Road Warriors: John the Baptist—A Message of Repentance - Thursday
John 1:29b
…“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (NIV)
It’s a not-so-subtle comment that John the Baptist makes when He declares that Jesus is the “Lamb of God.” In our modern context, it would be easy for us to gloss over this statement. However, to a first century Jew, this was a bold, powerful, and radical statement.
Throughout the Old Testament, people were required to sacrifice an animal to atone for their sins. This sacrifice would be enough to cover their wrongs for a short while, until of course they inevitably sinned again. More specifically, the Passover event we read about in Exodus required a lamb for sacrifice. At this time, the Israelites were still enslaved by the Egyptians, and God was about to punish the land of Egypt with a plague of death. But to protect the Israelites, God instructed them to sacrifice a lamb for their Passover meal and to smear some of its blood on the doors of their homes, which would serve as a sign for the plague to pass over them—for the lamb represented innocence.
When John the Baptist looked up and saw Jesus for the first time, he declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God. What exactly did this mean to a first century Jew? It very specifically defined Jesus’ purpose and mission. Jesus was here to be God’s sacrifice, to atone for the people's sins. Jesus was sinless, blameless, and perfect. His sacrifice would be THE sacrifice to end all sacrifices. His death would be enough to cover ALL people’s sins—EVERY single one!
In order to defeat death, Jesus laid down His life willingly. There is nothing we can do in our own strength to atone for our sins. There is no amount of animals we could sacrifice to cleanse ourselves of our sin. But guess what? We don’t have to do the work because the work has been done. Jesus paid it all, and there is nothing He requires from us except to accept that gift by putting our faith in Him.
Thursday’s Reflection
Listen to the song Jesus Paid it All, and praise Jesus for His goodness and glory!
