Good morning, church. Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Actually, for those of you who are new, if you don't have a Bible, just raise your hand,
and we'll have one of our guests bring a Bible for you that you can use.
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean. I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church,
and I'm excited. I feel privileged and honored and rejoice in this opportunity to preach God's Word to you.
We're in John 1, 19-42 this morning, just following up exactly where we left off from last week, John 1, 18.
So John 1, 19-42.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Heavenly Father, we have come.
And gathered this morning, not ultimately because of what we have to offer to one another out of our own resources,
but because of what you offer us.
We have come to behold the risen Christ, the Lamb of God,
that was slain and is now alive again.
Grip our hearts this morning with your love, Father.
With the preciousness of Jesus' sacrifice.
That we might stand in awe again.
And worship you all our days.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
If you are able, please stand.
And I will read John 1, 19-42.
And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him,
Who are you?
He confessed and did not deny, but confessed,
I am not the Christ.
And they asked him,
What then?
Are you Elijah?
He said, I am not.
Are you the prophet?
And he answered, No.
So they said to him,
Who are you?
We need to give an answer to those who sent us.
What do you say about yourself?
He said,
I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.
Make straight the way of the Lord,
as the prophet Isaiah said.
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
They asked him,
Then why are you baptizing,
if you are neither the Christ nor Elijah nor the prophet?
John answered them,
I baptize with water,
but among you stands one you do not know.
Even he who comes after me,
the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.
These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
Behold the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world.
This is he of whom I said,
After me comes a man who ranks before me,
because he was before me.
I myself did not know him,
but for this purpose I came baptizing with water,
that he might be revealed to Israel.
And John bore witness.
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.
The next day again,
John was standing with two of his disciples,
and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said,
Behold the Lamb of God.
The two disciples heard him say this,
and they followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them,
What are you seeking?
And they said to him, Rabbi, which means teacher,
Where are you staying?
He said to them,
Come, and you will see.
So they came and saw where he was staying,
and they stayed with him that day,
for it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus
was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
He first found his own brother Simon and said to him,
We have found the Messiah,
which means Christ.
He brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
You are Simon, the son of John.
You shall be called Cephas,
which means Peter.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
Please be seated.
As some of you are aware,
I had the jarring experience this week
of being impersonated by an internet scammer.
Someone created a new email address,
sean.trinitycambridge.gmail.com,
and then started emailing our church's community group leaders,
whose emails are listed on our website,
pretending to be me,
asking them to purchase gift cards worth hundreds of dollars,
and send him pictures of the pin numbers,
promising reimbursement,
and saying that he needs the gift cards for ministry.
Thankfully, all of our CG leaders are bright,
and they caught on,
and none of them sent the scammer any money.
But it feels really strange to see emails sent in my name
that I did not compose.
And then to see your friends interacting with this person
that is not you,
but is pretending to be you.
It's a really strange feeling.
It's not quite an out-of-body experience.
I've never had one.
I wouldn't know what that would be like.
But it kind of feels like it,
because you're observing from an outside vantage point,
like, you interacting in some way.
It's very strange.
And I think that's why it kind of felt like
someone took over my life for a minute, you know?
Took over my identity.
And I think that's why false personation,
or impersonating someone for the sake of defrauding someone,
is a crime in and of itself,
even if the defrauding is not successful.
It has the potential to do great harm,
because both to the person that's being impersonated,
because they're being used to do something
that they don't intend to do,
and also to people who are being deceived by the impersonator.
Identity is important.
It's a foundation for relationships,
to society.
And this passage is all about identity.
The first half answers the question,
who is John?
And the second half answers the question,
who is Jesus?
And we're going to talk about those two things in turn.
In the first half,
John strenuously denies that he is the Christ.
People suspect him of being the Christ.
They ask him, are you the Christ?
And John says again and again,
no, I am not the Christ.
He refuses to impersonate Christ,
even though he knows full well
that when he admits who he really is,
and points people to the true Messiah,
that all the spotlight that's on him will leave him.
All the following that he has will leave him.
And yet, he bears witness,
because he does not have his own personal agenda,
but he does not want to deceive or manipulate.
He just wants to tell people who Jesus is,
who the Messiah is.
So he humbly points to Jesus,
and then gracefully steps aside
to make way for Jesus.
And through John's example,
this passage exhorts us to follow Jesus,
who is the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world.
That's my main point for this morning.
Let's first look at who John is,
so that we can see and appreciate
who Jesus is in the following passage.
In verses 19 to 28,
there's a Jewish delegation
that has been sent out from Jerusalem
to make a formal inquiry into John the Baptist,
to investigate him and find out who he really is.
Verse 19 says that the Jews sent priests and Levites
from Jerusalem to ask John the Baptist,
who are you?
So this delegation is made up of Jewish leaders,
priests and Levites,
who are sent out from the Jewish capital of Jerusalem.
So these are people of influence
and standing and authority.
And it says in verse 24 later
that they were sent from the Pharisees in particular.
The Pharisees were a Jewish sect
that was known for their strict adherence to Jewish law.
And they will emerge as kind of primary antagonists
in Jesus' story.
So already at this point,
when we see that this delegation was from the Pharisees,
that they're Jewish leaders, priests and Levites,
and then they're formally investigating John,
it's already ominous from the start.
It has the feel of an inquisition.
A powerful establishment commissioned a delegation
to interrogate a solitary preacher in the wilderness
to ask him,
who are you?
Verse 20 is emphatic.
It says,
John confessed and did not deny,
but confessed,
I am not the Christ.
The Christ means anointed one.
And in the Old Testament,
only the priest and the prophet and kings were anointed.
It's a special process,
a ritual to mark someone
that's set apart for God's service.
And so the anointed one is a title,
the Christ,
for the messianic king that was to come
to save God's people.
And the messianic expectations
were really bubbling over
at a fever pitch at this point
of Israel's history.
And John knows that he's not the Messiah,
and he could have simply said,
you know,
I'm not the Christ.
Well, he does say I'm not the Christ.
But the John,
Apostle John,
could have told us that John simply said,
I am not the Christ.
But that's not how it's put here.
It's not emphatic enough.
So John piles on the verbs.
He says,
he confessed and did not deny,
but confessed,
I am not the Christ.
It can't be more emphatic.
In no uncertain terms,
John made it known
he is not the Christ.
But that simple denial
isn't enough for the Jewish delegation
because they knew John had influence
and a following,
and so they expected him to be someone great,
or at least to claim to be someone great.
And so they continued the interrogation.
They say,
what then?
Are you Elijah?
He said,
I am not.
In 2 Kings 2.11,
we see that Elijah didn't die a normal death.
He was actually taken up straight to heaven,
his body and all,
by God.
And because of that,
some people speculated
and expected that maybe Elijah
will return in his flesh.
And this was spurred on further
by the prophecy in Malachi 4.5,
Behold,
I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the great and awesome day
of the Lord comes.
So because of that prophecy,
there was an expectation
that Elijah would return.
And so they're asking John,
are you the promised Elijah
who would come before the day of the Lord?
And John answers,
I am not.
So they ask him again,
are you the prophet?
And he answers,
no.
The question is not,
are you a prophet?
The question is,
are you the prophet?
This again has to do with the prophecy
in Deuteronomy 18
where Moses prophesies
that God will raise up for Israel
a prophet like himself.
So the messianic expectation
was rife with people talking about
the prophet like Moses
who would come in the end times.
And John once again denies
that he is that prophet.
It makes sense that John,
you know,
admits that he is not
the prophet like Moses
because we find out
from other parts of scripture
that Jesus is in fact
the prophesied prophet like Moses.
But what's interesting here
is that he also denies
that he is Elijah.
And in the other gospels,
Matthew, Mark, and Luke,
Jesus explicitly identifies
the prophesied Elijah
with John the Baptist.
So John is the prophesied Elijah,
but probably John had the expectation
that Elijah would return his flesh
and he knows he's not Elijah.
I'm just, he's John.
So he probably said,
oh no, I'm not, I'm not Elijah.
He didn't understand
that the prophecy had to do
with the figure like Elijah,
a type of Elijah,
who would fulfill Elijah's prophetic role
to prepare the way of the Lord
in the end times.
And he was that figure.
John was not aware
of the significance
of his ministry.
And I think that's often
the case for us too.
You know, we don't sometimes realize
the full significance
of all the work
that we are doing.
It may seem small
and insignificant to us,
but from God's heaven's eye view,
what we are doing in service to God
may be much more significant
than we deem.
And so he says,
I'm not Elijah
and I'm not the prophet like Moses
and I am definitely not the Christ.
And the delegation is exasperated
by this point
and they ask in verse 22,
who are you?
We need to give an answer
to those who sent us.
What do you say about yourself?
Their presumptions
and speculations aside now,
they finally want to hear
from John's own mouth,
who do you say that you are?
And he says in verse 23,
I am the voice of one
crying out in the wilderness.
Make straight the way of the Lord.
This is an amazing answer.
He's alluding to Isaiah 40,
verses 3 to 5,
which says,
a voice cries,
in the wilderness,
prepare the way of the Lord.
Make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up
and every mountain and hill
be made low.
The uneven ground shall become level
and the rough place is a plain.
And the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed
and all flesh shall see it together
for the mouth of the Lord
has spoken.
Making straight the way of the Lord
is a metaphorical description
of improving the road system,
leveling of hills and valleys
and straightening curb roads.
When the Lord of glory comes,
when God Almighty comes,
he will not bend to creation,
but creation will bend for him.
He will not follow the curves,
stoop down to the valleys,
or climb the hills.
No, the valleys will rise
as if in standing ovation.
The mountains will fall
as if bowing in prostration.
And all roads will be straight
for the way of the king.
Some of you might have visited
the Buckingham Palace in London,
or at least have seen videos of this.
There's the famous king's guard
that's in their uniform
and I think a rifle.
I'm not sure what it is.
Believe it or not,
the king's guard
is not just a ceremonial tourist attraction.
They're actually real soldiers
with the real responsibility
of protecting the monarch,
the British monarch.
And so if an unwitting tourist
gets in the way
when they're doing their patrol
on their set course,
do you know what they yell?
Make way for the king's guard!
And they'll be like,
sometimes they'll push you.
Make way for the king's guard!
And they make way.
They push people away.
It's really funny.
I mean, it's like,
I think there are videos of it.
It's a huge waste of time.
Don't look it up.
But it's similar to the way
heralds with loud voices,
you know, back in the day,
you know, when a king's on his way
would go ahead of the king
and tell everybody
in every town square,
the king is coming!
The king is coming!
Make way for the king!
It's their way of rolling out
the red carpet.
It's their way of moving out
everything out of the way
so that the king
has a straight path.
That's how John sees himself.
As a herald who announces
the coming of the king
and shouts,
make way!
Right, in chapter 1 alone,
we were told seven times
that John is merely a witness,
someone who bears testimony
about someone else.
Earlier in this chapter,
we were told of how
Jesus, the Son of God,
is the Word of God made flesh.
And if the Word
is the authoritative decree
of the king
that executes the will
of the king,
John says he himself
is merely a voice,
a herald who goes
into the town square
to proclaim the Word
of the king.
If Jesus is the leading actor
in a play,
John is a stagehand
who works behind the scenes,
backstage,
to move around the props
in the dark
to set the scene
for the lead actor
to take center stage.
This is yet another reminder
of what we talked about
last week.
This life is not about us.
Our calling,
our mission
is not about us.
In our interactions
with family,
friends,
co-workers,
and neighbors,
what would it look like
if we stopped
trying to have our way
and instead
sought to make way
for the Lord?
What if in our conversations,
instead of only talking
about ourselves
or our interests
or our experiences,
we sought to prepare
the way for the Lord
to enter into that conversation,
to draw others closer
to the Lord,
to encourage and edify
them in the Lord?
What if in our career decisions,
instead of only asking
and considering
what is most lucrative
or what is most prestigious,
we considered
what most honors the Lord,
what most prepares the way
for the Lord to work
in my life
and in my family's life?
What if deciding
what to do
tonight
or next weekend
or in our budgeting
and spending priorities,
we did not stop
at asking,
what do I want?
And then we asked,
what does the Lord want?
How can I prepare a path
for the gospel
to go forward?
I am the voice
of one crying
out in the wilderness,
make straight
the way of the Lord.
That was John's posture.
And though John
was a unique figure
in his role
as preparing
the way for Jesus,
we can all emulate him
in our role
as witnesses
for Jesus
because we are
all witnesses.
But John's insistence
that he is a nobody
raises a further question
for the Jewish delegation.
They ask him
in verse 25,
then why are you baptizing
if you are neither
the Christ
nor Elijah
nor the prophet?
The Pharisees
were not unfamiliar
with the practice
of baptism.
Some Jewish groups
practiced proselyte baptism.
So they would take
Gentiles
who want to become Jews
and then they would
have them baptize
themselves in water.
The key difference here
is that John
is not letting them
baptize themselves.
He is himself
baptizing them.
And then secondly,
John's not just
baptizing Gentiles,
he's baptizing Jews
as if Jews
themselves
need to be converted,
as if the Jews
also need to repent
of their sin.
And so,
they're asking
this question,
if you are not
a special
end time figure
like the Christ
or the Elijah
or the prophet
like Moses,
then what authority,
what warrant
do you have
to baptize Jews
in this way?
this kind
of special
work can be
carried out
only by someone
else who is special.
What's the reason?
What's the purpose
of your baptisms?
And then John
answers this final
question by telling
the Jews about
the person that
he is waiting for
in verses 26
to 27.
I baptize
with water,
but among you
stands one
you do not know,
even he who
comes after me,
the strap of
whose sandal
I am not worthy
to untie.
This great person
that John
is waiting for
is the reason
why John
is baptizing
with water.
John says this
explicitly in verse 31,
for this purpose
I came baptizing
with water,
that he
might be revealed
to Israel.
John's purpose
in baptizing people
and calling them
to repentance
is to reveal
the long-awaited
Messiah
and prepare
people for him
for his coming.
John was sent
by God himself
to baptize
with water
for this very purpose,
as John 33,
verse 33 tells us.
John's ministry
is anticipatory
and preparatory.
He's not trying
to bring attention
to himself
or to gain
a following
for himself.
He's trying
to reveal
someone else
the strap
of whose sandal
he's not worthy
to untie.
That's a startling
admission.
There's a Jewish
rabbinic saying
that says this,
quote,
every service
which a slave
performs
for his master
shall a disciple
do for his teacher
except the losing
of his sandal thong.
Everything
that a slave
does for his master,
waiting on him,
fetching him water,
wiping his sweaty brows,
a disciple should do
for his teacher
except the untying
the strap
of his sandals.
Removing someone's
sandal
was considered
so beneath
the person's dignity
that it was a task
reserved only
for slaves.
And yet,
John the Baptist
singles out
this particular
humiliating act
and says
he is not worthy
to untie
his sandals.
It's a shocking
admission.
John is not saying,
oh,
I'm a nobody,
I'm only fit
to untie his sandals.
That's not what he's saying.
He's saying,
I'm not worthy
to untie
his sandals.
In other words,
he does not
even deserve
to be
the slave
of the Messiah
because
of how great
he is.
John's humility
is instructive for us,
but John's humility
is not the point
of this narrative.
The point is not
John's great humility.
The point is
Jesus'
surpassing worth.
John's saying
that he's not worthy
to untie
the strap
of Jesus' shoes.
This is not
exaggerated
false humility.
It's simply
reality.
C.J. Mahaney,
who is a pastor
within our denomination,
writes this
in his book
entitled Humility.
Humility is
honestly assessing
ourselves
in light of God's
holiness
and our
sinfulness.
When we know
ourselves as we
truly are,
and when we know
God as he
truly is,
the only
proper posture
for us
is abject
humility.
Humility is not
a denial of one's
greatness.
forgiveness.
It is simply
an honest
assessment
of one's
relative
insignificance
in light of
God's
surpassing worth.
Do we live
with an honest
assessment
of our
insignificance
compared to
God's
surpassing worth?
Do we live
with humility
and gratitude
that we
get to
untie
the strap
of his
sandals?
or do we
live with
pride
and an
attitude of
entitlement
that scoffs
at such
menial tasks?
Are we
willing to
suffer for
him?
To be
ridiculed
for him?
Are we
willing to
give up our
comforts and
pleasures for
him?
To go and
serve where
there is no
clean water
or hot
showers?
Are we
willing to
serve the
Lord in
places where
we will be
forgotten?
The
backstage,
the prayer
closet?
Are we
willing to
befriend and
care for
irritable and
difficult people?
awkward and
overly talkative
people?
In Acts
5.41,
after being
unfairly
arrested,
tried,
and beaten
for proclaiming
Jesus,
the apostles
are finally
released and
it says that
when they
left the
presence of
the council,
they left
rejoicing that
they were
counted worthy
to suffer
dishonor for
the name
of Jesus.
they were
not rejoicing
because they
were insane.
They were
not rejoicing
because they
thought being
beaten was
such a
pleasurable
thing.
But because
they knew the
surpassing worth
of Jesus,
if I get to
do anything
for Jesus
that is beyond
my deserts,
if I can
suffer for
him,
be punished
for him,
doubt,
and even
martyr for
him,
if I get
to even
loosen,
untie the
straps of
his sandals,
that is a
task far
beyond my
deserts.
that's how
John thought
of himself.
And this
is John
the Baptist's
answer to
the question,
quite a
sobering
answer.
Who are
you,
John?
Me?
I'm a
slave,
not worthy
to be a
slave.
A herald
announcing the
message of
the king,
the stage
hand moving
around the
props to
make way for
the lead
actor,
someone who
is not
worthy to
untie
Jesus'
shoelaces.
That's who
I am.
Why are you
asking me
who I am?
You should
be asking
some different
question.
And John's
testimony
prepares a
way for us
to explore
who Jesus
is.
We already
know that
Jesus is
someone who
possesses
surpassing
worth.
In fact,
we know
more than
that because
in verse
23,
John cited
Isaiah 40
verse 3
saying that
he is the
voice in
the wilderness
crying,
make straight
the way
of the
Lord.
John thinks
he is preparing
the way for
the Lord
of glory
himself.
And this
Messiah,
he is not
just some
human VIP,
though he
is fully
man,
he is
God
in flesh.
John makes
this even
more explicit
in verses
32 to
34,
I saw
the spirit
descend from
heaven like a
dove and
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 I
borne witness
that this
is the
Son of
God.
Three times
the word
spirit is
repeated in
this passage.
And it's
significant that
spirit of
God not
only descends
upon him,
descends,
remains upon
him.
historically
throughout the
Old Testament
the spirit of
God descends
upon select
individuals like
builders of
the tabernacle
and the
temple,
the prophets,
the priests,
the kings,
the judges,
and the spirit
of God comes
upon them to
enable them to
fulfill a
particular God
given task.
But for the
spirit of God to
descend upon
Jesus personally
like a dove
and then to
remain on
him permanently
is unique.
Jesus is the
messianic king
from David's
royal lineage of
whom Isaiah 11
2 prophesied
the spirit of
the Lord shall
rest upon
him.
And not only
that,
Jesus is then
able because he
has the spirit
in fullness
always with him.
He's able to
baptize others
with the Holy
Spirit.
He's able to
immerse people in
the Holy Spirit,
fill them with
the Holy Spirit.
that's no mere
human authority,
that's divine
authority.
That's why John
has no option
but to conclude,
I have seen
and bear witness
that he is
the son of
God.
As we saw
already in the
prologue of
John in the
last,
earlier this
chapter last
week,
Jesus is the
word made
flesh,
the only son
from the
father.
He is the
only God who
is at the
father's side
who makes
the father
known.
In other
words,
he is the
unique
son of
God,
the only
divine
son who
shares the
father's
nature,
the second
person of
the Trinity.
Now,
let's do a
little exercise
for a moment.
If I stopped
you right now
and then asked
you to picture,
choose for
yourself an
animal imagery
to describe
the Lord of
glory,
before whom
mountains bow
down,
before whom
valleys stand,
the son of
God,
the messianic
king,
who baptized
people with
spirit and
fire,
what animal
would you
choose?
Maybe a
fire-breathing
dragon?
Maybe a
regal lion?
dragon.
But Revelation
20,
verse 2,
says that the
devil is the
dragon,
that ancient
serpent.
1 Peter 5,
8 says that the
devil prowls around
like a roaring
lion,
seeking someone
to devour.
Yes,
it's true that
Jesus is the
conquering lion
of the tribe
of Judah,
as it says in
Revelation 5,
5.
But that is
paradoxical,
because in
Revelation 5,
John hears the
voice of the
elders saying,
behold the
conquering lion
of the tribe
of Judah.
He hears the
voice,
and so John
turns to look
at this
conquering lion.
What does he
see?
He sees a
lamb standing
there as if
is slain.
The lion of
Judah conquers
by being
slain as
the lamb
of God.
Jesus conquers
sin and
death by
dying on
the cross
in the
stead of
sinners.
This is why
John the
Baptist lands
on the
metaphor of
the lamb
twice.
Verse 29
and verse 36,
he says,
behold the
lamb.
of God.
Look,
pay attention,
the lamb,
the lamb of
God that
takes away
the sin of
the world,
a lamb,
a symbol of
innocence and
meekness,
a symbol of
gentleness and
purity.
There's a lot
more I can say
about this
passage,
but since this
is an Advent
series,
I'm going
to hone
in on
this identity
of Jesus
as the
lamb of
God.
Where is
John getting
this imagery
of the
lamb?
The lamb
is a
particularly
appropriate
image because
it recurs
throughout the
Old Testament
in so many
significant
contexts.
In Genesis
22,
when the
Lord God
commands
Abraham to
sacrifice
his only
son,
his beloved
son Isaac,
Abraham,
despite his
grief,
steps out
in faith
and obedience.
They make
their way to
the mountain
where Isaac
is to be
sacrificed,
and then
Isaac,
being the
smart boy
that he
is,
asks his
dad a
question,
my father,
behold the
fire and
the wood,
but where's
the lamb
for the
burnt offering?
Can you
imagine being
a father and
having to answer
that question?
with an
aching heart
Abraham answers,
God will
provide for
himself the
lamb for a
burnt offering,
my son,
knowing full
well that it
is in fact
Isaac that is
to be
sacrificed.
But God
intervenes.
When Isaac
is on the
altar,
when Abraham
has given
him up for
the Lord,
the Lord
intervenes,
and he
supplies a
substitute,
a ram,
that can
take Isaac's
place.
And so
Abraham,
so grateful,
he cries out
prophetically,
he says,
on the
mount of
the Lord
it shall
be provided.
And on
the mount
of Calvary,
Jesus died
on the cross
as the
substitute
lamb
in the
place of
God's
son.
God
describes his
people as
his son,
Exodus 4
22.
The lamb,
the substitute,
restores the
son to his
father.
Maybe you
feel your
own responsibility
for sin
keenly.
Maybe you
feel that no
one else but
you can pay
the price.
But Jesus
has already
paid the
price.
You already
have a
substitute who
has taken
your place
so that you
can live
forever with
your God
in heaven.
There's more.
According to
Leviticus 14,
a male lamb,
a year old
and without
blemish was
used as a
guilt offering
in order to
make atonement
for lepers.
The original
meaning of the
Hebrew word for
atone is to
cover or to
wipe clean.
So the
lamb would be
killed and the
blood would be
spilled and
then some of
that blood
would be
smeared on
the leper to
make him
clean.
By this
offering,
his impurity,
his defilement,
his sins
were covered.
Jesus was
the sacrificial
lamb,
the guilt
offering,
and it's
his blood
that cleanses
us so that
we might be
justified.
The cleansing
agent for our
contaminating
disease of sin
is the blood
that Jesus
poured out for
us on the
cross.
Some of you
may have
committed sin
so grave
that you
still carry
the guilt
upon your
shoulders.
Maybe you
have sins
in your
life that
you're so
ashamed of
that you
have vowed
to never
tell a
living soul
about it.
But we
no longer
need to be
stooped low
by the burden
of sin.
We no
longer need
to hide
our faces
in shame.
Why?
Because the
lamb of
God has
been
sacrificed
and his
blood has
covered us.
Similarly,
Leviticus 3
prescribes the
sacrifice of a
lamb for the
peace offering.
A lamb would
be killed and
his blood will
be thrown upon
the altar of
the tabernacle
so that there
might be peace
between God
and his people
so that they
might share a
meal together,
have fellowship,
communion with
one another.
Likewise,
Romans 5 tells
us that we
have peace
with God
through the
Lord Jesus
Christ,
our Lord
Jesus Christ
because Jesus
died for us
while we were
still sinners,
while we were
his enemies.
He died for us
and in doing so
Jesus satisfied
the wrath of
God against
sinners and
he reconciled
us to him
by his death.
That's why we
are recipients
of his peace
rather than
objects of
his wrath.
Do you feel
far away from
God?
Do you feel
that God
is hostile
towards you,
that he is
angry with
you,
that his
wrath still
rests upon
you?
Remember that
the lamb
has been
sacrificed
to make
peace for
you so
that you
might have
fellowship with
God,
you might
have peace
with him
and enjoy
even his
friendship.
Perhaps
most prominently
the lamb of
God is
in allusion
to the
Passover
lamb in
Exodus 12.
When God
was delivering
Israel from
their slavery
in Egypt,
he instructed
the Israelites
to sacrifice
a lamb,
to kill
a lamb
and to
daub its
blood on
the door,
the post
and the
lintel,
so that when
the angel
of death,
the destroyer,
sweeps
through Egypt
to kill
all the
firstborn
sons,
that the
angel of the
destroyer would
see the
blood of
the lamb
and Passover.
So God's
judgment and
punishment can
be averted.
And so
Paul says in
1 Corinthians 5,
7, that
Christ is our
Passover lamb
who has been
sacrificed.
It's because of
Jesus that we're
no longer
slaves of sin.
Are you living
like you're still
enslaved to sin?
The shackles
have been
broken.
We have been
delivered from
the dominion of
sin.
the Passover
lamb was the
price of our
freedom in the
spirit.
And finally,
Isaiah 53,
that we read
for the
assurance of
pardon,
prophesies
concerning the
coming Messiah.
Surely he
has borne our
griefs and
carried our
sorrows.
Yet we
esteemed him
stricken,
smitten by
God,
and afflicted.
But he
was pierced
for our
transgressions.
He was
crushed for
our iniquities.
Upon him
was the
chastisement
that brought
us peace,
and with
his wounds
we are
healed.
All we
like sheep
have gone
astray.
We have
turned
everyone to
his own
way,
and the
Lord has
laid on
him the
iniquity of
us all.
He was
oppressed,
and he was
afflicted,
yet he
opened not
his mouth.
like a
lamb that
is led to
the slaughter,
and like a
sheep that
before its
shears is
silent,
so he
opened not
his mouth.
This is
probably the
most poignant
image of
them all.
In order to
bring us
back,
sheep who
had gone
astray,
Jesus suffered
and died like
a lamb led
to the slaughter,
like a sheep
that before its
shears is
silent,
so he
opened not
his mouth.
The sheep
is silent
because it
has no idea
what's coming
to him,
but Jesus
knew exactly
what was
coming,
and yet he
was silent.
The
conquering
lion went
silently and
submissively to
his death,
like a lamb
to the slaughter,
because he
knew that by
his wounds
that we
would be
healed,
that he
had to be
crushed in
order for us
to be whole,
because he
knew that by
his death
we would
gain life,
eternal
life.
So we
ask,
who is
Jesus?
And this
passage tells
us,
behold the
lamb of
God,
who takes
away the
sin of the
world.
All of
these images
that we've
looked at
in scripture,
and there's
still more,
they form
this
what do
you call
that,
the
photo
mosaic,
a composite
image,
all these
little pictures
of the
lamb throughout
the Old
Testament,
you put
them all
together and
you take
a step
back and
look at
it and
it's the
face of
Jesus.
The
lamb of
God who
takes away
the sin of
the world,
the fresh,
soft,
pure,
and white
wool of
the lamb
of God,
matted down
with black
suit of
our sin,
and then
pierced,
and then
stained
crimson red
with his
blood poured
out for our
cleansing,
for our
covering,
for our
freedom,
for our
reconciliation.
That's why
Jesus came
into the
world.
In the rest
of this
passage,
and in the
passage after
that, a
couple words
and phrases
repeat over
and over
again, and
they are
come and
see and
follow.
In verse
39, Jesus
invites the
two disciples
of John and
the Baptist
who are
following him,
come and
you will
see.
And then
later in
verse 46,
Philip says
to his
skeptical
friend,
Nathanael,
come and
see.
Similarly,
the verb
follow occurs
several times
in this
chapter.
The gospel
of John,
the word
follow means
to follow,
to become
a disciple.
So he
says the
two disciples
of John
follow Jesus
in verse 47,
and Jesus
saw them
following in
verse 38,
and Andrew
follows Jesus
in verse 40,
and Jesus
tells Philip
in verse 43
to follow
me.
So if you
are not yet
a follower
of Jesus,
then my
challenge to
you this
morning is
to follow
him.
There's
only one
lamb of
God who
can take
away your
sin,
and he
is
sufficient
for the
sin of
the whole
world.
The way
of the
lamb is
full of
suffering in
this life
because it
is the
way of
the cross,
but it's
also full
of love
and joy
and peace.
It is the
way of the
abundant
life,
and we are
promised eternal
resurrection life
and glory
thereafter.
answer.
If you are
already a
follower of
Jesus,
then go
and tell
your family,
friends,
neighbors,
and co-workers
to come
and see.
Come and
see I have
found the
Messiah.
Come and
behold the
Lamb of
God who
takes away
the sin of
the world.
Come and
see my
beautiful
Savior.