasized that the direct prophetic endowments of the Spirit had ceased when the last Old Testament prophets (Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi) died.
c. For many of John’s hearers, a claim that the Spirit is being restored would be a claim that the messianic era is at hand (Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament).
d. John repeats his statement that until the time of this descent of the Spirit he did not know him.
e. This does not necessarily mean that he did not know Jesus at all, though some have taken this to be the meaning of the words.
f. It is, of course, quite possible that this is his meaning, for Jesus was brought up in Galilee and John in the lonely parts of Judea.
g. They may never have met until now, although they were related. But it seems more probable that John means that he did not know Jesus to be the Messiah who would baptize with the Holy Spirit until he saw the sign.
h. Recognition came not from prior knowledge, but from supernatural revelation. John does not say how and when he had been given the sign, but he says that he had it from God, who had sent him to baptize that the Spirit would descend and abide on the one whom he awaited.
i. He does not say whether the sign of the dove was included in the original revelation, or whether he simply recognized the dove for what it was when he saw it come down on Jesus.
j. But what is clear is that he had a divinely appointed sign, and that he knew Jesus by that sign.
k. John goes on to describe him as "he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit."
l. All three Synoptists make this point; Jesus came that people might be brought into contact with the divine Spirit.
m. But baptism is a figure which stresses abundant supply. So John will mean that the Spirit leads people into the infinite divine spiritual resources.
n. This had not been possible previously, for there is a quality of life that Christ and none other makes available. This life is a positive gift from the Spirit of God.
o. Baptism with water had essentially a negative significance: it is a cleansing from—. But baptism with the Spirit is positive.
p. It is the bestowal of new life in God and power for ministry (Morris, 133).
4. John then concludes his testimony by saying, "I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”
a. A witness tells what he knows. He knows by what he sees and hears.
b. John summed up what he "saw" with the perfect tense verb "have seen" (heōraka), asserting past action with a present result.
c. The content of his witness was put into a short, powerful statement of fact "that this is the Son of God."
d. John did not speak of His nature this time but of His identity as God's Son because John used the definite article with both Son and God (ho huios tou theou).
e. John's last few words are most important. The title "Son of God" is recorded in the New Testament over 40 times, in the Gospels nearly 30 times, and in the Gospel of John 10 times.
f. The term emphasized the unique relationship of the Father and the Son.
g. Jesus never included anyone else when He said "my Father." He never included himself when He told others to pray "Our Father."
h. By way of comparison, "Son of man" (1:51), a term more often used by Christ himself, is a term meaning His Messiahship (The Complete Biblical Library – John, 35-37).
B. Spirit Baptism
1. Illustration: The Rev. Frank Bartleman was a leader in the 1907 visitation of the Holy Spirit on Azusa Street in L.A. He said, "Men love the spectacular. What we do not understand is ’wonderful.’ God’s fire falls on sacrifice, as in Elijah’s case.
The greater the sacrifice, consecration, the more fire. God’s fire falls only on sacrifice. An empty altar receives no fire."
"It is not the man who can build the biggest brush heap, but the one who can set his heap on fire that will light up the country.
"The devil has no conscience, and the flesh has no sense. Many have never learned submission, courtesy, nor anything else, even in the way of common manners. A spirit of self-importance is one of the most disgusting things in the world.
"The oil (the Holy Ghost) ceases to flow, as in Elijah’s time, when there are no more empty vessels to be filled. People do not sense their need of God. But wherever there is a hungry heart, God will fill it...’"
2. Jesus came not only to take away sin, but to replace it with the power of the Holy Spirit.
a. Acts 10:45-46 (NLT)
The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
b. We believe that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is an empowerment for ministry in addition to salvation.
c. We also believe that the initial physical evidence of the baptism is speaking in tongues.
d. Now wait a minuet preacher! You had me until that part about speaking in tongues. I don't want to hear about speaking in tongues because that's just weird!
e. Is it weird? Or is it supernatural?
f. We don't get weirded out when we talk about healing! We like to talk about people being healed. Well what is healing? It is God supernatural intervention to a bad thing happening in someone's body.
g. Well speaking in tongues is just God's supernatural intervention in our lives that enables us to speak in a language that we have never studied of learned.
h. It is through this intervention that God empowers us to do things that we cannot do by ourselves.
i. The baptism in the Holy Spirit empowers us in ways that we could never imagine possible, and it is available to anyone who calls on the name of the Lord.
Conclusion
1. Today we have taken a look at why Jesus came.
a. He came to take away sin
b. He came to baptize with the Holy Spirit
2. There are two things we can take away from this message.
a. You can have your sins taken away, and all you have to do is ask God to do it.
b. You can be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues, and all you have to do is ask God for it.
3. So what are you waiting for?
