Jesus the Lamb of God, the Son of God: The Third Witness of John the Baptist, 1:29–34
(1:29–34) Introduction: John’s witness about Jesus Christ is one of the greatest witnesses ever given by man. John was unmistakable in His proclamation of the Lord Jesus Christ (Lu. 4:18–19).
1. Christ is the Lamb of God (v.29).
2. Christ is the Preeminent One (vv.30–31).
3. Christ is the Messiah, the One upon whom the Spirit of God remained (vv.32–33).
4. Christ is the Son of God (v.34).
1 (1:29) Jesus Christ, Lamb of God: Jesus Christ is the “Lamb of God.” Down through the centuries “the Lamb of God” has been one of the most cherished symbols of Jesus Christ held by believers. There are four reasons for this.
a. The Lamb is a picture of Christ our Passover who was sacrificed for us.
“For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Co. 5:7).
Historically, the Passover refers back to the time when God delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage (Ex. 11:1f). God had pronounced judgment, the taking of the firstborn, upon the people of Egypt for their injustices. As He prepared to execute the final judgment, the faithful, those who believed God, were instructed to slay a pure lamb and sprinkle its blood over the door posts of their homes. The blood of the innocent lamb would then serve as a sign that the coming judgment had already been carried out. When seeing the blood, God would pass over that house. Those who believed God applied the blood to their homes and were saved, but those who did not believe did not apply the blood to their homes and their firstborn were destroyed.
Symbolically, the Passover pictured the coming of Jesus Christ as the Savior. The lamb without blemish pictured His sinless life (see Jn. 1:29), and the blood sprinkled on the door posts pictured His blood shed for the believer. It was a sign that the life and blood of the innocent lamb had been substituted for the firstborn. The eating of the lamb pictured the need for spiritual nourishment gained by feeding on Christ, the Bread of Life. The unleavened bread (bread without yeast) pictured the need for putting evil out of one’s life and household. (STUDY, Feast of Unleavened Bread—Mt. 26:17.)
The major point to note is this: it was the blood of the lamb that saved the people. The lamb was sacrificed; that is, its blood was shed as a substitute for the people. The lamb symbolized Christ our Passover who was sacrificed for us. If we believe and apply His blood to our hearts and homes, He saves us. If we do not believe and do not apply the blood to our hearts and homes, we are destroyed. It is the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for us; it is His blood which saves us.
b. The Lamb is a picture of the precious blood of Christ which redeems us.
“Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things … but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pe. 1:18–19).
Historically, two lambs were sacrificed “day by day continually … the one … in the morning; and the other … at even” (Ex. 29:38–39). The sacrifice of the two lambs, the shedding of their precious blood, became a substitute for the people. The people knew their sins had separated them from God and that their sins had to be removed before they could be reconciled to God. Thus, symbolically, the sins of the people were removed from the people and placed upon the two animals. The animals, without blemish and without spot, had the sins of the people placed upon them; and symbolically, they bore the judgment of sin, which was death. They were sacrificed for sin, and by their death, they symbolically set the people free by redeeming them from their sins. (But note a critical point. It was not the deed that caused God to remove the sins but the faith of the person in God’s Word that He would remove the sins.)
This, of course, is a picture of Christ. (See Is. 53:6–7; Je. 11:19; Ac. 8:32; 1 Co. 5:7; He. 9:28; 1 Pe. 2:22–24; Re. 5:6; 6:1; 7:9; 12:11; 13:8; 14:1; 15:3; 17:14; 19:9; 21:22.) Jesus Christ is …
• the perfect Lamb of God, without sin (blemish or spot). )
• the One upon whom the sins of the people were placed
• the One who bore the judgment for sin, which was death
• the One who was sacrificed for sin
• the One whose death sets people free by redeeming them
• the One whose blood is counted precious both by God and believers
It should be noted that Christ willingly offered Himself as the sacrificial Lamb, as our substitute and sin-bearer; and God willingly accepted the offering and sacrifice of His Son for us (Jn. 10:17–18). God is satisfied with the settlement for sin that Christ made. If any person really believes the blood of Christ to be precious—really believes that the blood of Christ covers his sins—God will take that person’s belief and count it as righteousness (see DEEPER STUDY # 1, 2—Ro. 4:22; notes—5:1; 1 Jn. 2:1–2).
c. The “Lamb of God” is not of men, but of God (tou Theou). The idea is that the Lamb belonged to God; that is, God gave, supplied, and provided the Lamb for sacrifice. (See Ge. 22:8 where God provided the lamb for Abraham as a substitute for Isaac.)
This glorious truth speaks volumes on …
• the unbelievable love of God for man (Jn. 3:16; Ro. 5:1).
• the great sacrifice and humiliation Christ underwent for man (Ph. 2:6–8; 1 Pe. 2:24).
• the forgiveness of sins and salvation which came from God’s grace and not from man’s resources and works (Ep. 2:8–9; Tit. 2:4–7).
• the deity of Christ, His being of God (see Master Subject Index, Jesus Christ, Deity).
d. The “Lamb of God” takes away the sin of the world.
1) The phrase takes away (airon) means to lift away, to carry off. It means to bear in behalf of one, as one’s substitute. Jesus Christ was the sacrificial Lamb of God who bore our sins. He lifted our sins off of us and bore and carried them away.
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Pe. 2:24).
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (He. 9:28).
2) The word sin (harmartian) is singular, not plural. All the sins of the world are taken and placed into one package. The whole package of sin—all the sin of every man who has ever lived—was laid upon and borne by Christ.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7).
3) The world is looked at as a whole. Christ bore the sins of the whole world, not the sins of just some men. No matter the depth and ugliness of a man’s sin, Christ bore the sins of the whole world.
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 Jn. 2:1–2).
2 (1:30–31) Jesus Christ, Preeminent: Jesus Christ is the Preeminent One, the One before all. Note what John said.
a. John said that Christ “was before me”; that is, He existed before me. He was the Preexistent One, the Eternal God (see note—Jn. 1:15 for discussion).
b. John did not know who the Messiah would be, only that the Messiah was to come. Note that John knew Jesus personally; they were cousins (Lu. 1:36). However, John did not know that his cousin, Jesus, was to be the Messiah. Note another fact: how faithful John was! He was a man of strong faith. He had never seen the Messiah, yet he went about his mission of preaching and baptizing. He acted on God’s Word and on God’s Word alone, believing that the Messiah would come.
Thought 1. Christ is the Preeminent One, the Eternal God. Believers must follow the example of John and …
• declare that Christ is before all
• believe God’s promise: the Messiah has come
• act and get about their mission of proclaiming Christ
3 (1:32–33) Holy Spirit: Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the One upon whom the Holy Spirit of God remained. Note several facts.
a. This is the “record,” the strong witness of John.
b. The dove was a sacred bird to the Jews. It was a symbol of peace and gentleness, of purity and innocence; but even more significant, the dove was often identified with the Spirit of God. When the dove descended upon Christ, it symbolized the Spirit of God Himself descending upon Christ. The dove identified Jesus as the Messiah and endued Him with the power of God (see outline and notes—Mk. 1:9–10).
c. In the Old Testament the Spirit of God came upon men only on special occasions. He never remained upon men. John went out of his way to point out that the Spirit’s descent upon Christ was unique: He abode (v.32) and He remained upon Christ (v.32). The Holy Spirit entered the life of Christ once-for-all, permanently and powerfully, in His full manifestation and unlimited power.
Thought 1. When a person is baptized by the Holy Spirit into Christ, the Holy Spirit enters the life of the believer, becoming a permanent experience of the believer.
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another” (Jn. 15:16–17).
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (Jn. 16:7).
“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Ro. 8:9–10).
“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Co. 12:13).
d. John repeated, he did not know who the Messiah would be. God’s sign to John was the Holy Spirit’s coming upon the Messiah in the form of a dove.
e. Christ is the One who baptizes believers with the Holy Spirit.
Thought 1. It is the person who receives the Spirit of God that has the presence and care of God looking over his life (see notes—Jn. 14:15–26; Jn. 16:7–15; DEEPER STUDY # 1—Ac. 2:1–4; note—Ro. 8:1–17).
4 (1:34) Jesus Christ, Son of God: Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (See notes—Jn. 1:1–2; 10:30–33; Ph. 2:6; 2:7 for more discussion.) What did John mean by “the Son of God”? Note the definite article. Christ is the Son, not a son of God. He is …
• the only Son
• the only begotten Son
• the only begotten Son who came from the very bosom of God, that is from the deepest part, from the most intimate place, from the most honorable fellowship of God
a. The gospel writers say that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
1:21
1:1
1:31–32
1:18, 34, 45
2:15
3:11
1:35
3:16–18, 35–36
3:17
13:32
3:38
5:19, 21–23, 25–26
4:3
14:61
4:3, 9
6:40, 42
8:29
15:39
4:41
8:35–36
11:27
8:28
9:35 (see 19:7)
14:33
10:22
10:36
14:36
22:70
11:4
16:16
14:13
17:5
17:1
26:63
19:17
27:30, 40, 43, 54
20:31
The gospel writers also say that Jesus Christ constantly claimed that God was His Father, that He was the Son of the Father in a unique sense.
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
7:21
8:38
2:49
3:35
10:32–33
13:32
9:26
5:17, 19–23, 26, 30, 36–37, 43, 45
11:25–27
14:36
10:21–22
12:50
22:29, 42
6:27, 32, 37, 39, 42, 44–46, 57, 65
15:13
23:34, 46
16:17, 27
24:49
8:16, 18–19, 27–29, 38, 49, 54
18:10, 19, 35
20:23
10:15, 17–18, 25, 29–30, 32, 36–38
24:36
25:34
11:41
26:29, 39, 42, 53
12:26–28, 49–50
28:19
14:6–13, 16, 20–21, 26, 23–24, 28, 31
15:1, 8–10, 15–16, 23–24, 26
16:3, 10, 15–17, 25–28, 32
17:1, 5, 11, 24–25
18:11
20:17, 21
b. The book of Acts says that Jesus Christ is the Son of God:
Acts
3:13, 26; 8:37; 9:20
c. Paul says that Jesus Christ is the Son of God:
Romans
1:4, 9; 5:10; 8:3, 29, 32
1 Corinthians
1:9; 15:58
2 Corinthians
1:19
Galatians
1:16; 2:20; 4:4, 6
Ephesians
4:13
Colossians
1:13
1 Thessalonians
1:10
Hebrews
1:2, 5, 8; 3:6; 4:14; 5:8; 6:6; 7:3, 28; 10:29; 11:17
Paul also says that God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Romans
15:6
2 Corinthians
1:3; 11:31
Ephesians
1:3
d. Peter says that God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1 Peter
1:3
e. John, in his Epistles and Revelation, says that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1 John
1:3, 7; 2:22–24; 3:8, 23; 4:9–10, 14–15; 5:5, 9–13, 20
2 John
3, 9
Revelation
2:18, 27; 3:5
h
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (2004). The Gospel according to John
