January 14-16, 2023 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 1:29-41 (EHV) “LOOK! THE LAMB OF GOD!”

 

EPIPHANY 2

January 14-16, 2023

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 1:29-41 (EHV)

 

“LOOK! THE LAMB OF GOD!”

1.     He is exactly what we need.

2.     He is exactly what everyone else needs.

 

John 1:29-41 (EHV) “The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘The one coming after me outranks me because he existed before me.’ ³¹I myself did not know who he was, but I came baptizing with water so that he would be revealed to Israel.” ³²John also testified, “I saw the Spirit descend like a dove from heaven and remain on him. ³³I myself did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴I saw this myself and have testified that this is the Son of God.” ³⁵The next day, John was standing there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶When John saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” ³⁷The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸When Jesus turned around and saw them following him, he asked, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” ³⁹He told them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying. They stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour. ⁴⁰Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. ⁴¹The first thing Andrew did was to find his own brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is translated “the Christ”).

 

          If you had been there and had been raised in a Jewish home you would have understood exactly what John the Baptist was saying when he exclaimed, ““Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” But we weren’t there. And to the best of my knowledge none of us were raised in Jewish homes so at first hearing we might miss everything John wanted us to hear so today let’s take a closer look at Jesus as the Lamb of God.

          Christmas might still be on some of our minds. Did any of you say or hear, “Thank you! That is exactly what I needed!” as a present was opened and mean it? We live in affluent times. Probably that did not happen. We all have what we need and more. Sometimes I see a movie or read a story of a Christmas past when people didn’t have much and that new shirt or pair of pants was really appreciated because people had need. Do we recognize our need?

          The Lamb of God shows us. If we had all grown up in Jewish homes back at the time of Jesus and John the Baptist pointed to someone as the Lamb of God the first thing we would have thought of was the Passover lamb. We would have been used to every year watching Father select a perfect lamb. Maybe he took us with him as he went to the priest who slit the lamb’s throat and drained its blood into a bowl. We would have sat around the table as once again we were told the story of the Passover. How God rescued our ancestors from slavery in Egypt. We would hear again of the powerful plagues God sent so the Pharaoh would let them go. Special attention was paid to the 10^th plague, that of the firstborn, where the firstborn son of every family living in the land of Egypt died that night unless the home had the blood of a perfect lamb painted on its doorframe. And while our little hearts felt so bad for the lamb that was slain we also felt great relief that no one in our home had died. That was the Lamb’s purpose, to be a substitute. Someone was going to die. A person or the Lamb.

          And if we were blessed enough to grow up in a believing family, Father would have told us that the Lamb was a picture of Messiah. He would have reminded us that our real slavery was to the sin we can’t stop doing and the Devil who had the right to accuse us and to death that would take us to the Devil’s prison called Hell. He would have told us that Messiah was coming and when He came He would be the Lamb for us all. He would be punished for our sins. His blood would be shed just like the Passover Lamb but since He was the Lamb of God His once and for all sacrifice would set us free. You see, sin was so bad someone had to be punished either the Lamb or…That was the purpose of the Christ. To be our substitute, to be sacrificed. And so when John the Baptist saw Jesus he did not exclaim, “Look the Dr who will heal all your diseases!” for even though Jesus could have done that it was not His purpose. Nor did He exclaim, “Look the Financial Adviser” for although Jesus can make all people physically rich that is not His purpose. Nor did John exclaim, “Look the Life Coach” or “Look, the Teacher” for even though Jesus can and has taught us exactly how to live and we are blessed when we do so that’s not what we needed. We needed someone who could be punished so we are not and so John exclaimed, ““Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” He’s exactly what we need.

          May the Holy Spirit help us to appreciate and value what we have in Jesus and not be disappointed. “Thank you for the shirt, Grandma, (what I really wanted was an Xbox.) We may want our diseases or a loved one’s disease healed but it may be that having that problem is what’s best. We may want more money but maybe learning to live within our means is what’s best. We may want to be more popular or less lonely but maybe having those struggles is what’s best. We may want some pet sin or hurt or guilt to be gone but maybe a continued reminder of our need for a Savior is better for us. What we need is forgiveness, our sins taken a way so we can live in the glory of heaven. Only Jesus does that. Look the Lamb of God. He is exactly what we need.

          And exactly what everyone else needs. This word of God shows how those in the know tried to help others know too. First there was John the Baptist. He attracted a crowd. Dressed funny. Camel’s hair cloak. Ate funny. Locusts and wild honey. No fermented drink. Probably had never cut his hair. Spoke way too bluntly. Called people snakes to their face! But when Jesus came by he made sure the people gathered around knew Jesus was the one they needed, not John. “The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘The one coming after me outranks me because he existed before me.’ ³¹I myself did not know who he was, but I came baptizing with water so that he would be revealed to Israel.” John also had friends, disciples, people who were attracted to him, not offended by him. He made sure they knew who they really needed. ³⁵The next day, John was standing there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶When John saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of those disciples John the Baptist pointed to Jesus. And what does he do? ⁴¹The first thing Andrew did was to find his own brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is translated “the Christ”).

          And here brothers and sisters we see one of the important reasons God still has you on this planet, to point others to Jesus the Lamb of God that everyone needs. Those regular jobs you do to make other people’s earthly lives are important too. God wants homes built well and maintained, children cared for, cars running and finances in order. He wants people fed and clothed. But ultimately what He really wants is people with Him in heaven. He sent His Son Jesus to be the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. None of us can do that. So He lets us do what we can, point people to Jesus.

          Some of you, like John the Baptist attract people to you, not because you dress and eat funny. Because you are nice, caring, helpful, dependable. There is a reason God gave you those gifts. You will build relationships with people. They will like you and trust you. When they time is right, when that right opportunity comes, just like it did for John the Baptist, seize it. Point them to the one they need. Not you. Jesus, the Lamb of God. Pray that the Lord help you recognize those right times. Some of you attract no crowd of people. But you have family. You have friends. They are going to have troubles and problems in life. They may come to you for help. You may have to tell them. “I can’t fix that. Maybe nobody can. But can I tell why I can continue to go on with my problems? I have Jesus.”

I heard of a real story recently. A woman was in hospice care. Her death was coming. Her pastor visited her. She had her faith. She knew heaven was coming. Her husband was an atheist. One day he called the pastor. He said, “My wife is fine. I am not. Tell me why.” You know what happened next. Look the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the word. Exactly what everyone needs. Amen.