Shaun Rossi // The Gospel of John
The Reason for Jesus, the incarnate Word of God, is the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sin – Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!
“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
— John 1:29-34 (ESV)
Outline1. The Sin of the World
“Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”
— Ecclesiastes 7:20
“And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
— Hebrews 4:13
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.”
— Hebrews 9:27
2. Sin Requires a Lamb
“And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.”
— Genesis 22:7-8
“Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
— 1 Corinthians 5:7
“And you shall say to them, This is the food offering that you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs a year old without blemish, day by day, as a regular offering.”
— Numbers 28:3
“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”
— Isaiah 53:7
“No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.”
— Revelation 22:3
3. The Lamb Takes Away the Sin
“He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.”
— 1 Peter 2:22
“Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”
— Hebrews 9:22
4. Behold the Lamb
“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”
— Isaiah 45:22
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
— John 3:16
“... saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’”
— Revelation 5:12
Sound Check: The Power of the Lamb
Charles Haddon Spurgeon tells the following story regarding a sound check before a preaching engagement where he used John 1:29 as his sound bite rather than, “check 1,2,3..."
“In 1857, a day or two before preaching at the Crystal Palace, I went to decide where the platform should be fixed; and, in order to test the acoustic properties of the building, cried in a loud voice, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” In one of the galleries, a workman, who knew nothing of what was being done, heard the words, and they came like a message from heaven to his soul. He was smitten with conviction on account of sin, put down his tools, went home, and there, after a season of spiritual struggling, found peace and life by beholding the Lamb of God.”
It was on his deathbed that this man told the story of his conversion, the result of God speaking to him through a single verse of Scripture uttered by Spurgeon. When Spurgeon preached in that building a day or two later, it was to a crowd of 23,654 people. But such is the power of Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin not only of the world, not only of a potential 23,654 people, but of one lone man working in a building when a preacher came to test the acoustics. This man will be forever grateful that when Spurgeon stood up front to do a sound check, he did not simply count to 3!
QUOTATIONS
“The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less...
”The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.”
— Timothy Keller
Small group Study
Understand the text
1. What is packed into the phrase “sin of the world” in verse 29?
2. Why is a lamb required in to deal with sin? See verses cited in point 2 of the sermon (Gen 22:7-8; 1 Cor 5:7; Numb 28:3; Isaiah 53:7 - What is different about the lamb in this last passage?)
3. Why was the Spirit able to rest on Jesus (v 32)? What does this indicate about the kind of Lamb Jesus was?
4. How does Jesus “take away” (v 29) sin?
5. Paraphrase “Behold the Lamb” with your own words.
Apply the text
1. What does “sin” mean in our culture today? How would most non-Christians react when told that blood needs to be shed to atone for their sin(s)?
2. If the cost of our forgiveness was Jesus’ death as our substitute, what then would it mean for us to be forgiving in our relationships?
3. What are some of the things - goals, obligations, desires - that you “behold” instead of the Lamb?
Resources
Article: “Jesus, Our Substitute,” by R. C. Sproul
Song: “Hallelujah, What a Savior!”
“Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
spotless Lamb of God was he;
full atonement can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!”
