Good morning, church. Our sermon text this morning is John chapter 1, verses 19 through 34.
Let me ask you to turn there with me. That's page 886 in the Pew Bible.
This Advent season, we've been looking at the life and message of John the Baptist,
which isn't your typical Christmas sermon series, I admit. But John the Baptist has a lot to say
about getting ready for Jesus' arrival. Prepare for the coming King. That was John's message.
And after all, that's what Advent is all about, isn't it? Preparing for the coming King.
We remember Jesus' first coming in grace. We look ahead to His second coming in glory. That's what
we're doing this month. So let's pick up our series in the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 19. And
before we read that, let me pray for us. Father, as we have just sung, tidings of comfort and joy.
Oh, how we long to hear a word of comfort that will produce much joy. God, we confess that we are
often not a comforted people, but a very disturbed people.
Lord, we are often not a joyful people, but we are a distressed people.
So God, now as we draw near to you in your word, we pray that you would
reveal to us now, through your written word, a fresh sight of Jesus, your incarnate word.
Lord, help us by your spirit to behold him, and in beholding him to love him, and in loving him to
follow him, and in following him to know this comfort and joy. Do this for our good, and for your glory,
Father, we pray. For it is in Jesus' name we ask it. Amen.
Amen. John chapter 1, verse 19 through 34.
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'm 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'm 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.
Well, there's a lot to look at during the Christmas season, isn't there? I wonder what you're looking
for. Maybe you're still looking for some good sales on Christmas gifts, 20% off Star Wars at Target,
just in case you're wondering. Maybe you're excited to look in your mailbox for Christmas cards from
friends and family. Maybe you just keep looking at your calendar, counting down the days until
Christmas vacation. One of the things we like to do as a family is drive around our neighborhood and
look at all the lights and the lawn ornaments our neighbors have put up. I think the prize still goes
to, for the second year in a row, the inflatable Darth Vader wearing a Santa hat just a few doors down.
You gotta love how you can stick a Santa hat on anything, and suddenly it becomes a Christmas
decoration, right? Santa hat on angry cat, Christmas decoration, done.
But first, on a serious note, amidst all that fun and distracting stuff, what really has your attention
this Christmas season? What do the eyes of your heart keep coming back to, keep looking at, as it were?
What are you really beholding or focusing on?
Maybe if we were to have a good heart-to-heart, you'd say it's finances.
It's hard not to think about finances during the Christmas season, right?
Maybe a relationship that's going well, or maybe not going well.
Maybe a loved one who's sick, or maybe a health issue of your own.
Maybe what keeps drawing your attention is a big decision on the horizon.
Where to go to college, where to find work.
Something probably is there, capturing your attention and drawing the gaze of your mind and your heart.
You know, but amidst all these things that capture our gaze,
here in the middle of our passage comes this word,
behold.
Now, that's not a word we use much, is it?
Behold.
It's not like you've opened your fridge late at night and said,
behold.
Leftovers for dinner, right?
Behold.
But it's a great word.
I think we need to revive it.
Behold.
Look.
Take notice.
Set your gaze right here.
This is it.
For the last few weeks, we've looked at John the Baptist's ministry,
his ministry of baptism.
We've looked at his message, his message of repentance and how that's good news.
But you know, this morning, we get down to it.
We get to the heart of what John was all about.
Look, John says.
Behold.
Amidst all the distractions, especially for us at Christmastime, the gifts, the lights, the gift sales.
Amidst all the cares and concerns that this time of year brings, the hopes, the fears, the disappointments, the stress.
This is what we really have to see.
Here's the answer to what you've been looking for.
This is what you really have to behold.
Now, I wonder, when you look at Jesus, what do you see?
Perhaps you see many things.
See a great teacher.
See a great teacher with some pretty good principles that only if you could put them into practice, things might be a little different.
Maybe you see a religious founder, someone to admire for his spiritual bravery.
John the Baptist, too, had a lot of things to say about Jesus, didn't he?
I mean, just look at the paragraph.
He's the one who ranks before me because he was before me.
He is the one on whom the Spirit of God remains.
Not like those other figures in the Old Testament on whom the Spirit of God would come and then leave and then come.
No, the Spirit of God remains on him.
He is the one who will usher in the new age of God's redemption.
He will baptize us, not with water, but with the Holy Spirit.
We will be awash in the very presence of God because of this one.
And at the end of our text, he's the Son of God.
The King.
The Messiah.
The one we've been waiting for.
So much to say and to know about Jesus.
But look.
Fix your gaze on this.
Here's what I really want you to see.
Behold, John says, pointing at Jesus.
The Lamb.
Now, in the first century, there were some Jewish writers and some Jewish religious groups that weren't very mainstream.
But we have some of their writings still in existence.
And they would talk and they would write symbolically about a lamb-like figure who would come at the end of the age as a warrior to execute God's judgment on the world.
A sort of apocalyptic warrior lamb.
Sounds like a good Netflix series, doesn't it?
But is that what John wants us to behold here in Jesus?
The apocalyptic warrior lamb.
Of course, John did speak of Jesus as the mighty one who would come with the Holy Spirit in fire.
John wasn't afraid to talk about God's rightful king being the rightful judge who will set the world to rights.
But, I think the answer is a little more obvious.
Because John was the son of a priest, wasn't he?
Zachariah.
Remember that story from the Gospel of Luke?
So, John, as a young man, would have grown up very personally familiar with a different kind of lamb.
With lambs that were sacrificed every day in the temple.
Day in and day out.
And John would have been steeped, like every other Jew of his time, in the stories of the Old Testament.
Stories of the lamb that God provided for Abraham in Genesis 22.
Stories about the lambs that Moses prescribed in the law.
In Leviticus, for example.
The whole range of offerings and sacrifices.
But most of all,
John, like every other Jew of his day, would have been steeped and shaped by the story of the Passover.
By the story of the Exodus.
Do you remember the story of the Passover?
When God's judgment came down upon everyone in Egypt.
Both Egyptian and Israelite alike.
And the only thing that kept the Israelite family safe was a lamb.
Instead of God's judgment taking the firstborn,
they were to sacrifice a lamb instead and put its blood on the doorposts.
And as God's judgment came, it would literally pass them over.
Because a sacrifice had been made in their place.
And here is John the Baptist with rich symbolism, standing in the wilderness,
identifying with the voice of Isaiah 40.
I'm a voice crying out in the wilderness.
That's a quote from Isaiah 40.
And what was Isaiah 40 all about?
That whole section of Isaiah is about a new Exodus.
Here is John heralding the new Exodus that Isaiah looked forward to.
And here was John saying, in light of that new Exodus that's coming,
that we all need to be cleansed.
And that this baptism that he had come with was just something,
was just a sign of something greater to come.
Knowing that in that same section of Isaiah, in Isaiah 53,
there was a suffering servant who would die a sacrificial death
that somehow, mysteriously, would set the people free.
And now seeing Jesus, John says, behold, the lamb.
The perfect sacrifice for our sins.
So why don't we do this morning what John's telling us to do?
Why don't we behold this lamb?
We're going to focus on verse 29.
And I want us to notice three things that we behold about this lamb in verse 29.
First, we see something about his source.
Jesus, we're told, is the lamb of God.
That is, God himself provides this lamb.
You know, outside of the Bible, nearly every other example of sacrifice
is a human attempt to win over the gods.
I just read the Iliad for the first time last month.
Has anyone here read the Iliad?
It's really long.
It's great, though.
But it's wonderful.
You have these Greek warriors just sacrificing stuff all the time.
Why?
Because the gods are so unreliable.
They're fickle.
And they're selfish.
And they have lots of sex with each other.
It's crazy.
That's how sacrifices worked in most of the ancient world.
You take something that was of value, that belonged to you,
a nice fat animal, a big cup of wine,
and you would sacrifice it, and you would pour it out
in hopes that the aroma of that going up
would please somehow, someway,
whatever God it was you were hoping to win favor with.
But in the Bible, it's completely different.
Here, in the Bible, we have not a human attempt
to win over some fickle, temperamental deity.
No, here we have the sacrifice that we need
coming down as a gift from God himself.
That the initiative to put things right
comes not from our side, but from God's side.
And the provision comes not from our side,
but from God's side.
And the atonement comes.
The reconciliation comes.
Not from our side, but from God's side.
This is God's doing.
It's his gift to us.
And perhaps the deepest mystery of all
that the gospel of John will unfold
is that this Lamb of God
is God.
God incarnate in our flesh.
He ranks before me because he was before me,
John says.
Now, on one level, that's not true.
John the Baptist was older than Jesus.
And he showed up on the scene before Jesus.
And yet, John says, he was before me.
The opening verses of John's gospel express
the Trinitarian reality of God
with such simplicity and profundity
that will probably never be bettered.
In the beginning was the Word.
And the Word was with God.
And the Word was God.
You see, friends, when God gives his Son
the Word to be the Lamb,
it is God himself coming down to rescue us.
Behold the Lamb of God.
Now, what should we make of all this?
Well, when we behold the source of the Lamb
that God himself provided Jesus as our sacrifice,
it ought to be humbling,
at the very least.
After all, how great must our sin be
if it took nothing less
than the self-giving sacrifice
of God's own Son to reconcile us?
How terrible must our condition be
if God himself had to die for us?
You know, if you take your car to the shop
and they give you a bill for 50 bucks,
then you know it's no big deal, right?
An oil change, maybe a new belt, no problem.
In, out, done.
But if you go in and they hand you an estimate
for $5,000,
then you know something has gone horribly wrong.
Your car's not even worth $5,000, right?
The transmission must be blown.
The engine must be totally seized up.
Something has gone drastically wrong.
And friends, spiritually, the same is true.
If you and I could offer some sort of good work to God
or make some sort of sacrifice on our end
at our initiative to make things right,
then the debt of sin might be uncomfortable,
but it wouldn't be unbearable.
We could handle it.
We could manage it on our own.
If we could scrap up the spiritual capital
to make things right,
well, maybe things aren't that bad.
But if the only way to get right with God
is through the sacrifice of his infinitely worthy son,
then our sin must be more tremendously deep
than we can imagine.
And so it is.
For why else would God give his own son?
Things are really that bad.
You see, the essence of sin
is basically putting ourselves
in the place of God, is it not?
We decide that we can run our lives our own way
without much reference to God as our creator
or our rightful Lord.
And when we do that,
we're essentially telling God
that we are wiser
and more powerful
and more compassionate
and more just than he is,
that we know best.
And that we ought to be the rightful lords
of our lives
and the rightful lords of creation.
Now, of course,
if you happen to show up at work one day
and you tell one of your colleagues at work
that they're a fool
and you can run things better than them,
there might not be much of a price to pay, right?
In fact, you might even get a chance
to prove yourself right.
Okay, you want to do it?
You do it.
All right, I will do a better job.
Thank you very much.
But if you tell your manager
that they're a fool
and you can run things better,
well, the results probably won't be so positive, right?
Try that one out,
medical students,
with your professor
when you're doing a round.
But how much more serious would it be
if you walk into the CEO's office,
berate him as a fool,
and show him
how you unilaterally reinvested
the company's resources
into what you ultimately think is best
because he is so incompetent to do so.
Well, for that offense,
the penalty would most likely be termination.
But think,
is that not what each of us does with God every day?
We might not come right out and say it,
but with every unilateral,
God-ignoring decision,
we functionally call God a fool
and set up ourselves
as the rightful lords of creation.
And if to do such a thing in the workplace
spells the end of our working life,
then surely to do such a thing in the spiritual realm
spells the end of our spiritual life.
The wages of sin,
truly and justly,
is death.
But behold,
John the Baptist says,
in the face of this debt
that we cannot repay,
under this penalty
that we cannot satisfy,
behold, he says,
the Lamb of God.
In grace,
the very one that we offended,
the very one that we spurned
and dishonored and hated,
God himself,
he provides the Lamb.
He provides the way back in.
And that brings us to the second thing
we behold about this Lamb.
If first we behold his source,
that he's the Lamb of God,
then second here,
we behold his accomplishment.
Jesus is the Lamb of God
who takes away our sin.
But how does that work?
How does he bring about
such an accomplishment?
Well,
again,
think of the Passover.
You see,
the Passover Lamb
was sacrificed
as a substitute.
God's terrible judgment
meant the death
of the firstborn.
But in place of the firstborn,
there would be a Lamb
who would stand in its place
and die.
God's judgment
would fall on the Lamb
instead of the child,
and in so doing,
God would prove himself
just and merciful,
just because the penalty of death
still comes down,
and merciful
because the penalty
is borne away by another.
But of course,
an actual,
literal,
bleeding Lamb
could never really serve
as a proper substitute
for a human being, right?
I mean,
we kind of get that.
All those sacrifices
in the Old Testament,
the Passover,
the daily sacrifices
in the Temple,
the annual Day of Atonement,
all that could never
really take away sin, right?
This is what the writer
to Hebrews says.
Look,
if it had really worked,
they would have stopped
doing it
because it would have worked,
but they had to keep doing it
because it didn't really
get to the root
of the problem.
All these sacrifices
were just pointers
to a greater sacrifice.
After all,
what good is an animal
when the real lawbreaker
is a human being?
You know,
as much as you want to try,
you can't pay off
your credit card debt
with a goat
or a few dozen eggs.
I mean,
you can go down
to Bank of America
with a grocery bag
full of animal products
and they are not
going to release you
from the debt
that you accrued.
And friends,
what makes us think
we could pay our spiritual debt
in the same way?
Wouldn't justice
ultimately require
a human
to pay the proper penalty
for human sin?
But then again,
would even a human
be enough?
After all,
this is an offense
against God,
is it not?
This sin
which we have done.
And that means
that this penalty
we are under
is infinite
because it's
an infinite God
whom we've offended.
and who could pay
such an infinite penalty
besides the infinite
God himself?
So you see
this dilemma we're in
when it comes
to the reality
of our sin.
A human must pay it
and yet only God
can pay it.
We need a substitute
that's both fully human
and at the same time
fully God.
And where on earth
are we going to find
such a substitute
like that?
No.
Search the history
of religion, friends.
Look
and look
and you will not find
the one that you need.
But then
the words of John
ring out.
Behold
the Lamb of God
who takes away
the sin of the world.
Jesus Christ,
the Word
become flesh
fully human
and fully God.
He's the one
who can do it.
Do you see now
why Christianity
is so unique?
It is unlike
every other religion.
Deep down
every other religion
or worldview
says one of two things
basically.
Either it says
God or ultimate reality
is so holy
that you have to
earn your way up to him
through your own sacrifice
or your own good works
or your own sincere devotion
whatever it is.
Or it says
God is loving.
He doesn't require justice.
He just accepts
everyone
and everything.
but only Christianity
comes along
and says
no God is holy
and loving.
So holy
that he requires
a payment for sin.
So loving
that he makes
the payment for us
in our place.
Behold the Lamb
who takes away
our sin.
Let's go to the third thing
that we behold
about this Lamb.
Third,
we see not just
his source,
not just his accomplishment
but we see his scope.
Jesus is the Lamb of God
who takes away
the sin
of the world.
Now the world
in John's Gospel
is a bit of a technical term.
It's John's way
of talking about
not just the sort of
big round thing
that we're standing on
or just all the people
out there
but it's John's way
of talking about
human society
arranged
without any reference
to God.
It's his way
of talking about
human society
arranged
in hostile rebellion
against God.
It's a negative term,
the world
for John.
And it is for
this world,
this sinful
fallen world
that Jesus came.
Friends,
here's the good news
that the atoning
work of the Lamb
is not merely
for the religious
and the morally upright.
It's not for the deserving.
It's for the undeserving.
It's for the world.
When Jesus was born
in a manger,
when he lived
a perfect human life
in our midst,
when he died
on a cross,
when he was raised
on the third day
in glory,
when he ascended
to the Father,
all of that was done
not for the sake
of just a special
couple of people
who happened to have
all their ducks in a row
and all their cards right.
No.
It was for lost
and hopeless
and guilty
and flawed
and moral failures
like you and me.
It was for the world.
And it was so
effectual.
It was so powerful.
It was so competent
what he did
that the sins of the world
were taken away.
There's no sin of yours
so great,
so heinous
that his blood,
his sacrificial death
cannot cleanse.
There's no habitual
failure
too repeated
that it cannot
be taken away
by Christ,
the Lamb of God.
All who receive him,
all who believe
in his name,
John says,
their sins
will be taken away.
They'll be reconciled
to God
and made his sons
and daughters.
The curse is lifted.
The guilt
is done away.
Friends,
if you've put your trust
in Jesus,
your sins
have been taken away.
Let me end
with three points
of application.
First,
to you,
if you're spiritually seeking
or if you're new
to Christianity,
as you behold Jesus
this morning,
what do you see?
What are you looking at
when you look at Jesus?
Do you see merely
a good teacher,
a profound spiritual guide,
or are you beginning
to behold Jesus
as he really is?
Are you starting
to see that there's
something unique
about him,
that he's the son of God
and the one and only
Lamb of God?
Friend,
you need to know
that Christianity
isn't ultimately
about new rules
to follow
or new rituals
to perform.
It's ultimately
about uniting
your life
to the crucified
and risen Jesus
through faith
and living
in an ongoing
relationship with him.
So what holds you
back from believing
in Christ?
Why would you not
take hold
of this Lamb of God
who's come in grace
to take away your sin
and reconcile you
to God?
Let me encourage you
to talk to someone
about your questions,
your doubts,
your fears.
If you came with a friend
this morning,
I'm sure they'd be
more than happy
to share with you
their own story,
their own questions,
their own doubts,
their own fears
that they had
as they were coming
to understand
who Jesus is,
as they were beginning
to place their trust
in him.
In fact,
maybe you're ready
to do that this morning
yourself.
And if you're wondering
how to start,
how do I start
in a relationship
with Christ?
There are some prayers
in the bulletin
to help you get started.
Feel free to come up
front after the service.
We'd be happy
to talk with you
and pray with you.
Talk to someone
about what you're
going through.
Let others help you
in this journey
that you're on.
It's not something
you're meant to do
on your own.
Second point of application
for those who are
trusting in Christ already,
as you behold Christ
taking away your sin.
Friends,
let that increase
your desire
to be done
with all the remaining
sin in your life.
Don't hold fast
to the very thing
that Christ died
to take away.
Be done with it.
Be done with sin.
Put it behind you.
He's taken it all away
by his grace.
Now live into that freedom
and that life
that he's purchased
for you.
Behold the Lamb
of God.
Let love for him
increase
and let your love
for sin
wither and die.
Do you want to know
freedom
from your besetting sins?
Keep beholding
the Lamb
who was slain for you.
Keep taking in
the wonder
of his achievement
for you.
Let that stir
in your heart
a passion,
a love for him,
a desire for him,
a desire for the things
of God
and the kingdom
of God
that will cause
the things
of your old life
to pale so much
in comparison.
Third thing,
perhaps this Christmas season
you,
something that you hold
very dear
has been taken away
from you.
but friend,
no matter what losses
you've experienced,
remember,
amidst all of that,
this core reality
that he's taken away
your sins.
Even if you feel like
God has taken away
something very precious
to you,
he's taken away
your sins.
Behold the Lamb
of God.
See how deeply
he loves you.
See how much hope
he has granted you.
You're free from sin.
No matter your
present circumstances,
you have reason
to be thankful.
You have reason
even to rejoice.
You're reconciled
to God.
The curse
has been lifted.
Your guilt is gone.
The Holy Spirit
lives inside of you.
You will one day
reign with him forever.
So friends,
no matter what
has caught your attention
this season,
no matter where
you're tempted to look
amidst the joys
and distractions
and sorrows
and disappointments,
let's fix our gaze
on Jesus,
the Lamb of God
who takes away
the sin of the world.
And in beholding him,
may we testify with John
that this is indeed
the Son of God,
the Savior,
the King.
Let's pray.
Oh Lord,
we confess that
in our own strength,
in our own
vision,
we don't know you.
Lord,
so often in this passage,
John confesses
that in and of himself,
he didn't recognize
in Jesus
the Messiah,
the Lamb.
God,
that is true of us too.
In our own selves,
we don't see it.
We don't recognize it.
So we need you,
God.
We need you to come
and we need you
to open the eyes
of our hearts
so that we might see him.
Lord,
as we come to the Lord's table,
I pray
that this would be
a means that you use
to help us
to see
and taste
and to behold again
the mighty Lamb of God
who has taken away our sins.
Amen.
Well,
I wonder if those
who are helping to serve
communion would come up.
This is one of the great means
that God has given us
to do exactly
what we've been talking about
this morning,
to behold the Lamb of God.
That Jesus,
on Passover,
gathered with his friends,
with his disciples,
and he took that Passover meal
that was about God
liberating them,
and he gave them
its real interpretation.
He said,
this is what Passover
is really all about.
It's about a Lamb
who's going to be broken,
and it's about blood
that's going to be poured out.
It's about my body
that's going to be broken,
and it's about my blood
that's going to be poured out
for you
and for your sins.
And then he told his followers
to keep doing this act
over and over
and over
and over again.
Why?
Because we're very forgetful people,
aren't we?
It's like we have a hole
and we leak
all the time.
Jesus said,
here it is.
Take this,
eat it,
drink it,
and be filled
with the remembrance
of what I've done for you.
So friend,
if you're here this morning
and you're a Christian,
if you've turned from sin,
if you've turned from
trying to be your own Lord
and trying to be your own Savior
and trying to make
your own way
with your life,
if you've given up
on that pursuit
and you've trusted in Christ
as your hope,
as your treasure,
as your Savior,
if that's true of you,
then this table is for you.
Take this time
to repent of your sins again
and receive this provision
from God
and remember the Lamb
who was slain for you.
If you can say yes to that
and you haven't been baptized,
let me encourage you
to think about baptism.
As we take up the Lord's Supper,
this is a way of identifying
with Jesus
and with his people.
And if you haven't been baptized,
that's your next step
to identify publicly
with Christ in baptism.
Let me read a couple words.
Jesus says this.
He says,
Paul says this
in 1 Corinthians 11.
He says,
For I received from the Lord
what I also delivered to you,
that the Lord Jesus
on the night
when he was betrayed
took bread.
When he had given thanks,
he broke it and said,
This is my body,
which is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way also
he took the cup
after supper,
saying,
This cup is the new covenant
in my blood.
Do this as often
as you drink it
in remembrance of me.
For as often
as you eat this bread
and drink this cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death
until he comes.
So you see, friends,
this is a table for believers
to proclaim the Lord's death
until he comes.
If you're here
and you're not a believer,
then let me encourage you
to just pass the plates by
as it comes.
We're going to pass out
the bread first.
It's going to go around
and then we're going to eat together
and then we're going to pass out
the cup
and we're going to drink together.
And if you haven't placed
your faith in Christ,
then just pass the plate by
and instead,
use this time,
use the prayers
in the bulletin
to do some spiritual seeking,
some self-assessment.
Where are you
with God?
instead of taking this bread
and taking this cup,
take Christ
as yours this morning.
Let me invite those
who are downstairs
to come on up.
If you're downstairs,
you can come on up
to the lobby
and we'll serve you there.
Jonathan,
would you pray
for the bread for us?
Thanks.
Dear Lord God,
you knew that
in our human weaknesses
and sinful preoccupations
that we would
neglect to remember
our Savior.
and by your grace,
you have given us
this act
and this