Life of Messiah 22 - Behold the Lamb of God

[00:00:06] You're listening to Theology and Apologetics with Thomas Fretwell, bringing theology to life.

[00:00:12] We are in life of Messiah so let me just recap briefly where we got to. If you remember we looked

[00:00:19] at the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. John the Baptist came from the wilderness preaching

[00:00:25] this message of repentance and he attracted a following. People were coming through him from all

[00:00:30] Jerusalem and the surrounding districts wanting to be baptized and Jerusalem even sent a delegation

[00:00:36] of religious leaders to question him. He was questioned by the religious authorities. Remember

[00:00:41] he was asked, who are you? Are you the prophet? Are you Christ? Are you Elijah? Why are you baptizing?

[00:00:47] And you remember John the Baptist was very quick not to take any glory for himself but he turned all the

[00:00:51] attention on to Jesus. He said I am simply the messenger, the one who will prepare the way of

[00:00:57] the Lord. And then those famous words, there is one who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not

[00:01:02] worthy to untie. And we studied the actual baptism of Jesus. We looked at the question of why a sinless

[00:01:10] Messiah would need a baptism of repentance in the first place. And I shared with you my view that this

[00:01:15] was in fact a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Yes he was identifying with the nation of Israel,

[00:01:21] Israel. Yes he was identifying with sinners generally, but he was also himself being identified as the king

[00:01:28] Messiah to Israel. And we talked about the significance of having the prophet John the Baptist there, the

[00:01:34] last of the Old Testament prophets, the anointing of the spirit descending in the form of a dove,

[00:01:39] indicating that this was in fact meeting the requirements of the anointing for kingship. Just like Saul and David

[00:01:47] had to be anointed with oil and by a prophet, this was Jesus's anointing for kingship, even if he would

[00:01:54] not take the throne immediately. And then after the baptism, remember we read that immediately the spirit

[00:02:00] led him out into the wilderness. The temptation, that famous scene there, the temptation of Jesus. He was led

[00:02:06] into the wilderness for 40 days and he fasted for those 40 days. And then it says the devil came to him

[00:02:12] after those fasts to tempt him. And we spoke a little about the differences in these accounts,

[00:02:18] if you remember that. We did a little study on gospel parallels and why some gospels have things

[00:02:24] in a slightly different order. The temptation was one of those times where the gospel accounts do

[00:02:29] change the order. And I explained to you why that is just very briefly. If you remember ancient writing,

[00:02:36] some of them were more concerned with themes than they were with chronology. So it was quite common

[00:02:41] for ancient authors to select their material according to the theme and purpose of their book.

[00:02:46] Matthew's gospel, remember, was to do with the king and the kingship of the Messiah. And therefore,

[00:02:52] he emphasized the trial that was about giving Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. Whereas Luke actually

[00:02:58] claims in his gospel that he is the one that puts things in a chronological consecutive order. And

[00:03:03] therefore we used Luke as our main exegesis. We looked at the connection between Jesus replaying

[00:03:11] the history of Israel in this temptation. You remember, the nation of Israel was led into the

[00:03:16] wilderness by the Spirit, it says in the book of Isaiah. And they were there for 40 years as they

[00:03:21] were tested. Jesus now led by the Spirit into the wilderness and tested for these 40 days. And the

[00:03:28] parallels there, there's many of them. You can go back and listen to that study in full if you want to

[00:03:32] know more. We went through the temptations. Satan tempted him with these, you're hungry, you finish

[00:03:37] fasting, why are you being left here to starve in the desert? If you're really the Son of God, turn

[00:03:42] these stones into bread, fulfill your hunger and desire there. Satan then showed him all the kingdoms

[00:03:48] of the world and said, if you just bow down and worship me, I'll give them all to you. Trying to get him

[00:03:53] to break the first of the Ten Commandments. And then he took him, Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle of the

[00:03:58] temple. And he misquoted the Bible, if you remember, and said, you're the Son of God, if you throw

[00:04:04] yourself off, surely the angels will have to protect you. Because it says so in Psalm 91. He misquoted the

[00:04:09] Bible to Jesus. And if you remember, all three of those temptations were met with the reply, it is written

[00:04:16] by the Lord, emphasizing the authority of the Word of God, and using the truth to expose the lies of Satan

[00:04:23] there. So now we're going to look at one more aspect that carries on really from this narrative

[00:04:29] in the Gospel of John. We've done the baptism and now we're moving on to look at another testimony of

[00:04:34] Jesus Christ that deals with a specific element of who he is and his character. You may have noticed

[00:04:40] that so far really throughout the Gospels they have been concerned with who is this Messiah that is

[00:04:45] coming, identifying who he is, revealing himself to the nation. And this time we're going to see him as the

[00:04:50] one who deals with sin. And it's a very, very crucial one for us. Perhaps the most precious

[00:04:56] element really we could say for us as sinners of the Messiah. It's vital to everything else that Jesus

[00:05:03] does and is here. And again, for me it's really no surprise that it is John the Baptist that gets

[00:05:09] to reveal this to us. So let's turn to John chapter 1 please. We'll pick this up at the end of the chapter

[00:05:16] in verse 24. The context here is John has been answering these questions from these religious

[00:05:21] leaders who were sent from Jerusalem to report on this supposed messianic activity. You remember,

[00:05:28] are you the Christ? Are you Elijah? No, I'm not the Christ. No, I'm not Elijah. I'm the voice of one

[00:05:33] crying in the wilderness. So let's pick it up in verse 24. It says, now they had been sent from the

[00:05:38] Pharisees, speaking of the religious leaders, and they asked him and said to him, why then are you

[00:05:43] baptizing if you're not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? And John answered them saying,

[00:05:48] I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you do not know. It is he who comes after me,

[00:05:54] the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. And these things took place in Bethany beyond the

[00:05:59] Jordan where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, behold, the Lamb of

[00:06:06] God who takes away the sin of the world. This is he on behalf of whom I said, after me comes a man who has a

[00:06:13] rank than I, for he existed before me. I did not recognize him, but so that he might be manifested

[00:06:19] to Israel, I came baptizing in water. John testified saying, I have seen the spirit descending as a dove

[00:06:25] out of heaven and he remained upon him. I did not recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in

[00:06:31] water said to me, he upon whom you see the spirit descending and remaining upon him, this is the one who

[00:06:37] baptizes in the Holy Spirit. I myself have seen and testified that this is the Son of God. So here we

[00:06:43] have those most famous words in this section, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

[00:06:49] And I want to spend some time looking at this subject issue, particularly of the Lamb of God, with you

[00:06:54] this morning. Now, most likely this event actually takes place after the baptism of Jesus and thus also

[00:07:00] after the 40 days that he spent in the wilderness. John is back at the river baptizing, the delegation

[00:07:07] from Jerusalem is still there investigating, and that most likely is the chronology here. And he sees

[00:07:13] Jesus coming to him on the bank and he cries out, behold, and remember that word. We've seen that word

[00:07:19] a lot, haven't we, in the Gospels? We saw it a lot in Revelation too. Behold, it means look now, don't delay,

[00:07:24] pay attention. It's a very strong word in the Greek. Here he is, the Lamb of God, the one that you have

[00:07:32] all been waiting for, the one that thousands of years of Old Testament history and prophecy are

[00:07:36] pointing towards, the Lamb of God. He is here now. And this is really one of the best things we could

[00:07:42] say. Is there any more meaningful advice that we could really give to people than behold, the Lamb of

[00:07:49] God? What it means is, look, there's Jesus. You need Jesus. Look at Jesus. And this is not just for

[00:07:56] the unsaved. Yes, they were religious people here, a lot of them Old Testament saints, but a lot of them

[00:08:01] unsaved too at this time. But this is also for us as believers too, because we know the issue. Yes, we get

[00:08:08] saved, but it's not past tense, is it? Jesus is also saving us in the present tense and in the future

[00:08:13] tense if you do a study of the word salvation. It means that we are continually being saved and sanctified

[00:08:18] and forgiven of our sin in this way. And how many of you know those times when you do take your eyes

[00:08:25] off Jesus in your walk? And where do you end up? You usually end up somewhere you don't want to be,

[00:08:30] don't you, when you take your eyes off Jesus. So occasionally we need to remind ourselves, behold,

[00:08:35] the Lamb of God. Pay attention, look at Jesus. But we also know, praise God, that this Lamb came with a

[00:08:41] specific mission. And it says it right there, he came to take away the sins of the world. Now when you

[00:08:48] stand in the midst of a Jewish audience in the first century, in the days when the temple was

[00:08:52] still standing and you start speaking about lambs, it is initially going to invoke the idea of sacrifice

[00:08:59] in the Jewish people's mind. The idea of a lamb spoke of sacrifice. Night and morning in the temple,

[00:09:06] they had to sacrifice a lamb. Every single day this was happening, except the Sabbath. Night and morning,

[00:09:12] a lamb was being sacrificed to cover their sins. This is the theology of the lamb and it is throughout

[00:09:18] the Messiah Bible. And I find it fascinating when we look at this passage in John. This is right at the

[00:09:24] beginning of Jesus's ministry. Think about this. Before he's done any miracles, really done any great

[00:09:28] preaching, no one's really following him. He hasn't called the disciples at this point, but we still have

[00:09:34] John the Baptist identify him with a term that speaks of his ultimate destiny, that of a sacrifice.

[00:09:41] This one has come to die. You see, the shadow of the cross, the echo of the cross you could say,

[00:09:48] was upon him from the very beginning of his ministry before he even spoke a word to the people.

[00:09:53] The shadow of the cross was there. That is why he came. It's a one sentence summary of the ministry

[00:09:58] of Jesus. Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And it is a perfect one sentence

[00:10:04] summary. And for us, it should make us think of the cross. For the Jewish people, the lamb spoke of

[00:10:10] sacrifice. For us, we know that all of those lambs pointed towards the ultimate sacrifice, which was

[00:10:15] the cross. That is where the sacrifice would one day happen of this lamb. We know this from the rest

[00:10:20] of the story. But it should also remind us why this had to happen. Why did the cross have to happen?

[00:10:25] Why was the lamb sacrificed? Quite simply, that was because of our sin. Your sin, my sin, all of our sin.

[00:10:32] It was our sin that put him on that cross. And as it's often said, it was his love that held him on

[00:10:37] that cross. As God poured out those sins, as he bore those sins in his body for us, in that scene that

[00:10:44] we will read as we get to the end of the gospel. It's a remarkable scene when you think about it.

[00:10:48] But even right here at the beginning, you find in this title, a pointing towards that event. The whole

[00:10:53] Bible speaks to us about this lamb, this sacrifice for sins. It should be at the center and forefront of

[00:10:59] all of our theology. The broad declaration from John here, behold, the lamb of God would have invoked

[00:11:05] all of this history to Jewish ears. Where is the first time we see this concept of a sacrifice for

[00:11:10] sins in the Bible? It's when you see the very first sin, Genesis chapter 3. It's no surprise. Do you

[00:11:17] remember that story? Adam and Eve, they disobeyed God. They brought sin and death and suffering into this

[00:11:22] world. God comes to them in the garden, trying to find them, but they're hiding. It says in Genesis 3,

[00:11:27] verse 7, their eyes were opened. They knew they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and

[00:11:32] made themselves loin coverings. They tried to cover their sin with their own efforts, making their

[00:11:36] own clothes, their own garments. But this was to fail, ultimately. God found them. God pronounces

[00:11:41] judgment and curse on the creation. And then in the end of this story, we read, the Lord made garments

[00:11:47] of skin for Adam and his wife, and he clothed them. What's that involve, making a garment of skin? It

[00:11:54] involves killing an animal, doesn't it? A sacrifice to make that covering for them in their nakedness.

[00:12:00] This is a picture of the gospel right here. And it does not specifically say what animal that was,

[00:12:05] but if we want to take the pattern and the type of the Bible, it was probably a lamb or a ram,

[00:12:10] usually the two things used in sacrifice there. And then let's jump a little further into Genesis.

[00:12:16] There's an event in Genesis chapter 22, the Ha-Akida Yitzhak, the binding of Isaac,

[00:12:22] the Ha-Akida, they call it in Hebrew. It's a very, very important text for the Jewish mind. Still is to

[00:12:28] this day, in fact, so important. We don't think about it much, but we know the parallels. This is

[00:12:33] that famous story where Abraham is told to take Isaac up to Mount Moriah and to sacrifice him.

[00:12:39] It's the testing of Abraham. Let's look at it. Genesis chapter 22, verse 2. He said,

[00:12:45] Take now your son, your only son. Remember, that's a specific phrase there. For God so loved the world

[00:12:51] that he gave his only begotten son. It's echoes of this here. Because remember, he wasn't, Abraham,

[00:12:57] Isaac wasn't his only son. He had Ishmael too. But the text is making that reference here.

[00:13:03] Take your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt

[00:13:08] offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you. And then verse 6.

[00:13:14] Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son. Now I find this

[00:13:19] fascinating. He was, he had wood, sacrifice wood placed across his shoulders most likely,

[00:13:25] and he carried it up to the top of Mount Moriah. Just as 2,000 years later, this other lamb of God

[00:13:30] would take the crossbeam upon his shoulders and he would walk up to the place of sacrifice too.

[00:13:34] You see the typology here being developed. Verse 7, Genesis 22. It says, Isaac spoke to Abraham,

[00:13:41] his father, and said, my father. And he said, here I am, my son. And he said, behold the fire and the

[00:13:46] wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? And Abraham said, God will provide for himself the

[00:13:54] lamb for the burnt offering, my son. God will provide for himself the lamb. And you know the story,

[00:14:02] what happens just as he's about to bring the knife down, the angel of the Lord stops him,

[00:14:06] and then they end up sacrificing an animal instead. But it ends with verse 14. Abraham called the name

[00:14:13] of that place Jehovah-Jireh. The Lord will provide. As it is said to this day, in the mount of the Lord,

[00:14:20] it will be provided. The Lord will provide the lamb. You see, this is the big question of Old Testament

[00:14:27] theology. Where is this lamb? Where is this one that is coming to take away the sins of the world?

[00:14:33] Where is the lamb? That is the question of Old Testament theology. It's prophesied, it's pointing

[00:14:39] towards it, but as of yet, it does not arrive. Then also, let's go to Exodus 12. And we won't read it,

[00:14:46] I'll summarize it for you. You know this story well. We've dealt with it at Passover. The Israelites are

[00:14:51] in bondage in Egypt. They are suffering slavery there. They need to be redeemed. And the Lord sends Moses

[00:14:59] to speak plagues of judgment upon the nation. And the ninth and tenth plague, you know the story.

[00:15:03] The Passover. They are told to take a lamb, spotless and unblemished, to kill it and put the blood on the

[00:15:11] door of their house. And thus, the angel of death would pass over them. This is what we see. They

[00:15:17] were redeemed from the judgment of death by the blood of a lamb. And hopefully, I don't need to make

[00:15:23] the connection with you, but the New Testament does flesh this out for us. You remember the Apostle Paul's

[00:15:28] comments in 1 Corinthians 5. He says, Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed, speaking of Christ's role

[00:15:35] as the lamb of God, whose blood does save us from death and give us new life. The Apostle Peter,

[00:15:42] 1 Peter 1, he says, knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your

[00:15:48] futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood as of a lamb, unblemished

[00:15:54] and spotless the blood of Christ. There's clear Passover references there to the lamb of God.

[00:16:02] And what I love about that description, Peter calls it the precious blood. It's not often how we think

[00:16:07] about blood, is it? Blood is obviously precious without blood. The life is in the blood. Without

[00:16:12] blood, you're not going to do very well. But we don't often think about it in that way. The word

[00:16:16] precious there is the same word that you read used of all the beautiful stones and jewels that

[00:16:22] adorn the gates of the new Jerusalem. It's a very rich term that speaks of something of extreme

[00:16:27] value and worth, almost something otherworldly. It is precious, something of extreme worth. Reminds

[00:16:33] me of the song, there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunge

[00:16:39] beneath that flood to lose all their guilty stains. Dear dying lamb, thy precious blood shall never lose

[00:16:44] its power till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more. Why is the precious blood of

[00:16:50] Christ described in this way? Simply for us, I would say, because it takes away our sin. The lamb of God

[00:16:55] who takes away the sin of the world. The blood of Christ is precious because it brings us into fellowship

[00:17:01] with God. Ephesians 2. But now you who were once far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ.

[00:17:08] The blood of Christ is precious because it makes peace with God. Colossians 1. And through him to

[00:17:14] reconcile himself to all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

[00:17:21] The blood of Christ is precious because it cleanses us from sin. 1 John 1.7, if we walk in the light,

[00:17:27] as God is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses

[00:17:32] us from all sin. The blood of Jesus Christ is precious because it gives us power over the devil.

[00:17:37] In Revelation 12, it says they overcame him because of the blood of the lamb,

[00:17:41] and because of the word of their testimony. And the blood of Jesus is precious because it is what

[00:17:46] ratified, what started, signified the beginning of the new covenant by which we are all saved.

[00:17:52] Matthew 26, for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness

[00:17:57] of sins. On and on we could go about why Peter describes the blood of Jesus Christ as precious.

[00:18:03] The Christian walks in the cleansed power of the blood of Jesus. It is really the weapon that cannot be

[00:18:09] defeated, a weapon upon which nothing really can stand before it. Sin is erased in his presence.

[00:18:14] By its life, death is defeated, fellowship restored. The gates of heaven are opened through

[00:18:19] the blood of Christ, and the choirs of heaven are seen singing about the blood of Christ for all

[00:18:23] eternity. It conquers all evil in his path and marches us into the realms of glory. Could there be

[00:18:30] anything more precious than the blood of Christ? Precious, precious blood of Jesus, shed on Calvary,

[00:18:35] shed for rebels, shed for sinners, shed for thee. Precious, precious blood of Jesus, ever flowing free.

[00:18:42] Oh, believe it. Oh, receive it. It is for thee. On and on we could go. The precious blood of Jesus.

[00:18:50] That is what we're talking about when we say, behold, the Lamb of God, the sacrifice, the one who would pour

[00:18:56] out his life for us. And this brings us to the famous prophecy of Isaiah, more Pascal or Lamb theology.

[00:19:03] This remarkable prophecy of the suffering servant who would come to redeem Israel, to bear the sins

[00:19:09] of that nation upon them. Isaiah 53 verse 4, it says, surely our griefs he himself bore and our sorrows

[00:19:17] he carried. Yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. He was pierced through for

[00:19:24] our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and the chastening for our well-being fell upon him,

[00:19:29] and by his scourging we are healed. Remember, written 500 years before Jesus ever walked this

[00:19:34] earth. This was the prophecy and the hope of Old Testament Israel. Verse 6, all of us like sheep

[00:19:39] have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all

[00:19:46] to fall on him. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth like a lamb

[00:19:52] that is led to slaughter. And like a sheep that is silenced before its shearers, so he did not open

[00:19:58] his mouth. This wonderful suffering servant who would do all of that for the nation and also for

[00:20:04] the world at this time. This was the question then. He's prophesied, but where is the Lamb of God?

[00:20:12] It is no surprise then that as we enter into the New Testament period, we find none other than John

[00:20:18] the Baptist, this last of the Old Testament prophets. He is the one that gets to provide

[00:20:22] the answer. The Old Testament asks, where is the Lamb of God? The New Testament speaks,

[00:20:27] behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, as he points to Jesus. And remember,

[00:20:33] John the Baptist, we studied him. His father was Zacharias. His father was a priest. He was the son

[00:20:38] of a priest. He would have been very familiar with the sacrificial system, how they had to be repeated

[00:20:43] day in, day out as a covering for sin. We read of this in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews 10.3. It says,

[00:20:50] but in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year, as in the very fact that they have to

[00:20:56] keep offering sacrifice tells them that their sins are not permanently taken away and they have to keep

[00:21:01] covering them. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Verse 11,

[00:21:07] every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never

[00:21:12] take away sins. But he, the Lamb, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all times, sat down at

[00:21:19] the right hand of God. You see, the sacrificial system pointed towards. It was incomplete. It could

[00:21:25] not take away sins. It only covered them. But the prophecy is that one day one Lamb would come who

[00:21:30] would take away the sins of the world. And this is the one that John is identifying for us here.

[00:21:37] In 1854, the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon, he was invited to speak at the Crystal Palace

[00:21:42] in London. If you don't know what the Crystal Palace was, it's not there today. It was destroyed by a fire

[00:21:47] in the 1930s. It was really the pride of London at the time, spoken of by people all over the world,

[00:21:52] this massive glass building that they had there in Hyde Park. And it was, he was invited there,

[00:21:59] I believe, for what they called the National Day of Humiliation, which was a day, a royal day,

[00:22:02] called by the king, by the royal family at the time to basically pray. There was a cholera epidemic,

[00:22:10] strangely enough, at that time. People were dying all over from cholera, and they said that this was

[00:22:14] a judgment from God, and the nation needed to pray. And Spurgeon was invited to preach. He preached

[00:22:18] to over 23,000 people that night in the Crystal Palace, one of the largest crowds for a preacher of that

[00:22:24] time. But Spurgeon tells a story. He narrates it himself. I'll read it from his autobiography.

[00:22:30] It says, in 1857, a day or two before preaching at the Crystal Palace, I went to decide where the

[00:22:36] platform should be fixed. And in order to test the acoustic properties of the building, I cried in a

[00:22:42] loud voice, behold, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. So as you can imagine,

[00:22:48] he's got an empty building in front of him, he comes up to test everything, and he just stands at

[00:22:52] the front, and he says, behold, the Lamb of God, takes away the sins of the world. And then he goes on,

[00:22:58] in one of the galleries, a workman who knew nothing of what was being done, heard the words,

[00:23:03] and they came like a message from heaven to his soul. He was smitten with conviction on account

[00:23:08] of his sin, put down his tools, went home, and after a season of spiritual struggling, he found

[00:23:12] peace and life by beholding the Lamb of God. And years after, he told this story to one who visited

[00:23:18] him on his deathbed. You'll find the full story in Spurgeon's writings. And I love that,

[00:23:23] those simple words, just like John the Baptist preached all those years ago,

[00:23:27] behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. They have power to save because of

[00:23:31] what the Lamb did. Thousands of years later, preacher uses those same words. They still have

[00:23:37] the power to save. Even today, those same words still have the power to save because the blood

[00:23:42] of the Lamb is always efficacious for us who believe. Let's go back to John chapter 1, verse 30.

[00:23:50] After this remarkable statement, he goes on, he says,

[00:23:53] This is he on behalf of whom I said,

[00:23:56] After me comes a man who has a higher rank than I, for he existed before me.

[00:24:00] I did not recognize him, but so that he might be manifested to Israel,

[00:24:04] I came baptizing in water. So John now further elaborates on who this Lamb is.

[00:24:09] And notice, it's an interesting statement if you pick up on it.

[00:24:12] He says, After me comes a man who existed before me. After me in the sense that John was six months

[00:24:19] older than Jesus. Remember the story where he did it in the birth narratives. Mary and Elizabeth

[00:24:25] gave birth to John the Baptist six months before Jesus. John the Baptist was older. So Jesus,

[00:24:31] in one sense, came after him. But he also says, But he was a higher rank than me because he existed

[00:24:36] before me. It's a very unusual statement. Think about it. Both after and before. What is this

[00:24:42] getting at? He existed after him in his incarnation, in the sense that that is when Jesus was

[00:24:47] incarnated in human flesh and born. But he existed before John the Baptist in the sense that he was

[00:24:53] the pre-existent Son of God, the eternal second person of the Trinity. This is emphasizing again

[00:24:59] the divine nature of the Messiah that we've seen already emphasized so many times. This is why he

[00:25:05] could be a Lamb. Remember one of the requirements for the sacrificial Lamb that we read there was the

[00:25:11] lamb had to be spotless and the lamb had to be blameless. There could not be a blemish on it.

[00:25:17] That means there could not be a single sin on this sacrifice if it was to take away the sins of the

[00:25:22] world. He had to be sinless. The only person who is sinless is God. He had to be completely holy.

[00:25:27] That's why this is emphasized here. Remember the birth narratives. And you shall call his name

[00:25:32] Emmanuel, God with us. That's what John is getting at here. He was the pre-existent

[00:25:38] eternal Son of God. He is the Messiah and now he has been born and he is here. Behold the Lamb of God.

[00:25:44] He also notes that it was at the baptism of Jesus that this ultimate identification really took place.

[00:25:50] Let's read verse 32 and we'll see this.

[00:25:53] John testified saying,

[00:26:14] So John references the event that happened at the baptism. Remember when we studied this we saw the Spirit of God descend as a dove and hover above the Messiah.

[00:26:24] And he relays to the Lord that he'd actually previously been told by the Lord that when you see this happening that's the one.

[00:26:31] He's the one. That's my official identification of who this Messiah, this Lamb of God is.

[00:26:37] So John says that he has seen this, he testifies and he bears witness that this is the Son of God.

[00:26:44] And if you remember our introductory studies, when we looked at the purpose of each gospel, what was one of the purposes of John's gospel that we said?

[00:26:52] John actually gives it to us right at the end. John 20 verse 31.

[00:26:55] He says,

[00:26:56] These things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

[00:27:05] That's the purpose of his gospel.

[00:27:06] That's why he's going to such lengths here to show you how the Son of God was identified.

[00:27:11] He's making that connection.

[00:27:13] The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world is the Son of God.

[00:27:17] That is John's testimony.

[00:27:18] The sacrifice is God himself.

[00:27:20] Behold, the Lamb of God.

[00:27:22] That's what all of this is building towards.

[00:27:23] This is the heart of the entire Bible.

[00:27:27] You really could say that.

[00:27:28] This is why I said it must be the center of our theology,

[00:27:30] which is why we've studied this just over the last couple of years.

[00:27:34] When you get to the final book of the Bible,

[00:27:37] what is the name in Revelation?

[00:27:39] Hundreds of names for Jesus Christ in Revelation.

[00:27:41] What is the most common title for Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation?

[00:27:44] It is the Lamb of God.

[00:27:47] You might not pick up on that.

[00:27:48] 31 times he's referenced as the Lamb of God in the book of Revelation.

[00:27:51] That's more than any other New Testament book.

[00:27:54] In Revelation chapter 5, you see the lamb, the slain lamb, it says actually,

[00:27:58] the sacrificed lamb in the center of the throne of God.

[00:28:02] And then you have that glorious heavenly scene in Revelation 5.

[00:28:05] I'll read it to you.

[00:28:06] It says,

[00:28:07] Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne

[00:28:10] and the living creatures, the elders,

[00:28:12] and the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.

[00:28:16] This is the whole choir of heaven here,

[00:28:19] a number that we can't really even fathom now,

[00:28:23] surrounding the throne of God,

[00:28:24] surrounding and right at the center is that slain lamb.

[00:28:27] And they are saying with a loud voice,

[00:28:29] Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom

[00:28:33] and might and honor and glory and blessing.

[00:28:36] And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth

[00:28:40] and under the earth and on the sea.

[00:28:42] Think of how expansive that description is.

[00:28:44] On the earth, under the earth, everywhere.

[00:28:46] In heaven.

[00:28:47] This is a descriptive phrase trying to just basically every single thing

[00:28:53] that exists in the physical cosmos and also in the spiritual realms.

[00:28:57] They will be heard saying,

[00:28:59] To him who sits on the throne and to the lamb,

[00:29:02] be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.

[00:29:06] For thousands of years,

[00:29:08] really since Adam first brought that sin into the world,

[00:29:12] the nation and the promise has been,

[00:29:14] there is a lamb coming who will take away the sins of the world.

[00:29:17] The question always was,

[00:29:18] Where is the lamb?

[00:29:20] The New Testament is the one that answers that question.

[00:29:23] Behold the lamb.

[00:29:24] He is here.

[00:29:25] He has arrived.

[00:29:26] And this is him.

[00:29:27] And I would say we're still in this phrase,

[00:29:29] this period of history now.

[00:29:31] This is where we are.

[00:29:32] Our testimony too should be to the world.

[00:29:35] Behold the lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

[00:29:38] But make no mistake about it.

[00:29:40] The cry of eternity,

[00:29:42] the sound that will resound throughout the heavily courtrooms for all eternity,

[00:29:47] will one day be worthy as the lamb.

[00:29:49] And that's what we shall all sing.

[00:29:51] Amen.

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