The Lamb Of God

Scripture: John 1:29-36

Theme: Lamb of God

What does John mean by calling Jesus – THE LAMB OF GOD?

INTRO:

Grace and peace this morning in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

I hope everyone is enjoying this New Year!

And I hope everyone is enjoying reading the Bible this New Year.

I think we all have favorite parts of the Bible. We have those books and stories that speak to us in very special ways.

When I was studying for the ministry, it was at a time in the Church when the focus was centered for the most part on the writings of the Apostle Paul.

Now, we didn’t forget about the Old Testament or the other books in the New Testament, it just seemed that at that point in the Church’s history, the focus all over the world was lasered in on the Apostle Paul’s writings.

I think part of it was because the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) didn’t quite fit the intellectual and philosophical viewpoints of the day. Most people could handle the Apostle Paul. They may not fully understand what he was writing about all the time, but they could at least get a handle on him.

However, the Gospels presented most scholars at the time a bit of a problem. They live and breathe in the supernatural. They deal with such things as a Virgin Birth, a Coming Messiah, the Wilderness trials involving the Devil and miracle stories about healing lepers, feeding thousands and raising people from the dead. They deal with this central figure - Jesus of Nazareth - who is proclaimed as the Messiah, the Anointed One, the very Son of God and as we have in our passage this morning – THE LAMB OF GOD.

I can’t remember when it exactly happened but one day as I was studying the Bible and of course being led to really dig into the Apostle Paul’s writings, I began to feel that I was missing out on the most important parts of the Bible. It wasn’t that I was neglecting the Gospels and the Book of Acts it was just that they were not front and center.

Then the thought hit me – I believed at the time and still do that it was the leading of the Holy Spirit. Paul didn’t die for me. Paul was not sent as the Son of God. Paul was a great person, a great teacher, a man who had been redeemed by God and filled with His Holy Spirit. But when all is said and done, as wonderful and intelligent and spiritually close as Paul was to God, He was still not God’s Only Son. Paul was not Jesus.

I had already had that conversation with myself when it came to those like Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Joshua, King David, and Daniel. All of those and others like Ruth, Hannah and Abagail were wonderful people to read about and study. But none of them went to the Cross for man’s redemption.

I decided that I would spend most of my time from that point on to study Jesus. To read and reread the Gospels. To pour my heart and life into understanding Jesus, His Life, His Mission and His Purpose.

Now, that is not to say that I propose anyone should neglect the Old Testament or the wonderful writings of the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Peter, the Apostle James or any of the other New Testament writings. It is just in my case, I wanted to study and learn about the One who was Born King of the Jews, the Messiah, Savior, and Lord of all Creation.

This morning, our passage is from the Gospel of John.

It happens sometime after Jesus’ Baptism and Wilderness Trials. John and Jesus have kept in contact with one another and are spending some time together.

This morning let’s see what this passage can share with us – especially what it can share about Jesus being called the LAMB OF GOD.

I. It’s Important to notice that it is John who is the One Who Calls Jesus – the LAMB of GOD

If you remember during the season of Advent, we looked at how Zacharias was told by the angel Gabriel that John was to hold two very great positions at the same time –John would be both a Prophet and a Priest.

Heritage had declared that John was a priest. His father had been a priest. His grandfather, his great-grandfather all the way back to the time of Aaron had been priests. The priest hood was in John’s blood. It was a part of his DNA.

John was also called to be a prophet in the same vein as the Prophet Elijah. He was to be a mouthpiece for the Lord God Almighty. He was to be a vessel that God could use to speak to His people. He was to be in the line of such people as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Elijah and Elisha.