Many young children love to go to petting zoos, where they can get up close to the animals there. When my children, who are now both adults, were younger we would often go. A favorite animal were the little lambs, with their white curly coats and cute faces. Who couldn’t love a little lamb! When we think of lambs in the Bible, we often think of one being protected and cared for by a shepherd. However, there is another picture of a lamb that is not as pleasant, certainly not for the lamb. Our Scripture today from the second half of the first chapter of the Gospel of John will touch on this. Let’s see what God’s Word has to say.
As our Scripture opens, we meet John the Baptist. He had just recently baptized Jesus, and now he pointed Him out to his own disciples as the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world (vs. 29). Many people today like to call Jesus a good teacher, or even a prophet. Though He is those things, He is much, much more. He is the Lamb of God. What, you might ask, does that mean? This is a title that is loaded with Old Testament meaning. Going back to the earliest chapters of the Bible, God required a substitutionary sin sacrifice. God required that man bring a blood sacrifice, usually a lamb or young goat, to be an atonement for sins. That animal was sacrificed, his blood in payment for our sins. This was what John the Baptist called the Lord Jesus. His Blood was the substitutionary atonement for our sin, the once-for-all sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10-14).
As John spoke, he said “takes away”, which is the present tense. Jesus’ work is effective, ongoing, and sufficient. This opening verse affirms the heart of the Gospel - salvation is through the shed Blood of Jesus Christ alone, not through any human merit. Every believer’s hope rests on Jesus, the Lamb of God.
John continued to bear witness to the Lord Jesus as God’s Messiah, and our substitutionary Lamb. He stated that Jesus was before him (vs. 30). This might seem puzzling, as John the Baptist was about six months older than Jesus. Yet Jesus was before him, as He existed eternally (John 1:1-3). This is a clear affirmation of Jesus Christ’s deity. John’s testimony is unambiguous - Jesus is the divine Son, the promised Messiah (vs. 34).
After this, John the Baptist willingly directed his own followers to now follow Jesus (vs. 35-37). Like John, Christians today are called to point others to Jesus, not to themselves. A true and faithful servant of the Lord wants others to look towards Jesus, not towards themselves. Their ministry will exalt the Son. Immediately two of John’s disciples left to follow Jesus, which was only right and proper. One was Andrew, and the other was unnamed, but possibly the apostle John.
As these two joined up with Jesus, He asked them what they were seeking, what they were looking for (vs. 38). Jesus then invited them into personal fellowship with Himself (vs. 39). Christianity is not a bunch of rituals to follow, but is instead a relationship with God. It is rooted in truth, grounded in Scripture, and centered on Jesus Christ.
As our Scripture passage ends, we see that Andrew brings his brother Peter to the Lord (vs. 40-41). That is so important. As soon as he knew that Jesus was the Messiah, Andrew wasn’t content to keep that information to himself. Instead, he “first” found his brother Peter and told him about Jesus. He wasn’t worried about being “proper”, about not talking about religion to others, as many people say one shouldn’t do. No, Andrew’s all excited about what he has found, and wants others to share it too. He knows that salvation is so eternally important that one cannot keep that to oneself. Throughout the Gospel of John we see Andrew bringing others to Jesus. He brought the young boy who had some fish and bread to Jesus (John 6:8-9), and later he brought some Greeks who wanted to meet Jesus, and he brought them to Him, as well (John 12:20-22).
What important messages does God have in this Scripture passage? First, that Jesus is the Lamb of God. It’s not the picture of the cute and cuddly wooly lamb, but instead the Lamb sacrificed in substitutionary atonement for the sins of the world. He is also the eternal, divine Son of God. As we seek the truth, Jesus invites us into personal fellowship with Himself. And once we have come to know the truth, and have found salvation through the Blood of the Lamb, we need to be sure and tell others about Jesus, just as Andrew did.
Keep your eyes fixed on the Lamb. Your assurance, identity, and hope rest in His finished work, not in your performance. We should also follow the example of two believers here. We should be like John the Baptist, and point others to Jesus, not to ourselves. We should also follow the example of the Apostle Andrew, and bring others, our family, our friends, and our neighbors, to Jesus.
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