John 1:29-36

Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world! Do you have a load of sin and guilt you are carrying? What is the answer to this?

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

All right, if you would turn in your Bibles to John chapter 1, and I'd like for you to look at verses 29 through 35. Today, the Bible says here, the next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me, for he was before me. And I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel. Therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him, and I knew him not. But he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God. Again, the next day after John stood and two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold, the Lamb of God. And so in this section here, I want you to notice Jesus' introduction. And so this is John the Baptist. Again, he is the forerunner of Christ, and he is introducing us and others, of course, in the as far as the context is concerned. And I want you to notice some things about Jesus' introduction. I want you to notice he's introduced as the Lamb of God. In verse 29, the next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. And that word behold, it means to see, to denote surprise, lo with an exclamation point beside it. Now think of how John has been building this moment up, and everyone is talking and asking questions, and then Jesus steps out on the scene. And so again, he is the one, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. And so he's been announcing that Jesus Christ is coming. He has been letting them know that he is getting ready to step on the scene. And they knew from the scriptures, as we saw in our last section, they knew that he was the forerunner of Christ because they asked him all the questions. They asked if he was Elias. They asked if he was Elijah. They asked if he was that prophet. And the answer, of course, was no. And he simply said, I'm simply a voice. I'm the one that is telling you that he is coming. And so all the people are talking, and of course, there's people that are being baptized and all these things. And everybody's this is an exciting thing, you understand? The whole town's talking about this. And then all of a sudden, John's message, he sees him step out on the scene and he says, Behold, the Lamb of God. All right. And so again, he's been building this moment up. Everyone's talking, asking questions, and then Jesus steps out. And so we see the excitement about the Lamb. And then I want you to notice John is dogmatic about the Lamb. In verse 29, he's called the Lamb. And the word lamb there is capitalized, the capital L there. And so there is no other. This is the Lamb that these people had been looking for and waiting for their whole lives and history. And so a good way to explain how the Jewish people were looking forward to Christ before he came, those sacrifices that they would offer and the things that they did according to the law, they were all things that were pointing them to Jesus Christ and that was reminding them that he is going to come. We've now looked back at how that he has already come and died for the sins of the world and was buried and raised the third day. But they on the other side were looking forward to his coming. And so when he says, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, every time they offered that lamb or whatever sacrifice it was that they were offering, those all, and if you study them through the book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy and other passages, Exodus, uh, and we will probably look at some of those here in a little bit, but every time they did that, listen, that was pointing them to Christ. That was reminding them that, hey, we're sinners, and someone is coming to die for those sins and to pay for those sins so that we can have forgiveness and cleansing of our guilty conscience and all those things. There is no other. This is the Lamb of God that these people had been looking for and waiting for their whole lives. In Genesis chapter 3, verse 21, the Lord God made coats of skins to clothe the nakedness of Adam and Eve after their sin. It says, and unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothe them. There was a sacrifice and bloodshed of an animal, which I do believe was a lamb. In Genesis chapter 4 it tells us that Abel was a keeper of the sheep, and that he brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof as an offering of sacrifice to the Lord. In Genesis 4 4 it says, And Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof, and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. In Genesis chapter 22, God tells Abraham to offer his only begotten son Isaac as a burnt offering upon the mountain. And so the boat they both go and to do as God has said. And on their way Isaac asked his father where the lamb is for the offering, and Abraham makes this statement. In Genesis 22, 7 and 8, and Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father, and he said, Here am I, my son, and he said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where's the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went both of them together. And I love the way that that's worded, by the way. It says, God will provide himself a lamb. And he did. He became a man and he lived a sinless life, and he died a sacrificial death and was buried and raised again the third day so that we could have eternal life. He provided himself an offering and a sacrifice. But these people, you understand, if you look in Exodus chapter 12, verses 1 through 13, God gave the instruction to Moses about the Passover lamb and how that lamb was to be offered as a sacrifice, and that blood was to be shed, and that blood was to be applied to the doorposts of that house, and uh the death angel would pass over those that had the blood applied. Listen, what I'm trying to tell you is that 175 times at least the word lamb is mentioned, and here John narrows it down to one, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. You understand? These people were very familiar with a sacrifice for their sins. And so when John begins to preach that message, they knew that there was a person, there was a literal person that was going to step out one day on the scene and be that lamb to offer himself a sacrifice for their sins and to be buried and raised the third day. And so we see uh John is dogmatic about the lamb. We saw the excitement of the lamb. I want you to notice the purpose of the lamb. It says there, and we've mentioned this uh several times already, but we'll continue to talk about it. Verse 29, which taketh away the sin of the world. Uh that word taketh away, praise the Lord, that word taketh. Uh it means it has the idea of continuous or repeated uh action. And then uh the word away, it means to lift, to take up or away, to sail away, to expiate sin. Let me give you a verse of scripture that that describes that. 1 John chapter 3, verse 5. And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin at all. Is no sin, excuse me. Uh listen, the one Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, that was offered is still taking away the sin of the world today. Hey, listen, are you out there today and you have a guilty conscience, you know all the wrong that you've done, the sins you've committed, and all the different things that you've struggled with over the years that you know deep down in your heart and deep down in your conscience, you know are not right. Hey, listen, there's not a counselor, there's not a drug, there's not a uh anything that you can get in a bottle or buy at the grocery store or uh any relationship, there is nothing that's gonna help you with that. Uh the only thing that's gonna help you with that is what John has been presenting to us here in the Gospel of John, chapter one, and that is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. And uh he is the one Lamb. I love uh here in Hebrews chapter 10, verses 11 through 14, it says, And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Listen, in that Old Testament, uh you're gonna find that there were uh sacrifices that had to continually be offered, and they could never take away sins. All they were doing was pointing to the one that could take away sins, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. But listen, when he came and offered himself for a sacrifice after he was buried and raised from the dead, he ascended to the right hand of the Father and he sat down. And why did he sit down? Because the work was finished. Everything that's needed to be done for you to have forgiveness of sins has been completed in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why he says, For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. And so we see this Lamb that John introduces us to, uh, the excitement of the Lamb. John is dogmatic about the Lamb. There's no other way. It's only through him, only through the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. And we see the purpose of the Lamb is to take away the sins of the world. And then I want you to notice he's introduced to Israel in verses 30 through 34. He says there in verse 30, and I knew him not. Uh, excuse me, here. Let's see, this is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me, for he was before me. He says in verse 31, and I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him, and I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And John says in verse 34, and I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God. I want you to notice this introduction to Israel. He says, And I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel. Therefore am I come baptizing with water. That word manifest, it means to render apparent. And I want you to look in Matthew chapter 3, verses 1 through 7 with me. And I want you to notice you'd see a little bit of what John saw when he saw the Lord Jesus Christ, and he baptized him. Uh it says in John, or excuse me, Matthew chapter 3, in verses 1 through 7, In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? And so we see that, listen, uh John said, I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel. John's whole ministry was to make Jesus known to uh the nation of Israel. And by the way, listen, his ministry is much like what the ministry of the church is today. It's not only to the nation of Israel, but it's to the whole world. Uh the till the whole world knows. Listen, we're to be uh making Jesus known and and letting people know about him. Sadly, the majority of them did not see. Listen to what it says in Matthew chapter 13 and verse 14. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing you shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing you shall see and shall not perceive. For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Listen, he leaves the door open for 'em, but the fact of the matter is, is that there were some people when John came preaching, and there were people when Jesus came and spoke to them face to face. They did not accept who he was. They did not believe that he was the Son of God. But nevertheless, John still had a responsibility. He still had a job to do, and that was to make Jesus manifest to Israel. He was to make him known to them. Now I want you to notice how John knew that Jesus was the one to be manifest to Israel. In verses 32 through 34, it says here that John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him, and I knew him not, but that he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And he says again in verse 34, and I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God. I want you to notice, first of all, that he saw the Holy Spirit. This is John's testimony. He says that he bare record. He saw the Holy Spirit. It says that it abode upon him, which means to stay in a given place, state, or relation, or expectancy. And so John, as Jesus was baptized, he saw the Holy Spirit of God come down, and it abode upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he heard God speak in verse 33. The same said unto me, notice what it says, and I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And so in Matthew chapter 3, we see that there was a voice that came from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. John the Baptist, he saw the Holy Spirit, he heard God speak, and then he saw the Spirit stay. In verse 33, notice what it says upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. That word remaining, it means to stay. And I thought about what the Apostle John wrote in 1 John chapter 5, verses 6 through 9, as I read this. This is the witness that it was given here. It says, This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one, and there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water and the blood, and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater, for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. And so here we are reading that record, we are reading that witness God has given to us, and we can testify that this is the Son of God. Deuteronomy chapter 17, verse 6, at the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death be put to death, but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. We here have John the Baptist, John the Apostle, and God the Father's witness. Listen, there was the witness of the Holy Spirit, there was the witness of the Word of God, there was the witness of God the Father. So there was more than two or three witnesses. And what the Bible is trying to tell us here is that, hey, listen, there is evidence, there is scriptural evidence, there's uh uh witnesses that we have, and and and and listen, if you'll believe that witness, if you'll believe God's word here and accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, you'll have that witness in yourself. He says, and I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God. Then we see him introduced as the Son of God in verse 34, uh, as we've read already. Here we see Jesus as a fulfillment of the promise that God would send his son. Listen to Galatians chapter 4, verses 4 through 5. It says, But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And then again John introduces him to us once again in verses 35 through 36 as the Lamb of God. It says, again, the next day, uh after John stood and two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold, the Lamb of God. And hey, listen, maybe you're out there today and you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. I've been I've done my best in these last few messages uh to introduce him to you, uh, as the Bible introduces him to us. Uh He's been introduced to us as the Word of God, the light of the world. He's been introduced to us as the Son of God, as the Christ, uh as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Hey, listen, he is all that and so much more. Matter of fact, if I didn't mention this in the beginning of my notes, but there were uh there were over, let's see here, there were several titles, and I'm wanting to say that there was about 30 or 31 of them, but there were uh 30, somewhere around 30 titles that were given to the Lord Jesus Christ in chapter one alone. And listen, he is he is all that, and he is so much more. And listen, he is the Lamb of God. He he sacrificed his self, he gave his life, he shed his blood, he suffered and died so that you and I could have eternal life, so that we could have forgiveness of sins. And listen, maybe you're out there and you struggle with that and you've you have that burden of guilt upon you because you know you're a sinner. Hey, listen, there is an answer. God has given an answer, God has given a remedy for your sin, and it is his son. And if you'll call upon him, the Bible says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. And that's all he's asking you to do, is he wants you to want you to believe on him to uh be saved, and he'll do that. But uh appreciate you listening to these messages. Hope they're an encouragement to you. Uh if you'd like to, you can reach out to us on the fan mail. And if there's some way that we can help you, please let us know. But may the Lord bless you and have a good day.