JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’”

The first eighteen verses in John’s gospel is John’s Christmas message. In that message, John emphasized the meaning of Jesus’ coming to us by explaining who He really was. John said that Jesus is the Creator, the true light and the one full of grace and truth. In today’s passage, we will hear John the Baptist’s testimony to Jesus. According to his testimony, Jesus is the Lamb of God, the pre-existent One, and the one who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. May God help us to see Jesus anew and have a right relationship with Him.

I. John the Baptist’s Testimony (19-28)

Look at verse 19. “Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.” John was sent by God to witness to Jesus. As his influence was becoming greater, he gained increasing popularity among the people. So the people began to wonder if John was possibly their long-awaited Christ or not. But John did not fail to confess that he was not the Christ. He well knew who he was and who the Christ was.

Then, some people sent by the religious authorities began to interrogate him about his identity. Note that John’s answers were getting shorter. He first said, “"I am not the Christ.” Then, he said, “I am not.” Finally, he said, “No.” John could say that he was the forerunner of the Christ. At least, he could say that he was the son of Zechariah, a priest. However, in order to turn all the attention of the people to Jesus, he humbled himself.

Finally, the investigators became impatient and said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” (22) They just wanted to finish their job and go home. John was not intimidated by their arrogant attitude. Instead, he gave them Isa 40:3, which contained his mission. It reads, “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.’” In those days, the king’s forerunners made the roads smooth and straight for the king’s travel, announcing his coming. He saw his life as such a forerunner. He wanted to prepare the hearts of the people as a voice calling in the desert as Isa 40:4 says, “Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.”

Then, the investigators began to ask about his license to baptize. From the beginning, they wanted to know about this: if he was not the Christ nor Elijah nor the prophet, with what authority could he baptize the people? But what matters is not the license, but the clear sense of God’s calling. The same is true with us. We may not have a formal seminary education or an ordination that gives us legal authority to do all Christian services. But, we can still do the work of God, believing in His calling through the words of God. John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of the Methodist church, did not intend to form a huge organization. He first helped organize small groups that developed intensive and personal discipleship among members. However, from 1739 onward, Wesley and the Methodists were persecuted by clergymen because they preached without being ordained or licensed by the Anglican Church. At times, even mobs attacked them. Despite these oppositions, Wesley and his followers continued to work among the neglected and the needy. Wesley personally believed that he was commissioned by God to bring about the revival in the church and no persecution could prevail against the divine urgency and authority of this commission.

He even contributed on appointing itinerant, unordained preachers so that they might travel widely and care for the people.

Look at verse 26. John compared himself with the one to come and said that he was not even worthy of untying his sandals. Untying the straps of a sandal was a duty of the lowest slave in the house. He humbled himself to such as level so that he could exalt Jesus.

II. Jesus, the Lamb of God (29-34)

Look at verse 29. “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” To understand the meaning of the Lamb of God, we may need to remember what had happened in the book of Exodus. The people of Israel were under the bondage of slavery in Egypt. They cried out to God for help. God sent Moses to help his people. But Pharaoh wouldn’t let them go. He stubbornly resisted God’s power and will. Finally God asked Moses to tell all the people of Israel to apply the blood of lambs on the doorposts so that the angels of death would pass over their houses while they would put to death all the firstborns of Egyptians (Ex 12:12). The people of Israel were no better than the Egyptians. But they were spared just because they believed the word of God and obeyed it by applying the blood of the lambs on the door posts. So after this incident, finally Pharaoh let Moses and the people of Israel go. Likewise, Jesus would be sacrificed as the Lamb of God and when we believe that His blood saves us from the wrath of God, we are saved. Regarding the suffering of the Lamb, the prophet Isaiah foretold in his book, saying, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, he did not open his mouth.” (Isa 53:6) To be the Lamb of God, Jesus had to go through excruciating sufferings for our sins.

John saw Jesus in the right perspective when no one else could see Jesus in that way. When we see Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, we can have a right relationship with Jesus.

Look at verse 30. “This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” John also gave another testimony about Jesus. He said that Jesus was before him. According to Luke, John was Jesus’ relative born six month ahead of Jesus. So, John could not say Jesus was before him in human sense. Therefore, John meant Jesus’ deity by this. Jesus was the pre-existent one who had been with God, the Father, in glory.

Look at verses 31-33. John’s final testimony is about the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. He saw the Holy Spirit coming down on Jesus like a dove and remaining on Him. He was told that the one on whom he would see the Holy Spirit come down and remain would be the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. When John saw this Jesus, he could testify that Jesus was the Son of God.

III. The First Disciples of Jesus (35-51)

Look at verse 35-36. John the Baptist was with two of his disciples, John and Andrew. But when he saw Jesus, he again testified that Jesus was the Lamb of God. When the two disciples heard his testimony, they tried to know him whom their master pointed out repeatedly. So they began to follow Jesus.

What did Jesus do to these two disciple candidates? Look at verse 38. “Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’ They said, ‘Rabbi’ (which means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’” Jesus was not just happy when they followed him. Instead, he helped them to clarify their purpose in following him. Sometimes, we need to examine why we are following Jesus or why our Bible students are following Jesus. Some people go to church to have social fellowship with other people. Others come to the Bible study as one of the ways of self-improvement. Still others follow their minister’s teaching mindlessly, without knowing that it may not be biblical, such as “prosperity gospel.” However, Jesus wants us to have a pure and right purpose in following him.

What did two of former John’s disciples answer? They said that they wanted to know where Jesus was staying. To some people, their reply may not sound right. Why did they want to know Jesus’ residence? Jesus does not have his home (Lk 9:58). However, their answer meant that they wanted to know Jesus more, through spending time with him. Hence, they went and saw where Jesus was staying and spent that day with him.

Look at verses 41-42. Andrew went to his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” When Jesus saw Simon, Jesus said, “‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).” “Cephas” means “rock.” Jesus saw the great vision in Simon, being a great man of God.

Look at verses 43-44. When Jesus first saw Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Jesus did not say anything such as why Philip should follow him, and what reward he would receive. He simply said, “Follow me.” Philip must have realized that it was the irresistible call of God. Then he went to Nathanael and said, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (45). Philip declares that Jesus is the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament. But Nathanael was skeptical about Philip’s word, for he had a preconception about Nazareth. He asked, “Can anything good come from there?” What did Philip do? He did not try to have a theological debate with him. Instead, he invited him to Jesus, saying, “Come and see.” (46)

Look at verse 47. “When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.’” Nathanael was awe-struck by Jesus’ word. He immediately noticed that Jesus understood his inner man. So, he could confess that Jesus was the Son of God and the King of Israel. Then, Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.’” Jesus told him that he would see the spiritual reality beyond what is visible since Jesus is the one who can open the gates of the Heaven for the sinners who could not have come to God because of their sin.

In conclusion, we learned how John testified to Jesus. He humbled himself, so as to exalt Jesus and thus bring more people to Jesus. His main testimony is that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We also learned how Jesus called his first disciples. Those who had personal encounter with Jesus had dramatic change in their life. We may accept Jesus’ personal invitation and have a vision to see greater things in our life of faith.