John 1:29-42 - Look, The Lamb of God - January 19, 2020

We are in the season of Epiphany. Epiphany means the appearing or revealing of something that we could never have discovered on our own. There are many words, phrases, and doctrines found in the Bible that are and will remain total mysteries unless God reveals them to us. For example, we could never have known that the baby born in Bethlehem was born to be our Savior, the Savior of the Gentiles, too – if God hadn’t revealed it through the example of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-13). We would never understand, much less believe big difficult doctrines like justification, sanctification and the vicarious atonement unless someone taught them to us. Another example is the phrase – or more fitting, the title of Jesus – we will meditate on this morning: Lamb of God. If the Holy Spirit hasn’t granted you knowledge and insight through the Word, this title would make about as much sense as if I were to point at someone and call them a cow, a pig, or any other barnyard animal. But there’s a good reason that we sing or speak this title nearly every single Sunday in worship. This title directs us right to the heart of Christianity. This phrase points to our Savior, Jesus, who came into this world as our sinless substitute and sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. When by God’s grace we learn to see Jesus as the Lamb of God, we will be compelled, like those first disciples, to follow him and bring others to him.

As we catch up with John the Baptist, still preaching and teaching in Bethany beyond the Jordan (John 1:28), he found himself under interrogation by some men from Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders were jealous of this desert prophet’s popularity, so they sent several priests to discredit him before the people – not so different from various protest groups today. “Are you the Christ? Or Elijah? Or one of the other great OT prophets raised from the dead?” they asked (John 1:25). In other words: who or what gives you the right to baptize and preach? It’s interesting to note how John responded to these accusations, because it guides us when people question or criticize our faith today. When John was questioned, he didn’t take it personally, he didn’t take offense or get angry. Instead, he did what every Christian should do when questioned about their faith: He pointed to Jesus. In John’s case, he simply made it clear that whether you like me or believe me or not is irrelevant – but the one who is coming after me, He is the one you need to listen to and believe (John 1:26-27). John knew that his ministry was not about himself but Jesus. And the next day, He had the opportunity to not only talk about Jesus, he had the chance to point him out in the flesh.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘The one coming after me outranks me because he existed before me.’ I myself did not know who he was, but I came baptizing with water so that he would be revealed to Israel.” Now, Jesus and John were cousins, so you may ask: “how can John say that he didn’t know him?” Here’s where that idea of Epiphany or divine revealing comes in: John certainly knew Jesus, but he didn’t know who Jesus was and what he had come to do. Nor could he, because Jesus’ true identity and purpose were hidden. But when God the Father spoke over Jesus and the Holy Spirit appeared as a dove at his baptism, then John’s eyes were opened (John 1:32-34). God had revealed to John that this man, his cousin, was no less than the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

The obvious question is: why did John call him a Lamb? Why not the Messiah or the Christ or the Savior? While worship for us in the New Testament revolves around four basic essential elements: God’s Word and water, bread and wine, worship for God’s Old Testament people revolved around the bloody sacrifice of animals – especially lambs. God foreshadowed this practice already in the Garden of Eden when he slaughtered an animal to cover Adam and Eve’s shame after the Fall (Genesis 3:21), but it didn’t become the formal focus of Israel’s worship until after the Exodus, when the Angel of the Lord passed through the city, killing all the Egyptian first-born sons, while sparing the Israelites who had painted their doorposts with the blood of thousands of lambs (Exodus 12:1-13). This occasion, known as Passover, became a yearly festival for the Israelites – when they would recall God’s miraculous liberating work by eating bread without yeast and roasted lamb. On top of the annual Passover festival, each day two lambs were sacrificed in the temple for the sins of the people (Exodus 29:38-39). These daily sacrifices would amount to over 700 lambs sacrificed in Israel each year. This type of bloody, sacrificial worship might seem cruel and even offensive to people today, but God designed this system of sacrifice to emphasize a very important and clear message: sin is serious. Sin must be paid for and the cost is death (Leviticus 17:11; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 9:22). Either we must die or someone or something must die in our place, as our substitute.

That’s what makes the title, Lamb of God, so important. Jesus has taken every ounce of the guilt that drips from our hearts, and the threat of eternal punishment that guilt deserves and put it on his own shoulders. This is the meaning behind the festival of Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement – when the high priest would lay his bloody hands on the head of a goat, known as the scapegoat – and lay the sins of the people on him and send him into the desert – never to be seen again (Leviticus 16). Every time you hear, sing, or think about the Lamb of God – as we will sing in the Agnus Dei right before Communion – that’s what you should be picturing. Picture God lifting the burden of sin and guilt off of your shoulders and placing it – and the sin of the whole world – on Jesus. This is the essence of the Gospel – God sacrificed his own Son in our place. We deserved to die forever in hell, but Jesus did it for us.

And…you’re all still just sitting there. I just announced that Jesus died in your place, to give you life – and no one is clapping, no one is shouting, no one is jumping up and down for joy. A Packer’s touchdown this afternoon will probably generate more of a reaction than this sweet Gospel message. Why is that? Why does a football game create more excitement than the Gospel? If we are apathetic to the Gospel it’s likely for one of two reasons: pride or despair. Pride, in that the devil has succeeded in convincing us that we don’t need Jesus, we don’t need his sacrifice, we are pretty good people all by ourselves. But what did John say? Look the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. If you’re breathing then make no mistake, you have sin that needs taking away. Despair, in that the devil might convince you that you don’t deserve Jesus’ sacrifice, you don’t deserve to have your sins forgiven. Every page of Scripture reveals Jesus as the Savior of the world, but the devil whispers yeah, but it’s not talking about you, not this time, not after all the horrible things you did, not after those filthy thoughts you had, not with all the people you’ve hurt. Is he right? Are we undeserving? Are we unworthy to come forward to eat and drink the body and blood of the Lamb? Well, yes. We aren’t worthy to be forgiven. We don’t deserve to receive the Lamb’s sacrifice for our sins. But that’s the point. NO ONE DOES. This sacrament is not for good, holy, righteous people – it’s for bad people, wicked people, damned sinners – people like you and me. As Jesus himself told the self-righteous Pharisees those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Mark 2:17). If you feel the weight of your guilt and shame, if you know your sin and wish to be free of it, if you realize that standing up and coming forward doesn’t number you among the saints but publicly labels you as a confessed, miserable sinner – then this sacrament is for you. Here Jesus invites you to lay your sins on him and receive his forgiveness – and don’t let Satan convince you otherwise. And if that’s not better than a touchdown – I don’t know what is.

How should we respond to such undeserved kindness, such unspeakable love? Apart from giving high fives and jumping up and down,  the first and most important thing we can do to thank Jesus for his sacrifice is exactly what Andrew did – follow him (John 1:37). When Jesus asked those two disciples what are you looking for? They could have said, wealth, health, and happiness – like many today do. But John didn’t call him the Lamb of God who takes away the pain, sadness, hardship, or poverty of the world. He’s the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That’s why you follow him, why you first sit at his feet in worship and Bible study and Sunday school and private devotions – and why you then follow him with every thought, word and deed every day of your life. He’s the Lamb of God who takes away your sin. Follow him!

But it doesn’t stop there. What’s the first thing Andrew did after he followed Jesus? He found his own brother Simon Peter and said to him: we have found the Messiah! John pointed Andrew to Jesus and Andrew brought Peter to Jesus. If you’ve ever wondered what witnessing or evangelism or outreach – whatever you want to call it – actually looks like, this is it! I find this description so refreshing. There are so many myths out there about evangelism: 1) First, you have to be reaching out to total strangers; 2) you need to have a carefully crafted message that panders whatever identity group you’re targeting (as if “millennials need one thing…gen Xer’s another and Boomers, well who cares about them, they’re old”); and 3) outreach is often focused on us, the programs we operate, what we say and how we say it – not to mention that the most important thing is the numbers – individual souls get lost in the desire to boost the numbers. Andrew’s example dispels those myths. Evangelism doesn’t start with perfect strangers, it starts with the people you already know – often people living under your own roof. (For example, parents, your mission field is your children; etc.) And you don’t have to have a carefully curated message that panders to the exact profile of person you’re talking to – all you need to do is invite them to come and see. Because evangelism is not about you or how clever or well-spoken you are. It’s about Jesus. It’s about leading fellow sinners to Jesus. And where is Jesus? If you don’t know that by now, then I have utterly failed you. Jesus has promised where two or three have gathered together in my name, there I am among them (Matthew 18:20). In other words, he is present wherever his Word is preached and his sacraments are administered in line with his commands and promises. We can say without a shadow of doubt that Jesus is present here. In recent years, some people have set evangelism against worship. In fact, some have given the impression that worship gets in the way of outreach, that the real work of the church happens outside of the invocation and the blessing. The truth is that gathering together around Word and sacrament is the whole point and goal of outreach! Here is where Jesus is. Here is where you follow Jesus. And here is where you bring others to follow him too.

Now, I understand that thinking about the Lamb of God who had to bleed and die on a cross to take away your sins may not be as exciting as a Packer game, it may even be a little offensive that the innocent Lamb of God had to die in order to save you. But this good news will still be true whether the Packers win or lose tonight. Jesus died so you could live. And even if you don’t give anyone a high five as you walk out of church this morning, there are two things you can do: first, thank God for the John or Johns’ in your life, those people who pointed to Jesus, who revealed him to you as the Lamb of God who has taken away your sins; and, second, think of just one person in your own life who needs to hear this message, who you can point to Jesus and say “follow him.” It doesn’t have to be complicated, it can be as simple as inviting them to church or Bible class. You know who Jesus is and you know where he is. He’s the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Follow him and bring others to him. Amen.