Behold, The Lamb of God

John 1:29-32

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 

30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 

31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”

32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.

John, the baptizer, testified about himself to the priests and Levites who were sent by the Pharisees in the previous verses. It is the following day, and now we see John testifying about Jesus. Verse 29 says that John saw Jesus coming toward him. He continues to be a brave witness for Jesus by not only pointing Him out, but also stating His purpose for being here. John calls Jesus, “the Lamb of God”, and says that He will take away the “sin of the world”. John is the only author in the New Testament who refers to Jesus as a “lamb”. This makes sense being that John’s gospel is so symbolic throughout it. John also refers to Jesus as a “lamb” in the book Revelation several times. (Revelation 5:6, 5:12, 7:9, 7:17, 12:11, 13:8, 19:7, and 21:23) Picture a lamb in your mind. Does it symbolize strength or power? Not at all. It is a symbol of sacrifice. It symbolizes the sacrifices that were made in the Old Testament. Also, what type of animal’s blood did God tell the Israelites to put on the doorposts in Exodus 12:3-11, during the Passover? It was “a lamb without blemish”…..the best most perfect lamb they could find. Jesus was a symbolic “lamb without blemish” in that He was a perfect, sinless sacrifice. He lived a perfect life as a human on this earth. Calling Jesus the Lamb was very significant, because of all that a lamb stood for in the Old Testament. When Isaiah prophesied about Jesus in Isaiah 53:7, he used a lamb to describe Him…..”He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; he was led as a lamb to the slaughter….” Lambs were born to be slaughtered as sacrifices. In the same way, Jesus was born to be a sacrifice for the sins of the entire world. The lambs that were sacrificed in the Old Testament did not take away sin. They only rolled sins forward, or were substitutes for sin until the next sacrifice could be made. The sin was still there. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was a sacrifice that completely removed sin, and not only from Israel, but from the whole world. The parallel between the Passover lamb and Jesus, the Lamb of God is so cool. The sacrifice of the Passover lamb represents God’s deliverance of His people out of Egyptian slavery just as Jesus pictured as a Lamb represents our deliverance from the slavery of sin through His sacrificial death on the cross. His resurrection represents our new life as a Christian after we die to sin through baptism and rise out of that watery grave to walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:2-11)

In verse 30, John says, paraphrasing, “Jesus was born after me and came into His ministry after I did, but He is of a higher position than I am, because He existed before I or anyone else ever existed.” Again, John elevates the status of Jesus while lowering his status. This is what John the baptizer’s mission consists of…..elevating the Messiah, preparing people for His coming, and pointing people towards the Christ. 

In verse 31, John says something perplexing, “I did not know Him…..” How could John not know Jesus? Jesus and John were cousins. Their mothers visited each other while they were both in the womb. We know that John was probably taught by his parents that cousin Mary’s baby would be the Savior of the world. Also, when Jesus came to be baptized, John said that Jesus should be the one baptizing him. So, John knew who Jesus was, so what did he mean when he said that he didn’t know Jesus? From what I have read, what John probably meant was that he wasn’t one of Jesus’ disciples who was following Him. John had a special mission…..a special calling by God…..all on his own. Here is verse 31 in my own words, “I did not know Him, but I came baptizing with water in order to reveal Him to Israel.” Verse 32 tells us how John’s baptism revealed the Lamb of God to Israel. The Spirit of God descended from heaven like a dove, and remained on Him. This proved that Jesus was the Son of God not only to John, but to everyone else as well. Obviously, God had told John to baptize during his mission of preparing the way for the Messiah in order for this very moment to take place……so that the Son of God would be revealed through the Holy Spirit at His baptism. John the baptizer played such a key role at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. His coming fulfilled prophecy, caused people to become self-aware of their need for repentance of their sins, and revealed the Son of God at the perfect time. 

When I think of John, I think of when Mary went to visit Elizabeth after she was visited by the angel, and told that she was going to be the mother of the Savior. Luke 1:41 says that when Mary greeted Elizabeth, the baby John leaped in her womb. I have always thought that this was one of the sweetest events recorded surrounding the births of John the baptizer and Jesus. It then says that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and called Mary “the mother of my Lord”. So…..I am assuming that the Holy Spirit told Elizabeth about the special baby that Mary was carrying. What a special moment for both of these women who were chosen by God to carry these two very special babies! They were much more than cousins. They were both fulfilled prophecies. 

John gained a following when he came preaching the baptism of repentance, and baptizing with water. He gained lots of attention when he proclaimed his mission of “preparing the way of the Lord”. But did he become arrogant because of the attention he was getting? Did he elevate himself in any way? Not at all. His mission never changed, and he died because he was brave enough to point out the sin of a king. There are many wonderful qualities that we can point out about this man, John the baptizer. The two that stick out the most to me are humility and bravery. What if I had to truly be brave as a Christian today? What if my very life was threatened for the cause of Christ? Of course, in our country today, I am not threatened with bodily harm because of my belief in Christ. But…..I can be made uncomfortable by standing up for Jesus and the truth. I might lose friends. I might get made fun of. It is uncomfortable to be made fun of. It is uncomfortable and hurtful to lose friends when we are doing what we know is right in the sight of God. Am I willing to be uncomfortable for Christ who died for me? 

Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? If you aren’t, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)