Jesus: Lamb Of God

"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:21)

6th August, 2000

There are many wonderful things about the world we live in. There is much in it for us to wonder at and enjoy. Yet even the rosiest-coloured spectacles-wearer would have to admit that all is not well with our world. The violence and suffering that has characterized human history down the ages tells us that something is seriously wrong with our planet. And sometimes our personal lives bear the imprint of suffering and disorder. What's the problem? Seeking answers to this question has exercised the finest minds since the dawn of time. And no philosophical consensus has so far emerged. But in the Maker's Handbook (the Bible) the answer is clearly set out.

John's Prologue has already told us that the world is naturally dark and hostile to the person of Christ, its Creator, Saviour and Judge. And in v29 (quoted above), the world's root problem is stated: SIN. John the Baptist is here referring to humankind's natural inherited condition. We are descended from rebellious progenitors who were expelled from God's presence (Genesis 3:23). As a result we are by nature alienated from God. The wrong things we do, say and think are symptoms (not the substance) of this fallen condition.

The removal of this condition is surely the world's greatest need. And John the Baptist's statement in v29 presents this as the mission of Christ. How does Jesus remove the sin of the world? The answer lies in John's description of Jesus as "...the Lamb of God." In the Passover (Exodus 12), it was the blood of the lamb on the house doors of God's people that protected them from God's judgement. Jesus was crucified on the Feast of the Passover as the gospel accounts are careful to make clear. From Genesis 4 to the end of the Old Testament, the lamb was the principal sacrifice offered to God for the sins of his people. These sacrifices foreshadowed the one great sacrifice that was to come, the sacrifice of the Lamb of God - the sacrifice that paid the price for the sin of the world. John's command to "Look!" urges all personally to consider and trust in Jesus' sacrifice.

Charles

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