Behold the Lamb of God – John 1:19-34
Preaching Notes – August 26, 2012
John 1:19-34
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.”
They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
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 am 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.”
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.’ I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
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I. A World of Questions and Seekers – John 1:19-22
A. John the Baptist created a stir among the people
B. Religious leaders needed to know: Who are you?
Messiah … Elijah … Prophet
C. Who Are You
D. The Search Continues
Your neighbors, friends, co-worker, strangers, and family
Despite fanfare all truth is relative” – people are seeking Truth
==> Leaders asking John, “What do you say about yourself?”
II. John’s Testimony – John 1:24-28
Note the remarkableness of John’s testimony about himself
A. I am not
John the Baptist, chose not to be a Poser
B. I am the voice
He downplays his calling and importance by quoting Isaiah
I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord!”
At best, I am an announcer
C. I am not The One
John could have said, “I have been chosen and called by God to ….”
In today’s world his publicity director would have said so, but he stuck with his story
I am not The One
D. I am not worthy
He went so far as to state with humility
I am not worthy to untie the strap on his sandal
Churches known for everything, but pointing people to Jesus
John the Baptist says later, John 3:30: He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease
III. John’s 3 testimonies about Jesus – John 1:29, 32-34
After taking the focus off himself John the Baptist, turns the focus to that which is important
The testimony is from God delivered through John (1:33)
A. John’s 1st testimony about Jesus – pointing to Jesus he says:
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (1:29)
Powerful descriptive language about Jesus
He covers all the critical mass information about Jesus in one sentence
We do not know if everyone fully understood, but he described Jesus in a sentence that when unpacked
=> telling us everything we need to know
When someone asks you, Who is Jesus? What do you say?
The Lamb of God
In Jewish world => many images
Lambs were offered as sacrifices for sins
Of 96 OT references to lambs, 85 are about lambs used is sacrifices
1. The Passover Lamb (Exodus 12)
2. The Scapegoat from The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16)
“Upon him all the iniquities of the people.”
3. The Sacrificial Lamb and Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53:7, 10, and12)
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A. W. Pink about the teaching of Scripture concerning “the lamb.”
Progressively in the Bible the Lamb is:
Typified, prophesied, slain,personified, identified, magnified, glorified
From another perspective notice the orderly development of for whom the lamb is sacrificed:
For the individual, for the whole household, for the entire nation, and finally for the world”
Thus by calling Jesus, “The Lamb of God”
John the Baptist was making an empathic statement about Jesus
B. John’s other two testimonies
In this passage John declares:
1. In verses 32 and 33 – The Spirit of God dwells on Jesus
2. In verse 34 – Jesus is the Son of God
IV. Conclusion
In this passage we are taught two critical lessons:
1. We are to bear witness, not to ourselves, but to Jesus
2. The best witness begins with
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
This is what people need, desire, seek
Will you, show them the way
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John Calvin wrote:
The principal office of Jesus is that He takes away the sins of the world by the sacrifice of his death, and reconciles men to God. There are other favors which Jesus bestows upon us, but this is the chief favor, and the rest depend on it. In John 14:6 when John records Jesus saying,“I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” John leads us back to Christ alone. By calling Jesus,The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” John is teaching why there is no other way to God because Jesus alone takes away our sin and reconciles us to God.”
Have you received Jesus as The Lamb of God who takes away YOUR sin?
If, not, you need to do so, today, right now.
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