Jesus — Lamb of God - Monday
TODAY’S VERSE
John 1:29
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (ESV)
A few years ago, a friend asked what I’d most want to see if I travelled to Great Britain. (Of course, this was all theoretical, but of many places in the world I would love to go, she knew Great Britain would be towards the top of my list.) Now, I could come up with a multitude of things I’d love to see, but I told her the first thing that came to mind: sheep. I would want to see some sheep. She laughed, thinking it was a joke. Why not? I thought, Who wouldn’t want to see sweet sheep roaming the British countryside?
I guess not everyone has sheep on their bucket list.
So you can imagine my excitement when I heard Scott was going to hold a lamb for part of Sunday’s sermon. (If you, like me, love sheep or just want to catch up on the sermon, check it out here.)
Sheep (and spotless lambs in particular) make many appearances throughout Scripture. In John 1:29, John the Baptist sees Jesus and declares, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” What a powerful and telling statement!
One of the things I love about Scripture is that it is simultaneously so simple, and so complex. At a basic level, we can learn a few things from this verse. We learn that we need help to remove sin; we aren’t able to save ourselves. And we learn that Jesus came to do for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. He came to take away our sins. Finally, we can take it a step further and recognize that in order to be able to take away (atone for) sin, Jesus has to have divine authority to do so, meaning that He is God, not just a good teacher from the first century. Jesus is much more than a good example, or a good model for how to live life. Jesus is our savior.
When we look at Scripture in context of itself and dig even further into the cultural and historical background, that name—Lamb of God—brings even more depth of understanding to who Jesus is. Tomorrow, we’ll explore the Passover story and the connection between Jesus and the Passover lamb.
APPLICATION
Grab your Bible and journal and read John 1 for a little more context on John the Baptist’s proclamation. Then, take a few minutes to write down any questions you came up with, or anything that stood out to you as you read.
Want something to listen to in the car this week? Check out Behold the Lamb of God. It’s technically an Advent album, but its themes are applicable any time of year. Start at the beginning, and work your way through in order. You should be able to pick up on some themes and that Genesis-to-Jesus storyline we’ll touch on this week.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to atone for my sin. Soften my heart, Lord, that I might learn even a fraction of how deep and wide and great Your love is for Your children. Amen.
