John 1:29-34
By: Alexander Rico
In our last study together through the book of John, we looked at a man named John the Baptist, and the part he played as the forerunner to Christ. Today, we look at a man named Jesus, whom is referred to as the Lamb of God; and, it is through this passage that we clearly see His mission and purpose defined for us. Though, we barely meet this man here in this passage; therefore, to get a little more insight, allow us to look back upon His life. He was the focus of thirty-eight messianic prophecies, many of which were spoken by the prophet Isaiah. He was born into a genealogy that was no doubt opposite of His character, born into a list of Harlots, liars, and adultery men/women (Luke 3:23-38). Born through a bizarre incident; His mother, Mary gave birth to Him as a virgin (Matthew 2:16) in manager there in a town named Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-7); then, later returning back to Nazareth, where He grew up in the knowledge, wisdom, and stature in the Lord (Luke 2:52). Finally meeting up with John here in this passage, and thus marking the beginning His public ministry.
We notice here that John refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God sent to take away the sins of the world! (v.29) But why that title, and name? Well, let us start first where it all began, the Garden of Eden; paradise. It was a place where everything was perfect, everything was wonderful. No death, sickness, or the worry of having to get up earlier to get to college, work, or even to a doctor’s appointment. Everything was great! It was here in paradise that Adam had a close communication with God, “and they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in garden in the cool of the day,” (Genesis 3:8). Isn’t that cool? Adam had the ability to sit with God and speak with Him, one on one. Can you imagine the conversations they had? “Yo Adam, how about that Lions game last night; those Zebras were really whipping them!” or, “Hey Adam, come on over and I’ll make us this awesome fruit smoothie….” just the awesome time of close fellowship with the Father, and Creator of the universe.
But, soon, that closeness dissolved. God seeing man alone decided to create for Him a partner, Eve. I have heard it said that the first splitting of the Adam, who gave us Eve, has been a force that ingenious men throughout the ages have never gotten under control. We know that it was Eve who was deceived by the serpent (Satan), and who also ate first of the tree, which God had forbidden to be touched; then, Eve offered it up to her husband Adam. And, they ate and ate, until they heard God coming for them. It’s like little kids, when they know they have done something bad, and they know that mom or dad is going to hit them; they hide out or attempt to run away from the punishment that is coming upon them. As was the case with Adam and Eve, they hid; mainly because they knew they were naked, they knew they had done something wrong. We see that God then finds them and asked why they hid from His presence; and, Adam bursts out with, “We were naked!” Can you imagine what Eve was thinking, “Adam you’re an idiot; why did you say that?!?!”
I know there have been many a time that I myself have said some dumb things. Once at a funeral, when I went up to see the family, I said, “Hi I’m Alex!” instead of the expected conduct and response for a family in anguish. Another time, my family and I were talking with a family of the custodian at our church; and, instead of calling him by his proper title I called him a janitor only to be called out on it later. We all say things at times that we later regret, as I am sure that Adam did after confessing that they were naked. See, before they didn’t know about their nakedness, after all, why would they need to? So, God caught on to that (though He already knew, He’s God) and asked Adam, “How did you know that?”
Adam’s response is classic. “Well God, it’s that woman you gave me…” Was that even the response God had asked for? Many times, when confronted about something we did, we tend to change the subject or re-direct the anger or fury. We see here that Adam attempted to re-direct the anger towards Eve. Thus starting up this big finger pointing game, like little kids do; and, the topper is the comment, “you gave her to me!” Thus, pointing the blame at God. It was at this point, that God had to punish them. The book of Romans tells us, “For the wages of sin is death…” Just as you work a certain amount of hours on a job site or doing something for pay, they must pay for the work you have done thus far; and, so is the case with sin. God had to give to them the punishment for sin, death (see, before, they lived without aging and dying, but because of their sin they no longer lived such a long lifespan), and removal from the Garden of Eden, paradise. But, before removing them, God killed an animal to make for Adam and Eve clothing to clover their naked bodies, the sins they had committed (first real animal sacrifice).
After being kicked out, Adam and Eve were forced to live off the land, unlike in paradise. Later on, they conceived of two boys one Cain the other Abel; however, as is the case with today, the sins of their parents were not far behind and before you knew it, Cain murdered Abel and was cursed by God.
We see this same pattern reflected through the lives of those linked with Adam and Eve. However, there was a way made available for those at the time to cover their sins, not remove them, but simply cover them. See, these men and women were required to take a pure spotless lamb to the High Priest to be sacrificed up for their sins. The tough part was though, that if you sinned again perhaps on the way back to your home; you’d have to go back and re-offer up another sacrifice to cover that sin. Hebrews chapter 10 verses 1 through 4 states this, “For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshippers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins.”
But see, this is the great thing about what we see here in this passage in John; Jesus is called “the Lamb of God” sent to take away the sins of the world! Sure, those sacrifices covered them temporarily; but, Jesus covers them completely! He took yours and my sins upon that rough wooden cross for six hours one Friday, totally separated from the Father; so that, we could be free! Jesus gave to us the gift of re-mending that relationship, which at one time separated us from the Father, and gave to us the ability to now commune with Him once again, as well as, have a hope of heaven. Before, we used to simply think about heaven as a place we knew we were unable to go to because of our sin, and dirty lives; but, because of Christ’s sacrifice, we are able to have that hope of heaven not because of our good works; as so many may assume, but because of what Christ did for us on that cross about 2,000 plus years ago. Do you remember that verse I mentioned earlier from the book of Romans? Well, the rest of it states, “…. but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus.” Not only did He take on our sins there at the Hill of Calvary, but He totally did away with them freeing us from the bondage that sin once had upon our lives. Jesus himself said, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed!” (John 8:36) We are free because of the price He paid. A price that was too high for us to pay off on our own. See that’s His purpose for life, for his public ministry, and that is why He came; to set us free! “So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many…” (Hebrews 9:28a) Sure, He may seem simply like a man; but, He was so much more than that, in Him is our freedom and our future for all eternity!
Perhaps today you are sitting here and your thinking much like Max Lucado wrote in his book, He Chose the Nails, “You did this for me? A horrible person, a dirty individual?” Yeah, He did, and now all you are asked to do is surrender your life to Christ; I pled you, please, do not leave this place today without making that commitment, and accepting the sacrifice Christ made on your behalf. If you’d like to do that; then, by all means please join me in this simple prayer asking recommit your life to Christ.
“Lord Jesus, please forgive me of my sins. I thank-you for giving me the gift of life through your death on that cross. Thank-you that you loved me enough to even think of me as your child and still give me this gift of life despite my sinful life. I accept your sacrifice and give my entire life over to you. Thank-you. In your precious name I pray, amen.”
If you prayed that prayer along with me, I’d like to announce that today, the moment you accepted Christ into your life the Bible says, “[…] there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner represents.” (Luke 15:10) Just like that, you are forgiven and are adopted into God’s family. Though, there are steps to continue in maintaining your relationship with the Lord. These being:
- Read the Bible- This is God’s love letter to you. It also provides us with a foundation for relationships with others, and tells us about attitudes, motivation and truth. It is important to know, and enlist the principles in the Bible into your life, they keep you on the right way and allow us to make sound judgments concerning people and doctrine.
- Pray- In any relationship communication is important, priority factor. God desires to communicate with each of us. Prayer is not just a forum for requests. God wants to hear our feelings, hurts, ambitions and joys. Through this he is able to change and refine those parts of us that need it.
- Fellowship- Get plugged into a church or local group that studies the bible. As we begin to share with others what we have learned from the Bible and prayer, we encourage others to grow and ourselves. Fellowship as God planned it is not a clique or special club designed for gossip. We must be careful to keep our conversations with others honest. It’s best described as a fire. One coal alone dies down quickly, but a mound of coals burn white hot, just as one Christian alone will struggle to stay ‘on fire’, while a group together keeps each other hot.
- Witness- “Go into the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15). Jesus gave this as a command, not an option. God has chosen all Christians to be agents of His gospel. We are either missionaries or mission fields. That does not mean that everyone should travel to different countries, but it does mean that no matter where go we should be prepared in life and in word to be ambassadors for Christ. “Pray for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me so I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.” (Ephesians 6:19)
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