John 1:29-41 - Look, the Lamb of God - January 15, 2023

The bad news is that the Packer’s season is over. The worse news is that now we have to endure months and months of speculation over whether Aaron Rodgers will return next season. But there is good news: the church’s season is not over – far from it! We are in the season of Epiphany. Epiphany means the appearing or revealing of something that we could never have discovered on our own; something that could only be known by divine revelation. 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 Wise Men (Matthew 2:1-13). We could never understand, much less believe things like where this world came from or where we go when we die unless God revealed them to us. The same is true of the phrase – or more fitting, the title of Jesus – at the center of our text: the 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 you and call you 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 week in worship. This title is a summary of the heart of Christianity.

As we catch up with John the Baptist, still preaching and baptizing in Bethany beyond the Jordan (John 1:28), he found himself under hostile interrogation by some men from Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders were jealous of this wilderness prophet’s popularity, so they sent some priests and Levites (the Jewish religious lawyers) to attack his character in order to discredit his message (this political smear tactic we see employed so often today is nothing new!). “Are you the Christ? Or Elijah? Or one of the other great OT prophets raised from the dead?” they demanded (John 1:25). In other words: who or what gives you the right to baptize and preach? It’s helpful to note how John responded to this attack, because it guides us when people question or criticize Christianity today. John didn’t take these accusations personally; he didn’t get offended or 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 respect me or not is irrelevant – but the one who is coming after me, He’s the one you need to listen to and believe (John 1:26-27). John knew that his ministry was not about him but Jesus. And the next day, He had the opportunity to do more than merely talk about Jesus.

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 it’s fair to ask: “how can John say that he didn’t know him?” Here’s where that idea of Epiphany or divine revealing comes in to play: John certainly knew Jesus, but he didn’t know Jesus’ true identity or what he had come to do. Nor could he, because Jesus’ true identity and purpose were cloaked in humility under flesh and blood. Only when God the Father spoke from heaven and the Holy Spirit appeared as a dove at his baptism, were John’s eyes opened (John 1:32-34). In that moment God revealed to John that this man, his younger cousin, was no less than the Son of God, who John later pointed to and further identified as the Lamb of God.

Which brings us back to our original question: why did John call him a Lamb? Why not the Messiah or the Christ or the Savior? Understanding this requires a short OT history lesson. While worship for us in the New Testament revolves around four basic 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 naked 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, was to be an annual festival for the Israelites – when they would recall God’s miraculous redemption by eating bread without yeast and roasted lamb. In addition to the annual Passover festival, each day two lambs were sacrificed in the temple (Exodus 29:38-39). These daily sacrifices alone 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 send a very 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 lives, 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 Jesus as 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 eternal life – and no one is clapping, no one is shouting, no one is jumping up and down for joy. A touchdown this afternoon will probably generate more of a reaction than this Gospel message. Why is that? Why does a football game create more excitement than the Gospel? If we are indifferent to the Gospel, it’s probably for one of two reasons: pride or despair. 1) 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 in this world, you have sin – sin that you need to have taken away if you don’t want to suffer its punishment forever. 2) 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 whole 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 told the self-righteous Pharisees “Those who are healthy do not 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 recognize that standing up and coming forward to this table isn’t a sign that you’re a good person – but a public admission that you are not – 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) – for the right reasons. When Jesus asked those two disciples what are you looking for? They could have said, power, 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 by reading, hearing and meditating on his Word!

But it doesn’t stop there. What’s the first thing Andrew did after he followed Jesus? He found his 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 burdensome myths out there about evangelism: 1) First, you have to be targeting total strangers; 2) you need to have a carefully crafted message that panders to 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 inward, it’s often about doing cute things that make us feel good about ourselves – even if they are totally ineffective; and 4) the most important thing is the numbers – even though individual souls often 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 – no matter who you are talking to, you’re talking to a sinner; you know what they need and you know where to lead them. Because evangelism is not about you or how clever the program is or how well-spoken you are. It’s about Jesus. It’s about leading fellow sinners to Jesus, one at a time.

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 am I 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 pitted evangelism against worship. In fact, some have given the impression that that the real work of the church happens outside of these doors; 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 find forgiveness. 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 an NFL playoff game. It may even be a little offensive that the innocent Lamb of God had to die in order to save you from your sin. But this good news will still be true no matter who wins or loses today, 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. 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. Know him, follow him and bring others to him. Amen.