Behold, the Lamb of God! - John 1:29-34
I’d be willing to bet that all of us have some degree of guilt and shame over things we’ve done in our past. Have you ever just been laying there in bed, trying to fall asleep when all of sudden one of your worst moments floods your mind? And you’re just laying there thinking to yourself, why did I do that? Why did I say that? Why didn’t I do x, y, or z? We all have regrets.
The internet is full of advice on how to deal with guilt and shame. I just randomly picked three. Here are three ways to deal with guilt and shame.
Face the feelings of guilt. Release feelings of guilt by talking about them, sharing, confessing, getting honest.
Learn to forgive yourself. – Do you judge yourself too harshly?
Examine the origins of your guilt – Is the reason that you feel guilt rational and reasonable? Inappropriate or irrational guilt involves feeling guilty in relation to something that in reality you had little or nothing to do with.
Whenever I read something like this, I think how exactly do you “release” feelings of guilt? Or how do you forgive yourself? And what if your guilt is rational and reasonable?
This is probably pretty typical advice. The advice is for you to take away your own guilt and shame. It’s so self-centered and self-focused.
We all intuitively know that guilt and shame must be dealt with. The billions of articles on the internet demonstrate that. Ignoring it and pretending like everything is fine is the equivalent of sitting in a burning house, with flames are leaping all around you and saying, “It’ll go away on its own. It’s not that hot here.”
The bottom line is we all want our sin removed. We want our sin taken away and only Jesus Christ can do it.
Jesus Takes Away Your Sins (v. 29)
Temptation and sin can be oppressive. It can consume us. Sometimes we even see an opportunity to sin coming down the pike and we know we must resist the temptation, but it’s so hard. We don’t want to fall into the same sinful patterns again. We want to fight! We want to resist! We must struggle! But it's a battle.
One of the most interesting aspects of this passage to me is where we are in the life of Jesus. Jesus has already been baptized. John tells us that the dove has already descended upon Christ after His baptism.
And he’s returning to John the Baptist, who had been preaching repentance after being tempted by the devil in the desert for 40 days. John doesn’t mention this, but the other gospel writers record these details for us.
John the Baptist was just interrogated by the priests and Levites who were sent by the Pharisees to question him. The next day, Jesus appears on the scene.
And it’s in this context that John the Baptist announces, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” in verse 29.
Clearly, Jesus is returning to John the Baptist in order to receive His rightful recognition. He’s coming onto the scene so that John the Baptist can look at him and say, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
That’s the main thing going on here, but I can’t help but notice that Jesus returns to the preacher, John the Baptist, on the heels of facing temptation.
Whenever the scary subject of church discipline comes up, our minds tend to jump to Matthew 18, which is the passage where Jesus lays out if you have a conflict with your brother, go to him privately, then take two or more, and if he still doesn’t repent, take it to the church.
It’s the standard formula for church discipline.
Many theologians actually consider sitting under the preaching of God's Word as the preliminary step to church discipline. Because God uses the preaching of his Word to strengthen your faith and resolve to resist sin.
In other words, there is a direct relationship between hearing the preaching of God’s Word and preparing your heart to do that which pleases God and resist that which displeases him.
Jesus has just finished being tempted by the devil himself and the first thing he does is head to the preaching of John the Baptist.
The first thing Jesus does is go to hear preaching. Consistently sitting under the preaching of God’s Word helps you and me in our battle against sin. Is this not indicated to us by Jesus returning to John after being tempted?
It’s funny because there’s a caricature of a Christian that goes to church and listens to preaching and thinks because he went to church he is therefore better than everyone else.
But in reality the opposite is true.
The Christian goes to church and sits under the preaching of God’s Word because he knows he’s not better than anyone else. In fact, he knows that his heart is desperately wicked above all things! And because of that he knows he needs to be washed over and over again by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Christian should go to church because he is keenly aware of his sin and his desperate need for forgiveness and grace. He goes to church because he needs to hear, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”
The moniker “Lamb of God'' is so famous that it’s taken on a life of its own. There’s a sacreligious metal band that hijacked the phrase “Lamb of God'' and used it as their band name. I only tell you that to simply remind you how culturally relevant the words “Lamb of God” are.
We even use the phrase “sacrificial lamb” informally to describe someone who was blamed for something he or she didn’t necessarily do. It’s synonymous with “fall guy.” The person who gets blamed whether he or she deserves it.
But when was the last time you stopped to simply ponder what exactly John the Baptist meant when he called Jesus “the Lamb of God?” It’s a phrase rooted in the Old Testament.
It’s a reference to the Paschal lamb, which is the lamb that was offered at the Jewish Passover meal. The Passover meal memorialized the events recorded in Exodus 12 when God sent the final plague upon the Egyptians.
The final plague killed the firstborn son unless the blood of a lamb was painted along the doorposts. The wrath of God would pass over those who had their doorposts covered by the blood of the lamb.
So here, in our passage, John the Baptist is analogizing Jesus to the Paschal lamb that was killed and had its blood smeared along the doorposts.
John the Baptist certainly knew that the Messiah would be like a “lamb led to the slaughter.” Hopefully you can see the incredible prophetic parallel that he’s drawing.
Just as the doorpost had to be covered by the blood of the Lamb, so must the Christian be covered by the blood of Christ.
The sacrifice of the Paschal lamb points us to the better sacrifice in Jesus Christ. And then part of the Jewish sacrificial system of worship required the perpetual offering of a lamb to the Lord. Offering an animal to the Lord simply showed them that blood had to be shed to atone for their sins.
Jesus Christ is greater than any sacrificial lamb because the offering up of himself on the cross was a permanent sacrifice. It was once for all.
One of the worst theological errors that someone can commit is to deny the sufficiency and power of Christ’s atoning sacrifice. That makes it sound somewhat technical and complex but it’s not technical or complex at all.
The Christian must believe by faith that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was sufficient to take away his or her sins.
But our hearts deceive us. We so quickly run into believing our lives will be weighed by God’s just balances. That God will weigh the good of our lives against the bad. And we simply hope that the good outweighs the bad which will grant us eternal life.
Here’s the issue with that: That mode of thinking implies that you have the ability to take away your own sin. According to this way of thinking, how do you take away your sin? Well, by doing more good! If I can only do more good, God must accept me.
But that’s not Christianity. That’s not what the Scriptures teach! Nothing you can ever do will be good enough! You need someone outside of you to take away your sins! You and I need Jesus Christ to take our sins away. To atone for our sins. And it’s by faith in Him we receive the gift of eternal life.
You’re not good enough, but Jesus Christ is! Hallelujah, what a Savior!
“Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”
But notice the second half of John the Baptist’s statement. “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”
The good news of Jesus Christ is wonderful news for each of us here, but it’s not just good news for us. It’s good news for the entire world! The gospel message transcends time, ethnicity, age, sin struggle. There are no oppressors or victims, only recipients of unearned grace. Jesus Christ is the hope of the world!
The sacrifice of Christ is sufficient to take away the sins of the world! That’s the scope of his sacrifice.
It’s such glorious news and yet we’re so easily embarrassed by it. Why is that?
I’ve been there, to my shame. I believe that the good news of Christ saves, and yet, I struggle to muster up the courage to speak to someone about it.
Several years ago, I was flying and I took my seat and started reading my book, when the gentleman sitting next to me said, “What are you reading?” I was reading a Christian book and when I told him that he said, “That’s too bad because I was hoping to share the gospel with you.”
I’ve thought about that encounter many times and I’m inspired by his boldness. But sometimes I wonder, why didn’t I say something to him?
The gospel message is for everyone and it’s wonderful news!
Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Because Jesus is God (v. 30)
Jesus has the authority and power to take away your sins because he is very God of very God. He is of the same substance as the Father. He is the Son of God. In other words, Jesus Christ is God. The Apostle John reminds us of this in verse 32, when the Spirit descended on Christ in the form of a dove. A nod to Christ’s co-equal status in the Triune Godhead of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
But John the Baptist is clear about this point in verse 30 as well when he says, “This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’”
The Apostle John actually quoted this earlier at the beginning of chapter 1 verse 15. John 1:15 says, John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”
But the point is Jesus has existed eternally. He ranks before John because he’s always existed in the heavenly realm. The Apostle John in the prologue reminds us that Jesus created the world.
And yet, Jesus humbled himself, took on flesh, and gave himself up to atone for our sins. In other words, John the Baptist knew that the ministry of Jesus was going to supersede his ministry because Jesus was God incarnate.
He was okay with that. He was okay with Jesus stepping into the stoplight.
Are you willing to be small so that Jesus can be big? Are you willing to be obscure so that Jesus can be famous? This is quite literally the question that John the Baptist had to wrestle with.
There’s a great ministry application here. Would you be okay if Providence stayed this size? Would I be okay? That’s probably the better question.
That happens. I was recently reminded that the average church size in America is 50. This is an average church. Many churches will always remain small and their ministry will never make the local news. Churches die all the time in obscurity. Did they labor in vain assuming they preached the gospel and stood on the Scriptures? Did they waste their time?
John the Baptist was about to fade away. His ministry was going to be superseded.
We intuitively know the answer. Even if things don’t go according to plan, we haven’t labored in vain. Even if we don’t like what we see, that doesn’t mean that the Lord can’t or isn’t working in or through it.
Pouring yourself out for the Lord is always worth it. That is the Christian’s calling - to pour yourself out for the Lord. To empty ourselves for Christ - even if we never see fruit. Look up David Brainerd when you have time. He was a missionary to Native Americans and saw very little fruit.
God doesn’t owe the church the fruit of her labors. We certainly pray to that end. I pray that we do in fact see people come to Christ, but God never promised that we’d see that.
Because the fruit of our labors isn’t the reward - Jesus Christ is our reward. Eternity with our Savior is our reward. Faithfulness is what we’re called to here and now.
Which Changes Everything (vv. 31-34)
That’s what John the Baptist’s mission was: faithfulness. It wasn’t to keep a baptism tally or humblebrag about how many conversions he saw under his ministry. He certainly experienced both of those things.
But that was never his aim. It was only the byproduct, because his purpose was to simply do what God had called him to do. Nothing more, nothing less.
John the Baptist even tells us that. He says, “I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
His purpose in baptizing was to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. That was his purpose.
But notice what he says next in regards to baptism. The Lord revealed to John the Baptist that, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.”
The Lord had revealed to John the Baptist that the man on which the Spirit descended was indeed the Messiah, the One sent by God.
To be baptized by the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean that you’re able to speak in tongues or that you receive some sort of charismatic gifts. That’s not what’s in view here.
Rather John is referring to regeneration, the new birth, or being born again. Being baptized in the Holy Spirit is conversion. Becoming a Christian. Going from spiritual death to spiritual life.
Every true Christian has been baptized and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The very moment you’re saved is the very moment you’re indwelt with the Holy Spirit. The moment you put your faith in Christ is the moment you’re baptized in the Holy Spirit.
This is why John draws a distinction between his water baptism and Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit.
You know, I’m supposed to talk about regeneration, the new birth, and conversion but I have no power over these things. I can’t regenerate anyone’s soul. I can’t replace someone’s heart of stone with a heart of flesh. That is all something entirely of God! God must do those things!
This is exactly what John the Baptist is getting at when he distinguished his baptism with water from Jesus’ baptism in the Holy Spirit.
One baptism is symbolic in nature, while the other has real spiritual power. John the Baptist had no spiritual power to convert and change someone’s life. But Jesus Christ does!
Ultimately, salvation is in God’s hands, not our hands. This is precisely what I was getting at earlier. We have no power over the fruit of ministry. We cannot do anything about it. God has to do it.
Our responsibility is to “[bear] witness that [Jesus Christ] is the Son of God.” That’s what you and I are called to do. And we’re called to do it boldly and faithfully and trust that God will work the rest out.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message that we must always hold near to our hearts. It’s not like a piece of furniture that you use for a while and when it’s old and used up you set it out by the road. Like you needed the furniture for a while, but now it’ll be better off if someone else has it.
A day is coming when your sin will be ever before you. A day is coming when the enemy will assault your mind and remind you of your most grievous sins, your greatest failures, your lowest moments in order to condemn you.
He’ll tell you that you’re irredeemable. Your balances are off. And guess what? You’ve done more bad than good in your life.
Cling to the truths of the gospel! There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!
This is something to a certain extent I’ve struggled with. Who am I to stand behind a pulpit and preach to you? I don’t have any right to stand up here.
I had a professor in seminary make this point once. He said that he was getting ready to preach on a Sunday morning and was overwhelmed by feelings of guilt, shame, and inadequacy but then he remembered the truths of the gospel: I’m washed in the blood of the lamb! I’m not doing this under my power and authority.
This is what all the internet self-help always gets wrong. It always wants you to look inward. They want you to define who you are.
But you are not who you say you are. You are who God says you are.
Your sin doesn’t define who you are - Christ does! This is our glorious message of hope, may we never forget it.
