We said last week that beginning in John 1:19 and continuing through John 2:11 was one week in the life of Jesus Christ. Our text from last week, John the Baptist’s meeting with the Jewish delegates, was the first day of this week. The very next day after this meeting, we have another meeting, our text for today. While this is another meeting involving John the Baptist, it is a much greater meeting. This day, John isn’t meeting with the priests, Levites, Pharisees, or any other group of Jewish or religious leaders; he is meeting with Jesus Christ himself. Now I don’t want to dwell on John the Baptist for long, but imagine the last 24 to 48 hours of his life at this point. He has gone from calling for repentance and baptizing people in the wilderness in the Jordan River, to having a face-to-face encounter with the Jewish delegation, to now seeing Jesus Christ coming toward him. At this point we might expect John to want to tell Jesus all that he has been through and boast about what he has done, but John stays true to who he is. We said last week that he was someone who didn’t want the spotlight, but instead wanted to aim or shine the spotlight at Christ, and that’s exactly what he continues to do here.
Look at John’s words as he sees Jesus coming towards him, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Now, John the Baptist, as we will see in just a moment, has much more to say about Jesus at this point, but I want to quickly draw your attention to this title Lamb of God. Now, many of us have nicknames. Depending on which group of people we are around determines what name we will be called. However, I don’t know if there is anyone in history that has more titles or names than Jesus Christ. Why, in just the 34 verses that we have read to date of John’s gospel we have seen Jesus referred to as the Word, the Christ, the Lamb of God, and the Son of God. Some other titles that are commonly seen are the Son of Man, Lord, the Consolation of Judah, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, King of Israel, and many more. We could fill an entire worship service just recounting the names that have been used to indicate and identify Jesus Christ.
This particular title, Lamb of God (Angus Dei in Latin), is a prominent and common one. This comparison of Jesus Christ to a lamb isn’t an unusual one. What is odd is that there are only 2 books in all of Scripture where Christ is called the Lamb of God, and both of them were written by the same person. It just so happens that one of those books is the final book of the Bible, Revelation. Revelation 5 records John waiting for the Lion of Judah when instead a Lamb appears that had been slain. This results in a chorus of angels singing, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
Now throughout history, biblical scholars have had varying opinions as to the significance of the lamb, but there is no doubting that this creature extends the length of Scripture. The first specific mention of this animal is found in Genesis 22, when God called Abraham to go to Mount Moriah and offer his son Isaac (his only and long-awaited son) as a sacrifice. In an act of complete obedience to God, Abraham followed the will of the Lord. He had his knife drawn back, ready to drive it into Isaac’s heart when God stopped him, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me (Gen.22:12).” Then Abraham hears a rustling in the bushes, so he goes over to see what it is. Low-and-behold, he finds a ram, a male lamb who is now fully grown, caught in the thicket by his horns. God provided this lamb as a sacrificial substitute for Abraham’s son Isaac, just as His Son was provided as a substitutionary sacrifice for us on the cross. However, Jesus’ substitution was a once-for-all sacrifice that extends throughout all of history; from the very beginning to the completed end, whenever that may be.
Likewise, we can see the Lamb of God in the Passover. As God was ready to bring the tenth and final plague upon the Egyptians (the death of all firstborn males), He told the people of Israel to kill unblemished lambs and put their blood upon the doorpost of their houses. God told Israel that He would pass over every house where he found the blood of the innocent lamb. This lamb’s blood spared Israel from God’s wrath. It was their substitution in a way, for giving of their firstborn males; it saved them. The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, with his very own blood, redeemed His people from the penalty that was due to them because of their sin.
These are just a few examples of recorded texts that point to a lamb in the Old Testament. And it’s most likely that this title of Lamb of God was not an invention of John the Baptist. Also, it’s highly unlikely that John the Baptist, in his finite mind, would have readily made this connection at the time of his seeing Jesus coming toward him. It’s not as if he had any idea as to what Jesus’ earthly ministry would look like. How could he; he wasn’t God. Only God knew what Jesus’ earthly ministry would look like and how it would end. However, it is just further proof of God’s plan. The fact that we have events and accounts that occur back as far as the book of Genesis and the time of Abraham that are already pointing to the very sacrificial act that God himself will undergo on our behalf. As if there wasn’t sufficient proof of God’s love already, we have even more now. He knew what the plan was before creation ever happened. Despite the actions of man during the time between creation and Christ’s coming into the world, God never changed His mind. Regardless of how much we strayed and sinned, he stayed true. When all the things of this world were being corrupted and tainted, the Almighty was unchanged; He was a rock; He was OUR rock. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Now, I mentioned earlier that John the Baptist has much more to say about Jesus than simply calling him the Lamb of God and stating what his ministry is ultimately to accomplish. As a matter of fact, John has a pretty detailed explanation of who Jesus is to go along with his initial statement. He speaks of Jesus’ ranking above himself and every other person. He mentions Jesus’ divinity and the fact that there has never been a time when the Son was not. And just for good measure, so that no one will say that John is saying these things because he has been told them by someone else, he makes a statement that tells us that he didn’t even know Jesus. To quote John Calvin, “John does not speak at his own suggestion, nor for the favor of man, but by the inspiration of the Spirit and the command of God.” John is silencing all critics who would bring up claims that he is merely saying what Jesus told him to say.
Then, beginning in verse 32, we find John’s testimony or witness saying, “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” And while we could take time and poke and prod each and every word of this witness made by John the Baptist, I don’t think that it’s necessary. We could look at theologically what each and every line means and what biblical doctrines flow from them, but I think that there is something much greater to be learned from this witness as a whole. You see, John could have just stopped with his concise description of Jesus in verse 29. He could have ended after his brief comments about Christ that we find in verses 30 and 31, but he didn’t. He could have ended things and just turned it over to Christ so-to-speak, but he needed to do something more.
Now, I’m not saying that God needs us to do something so that His work can be accomplished, because He doesn’t. What I am saying, is that many times, we need to do more in our own efforts. I have said numerous times in my life and many times from this very pulpit that our life, our way of conducting ourselves as Christians, is perhaps the strongest witness that we have with others. Now, I fully stand behind my words and still feel that this is true, but I think that some clarification needs to be made here. How we conduct ourselves does carry a lot of weight and is important in being a good Christian witness. However, much in the same sense that many of us think that words without actions are worthless, when it comes to witnessing for Christ, action without words can many times have no value. Hear me out for just a moment if you will; how do you know when you see someone doing something of virtue or something that you would consider to be a righteous act, that it is because they are Christian? In other words, how do you know that a person’s positive actions are because they cling to the cross? Quite simply, you don’t; none of us do.
In fact, in our world today where so many believe strongly in forces of the universe, karma, destiny, fate, or any other thinking along these lines, many times morality or civility are detached from one’s faith. Add to this fact, unfortunately, that there are numerous cases of where Christians are actually the ones who conduct themselves in the immoral manner. Well, we may ask ourselves, “What can we do about it?” And I think that what we have for us here in our text today with John’s witness is the very answer. As we go throughout our lives, as we conduct our business in this world, we are presented with tremendous opportunities. We are given chances to conduct ourselves in such a manner that allows us to bear the name Christian appropriately, but it shouldn’t stop there. There should be some verbal witness added to the nonverbal. Now, I’m not saying that every good thing that we do that we ought to stand up on the nearest table and say that we did it because we’re a Christian. No, that would probably end up having a negative effect on our witness. What I’m talking about is something much more subtle and, I believe, more effective than that. It isn’t overly interjecting our faith into every conversation, but it’s taking advantage of the opportunities that we’re given.
Take for example, if someone asks a favor of you; it can be either a work favor or a personal one; because they really need some help. Well, most of us, if we can, will help that person out without a second thought, and that’s a good thing. But how many of us, after agreeing to help, would ask that person if and how we can pray for them? Or perhaps another example of how we can add some verbal witness to the nonverbal; let’s say that things are going good at home and that brand new boat or kitchen or whatever it may be is finally becoming or has become a reality. Well, eventually someone is going to ask you about your new addition. Instead of saying, “Yeah, we’ve been wanting this for quite some time and we just decided to go for it”; how about placing God into the mix. You could say something along the lines of, “Yeah, God has really blessed us lately. We sure are lucky to be in the situation we’re in and we just can’t thank Him enough for allowing us to have something that we’ve wanted for a while now.” It isn’t much, but it still points to God.
Friends, as we prepare our hearts to partake of this meal before us, we’re called to re-examine our hearts. Now I’m not saying that if we haven’t lived up to the high standard that comes with being a Christian then we aren’t worthy to partake. I’m not saying that if we haven’t exactly pointed others to Christ as John the Baptist did then we aren’t worthy to partake. No, although I think that both of these things, the high standard of being a Christian and pointing others to Christ, are important and they are things worthy of our highest and best effort, they aren’t what this meal is about. This meal, this symbolic remembrance of a sacrifice goes back to the words of John the Baptist when he saw Jesus coming, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Brothers and sisters, we were purchased at a great price. As we will remind ourselves in a few short moments about how great that price was, let me encourage you to pray that God, through his Holy Spirit, will daily place that burden and that reminder upon your heart. And I can say without a doubt, that if we truly understand what Christ has done for us, then our witness, our efforts in growing his kingdom, will be blessed beyond all imagination. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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