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BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD

 

PLEASE READ IN THE BIBLE (JOHN 1:29)

 

Our scripture text in (John 1:29) says, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”.  Here is a most profound statement in the Word of God.  What makes the contents so profound is what it says to us.  Among other things it says;

  • GOD HAS A LAMB.  Why would the Sovereign of the Universe need a Lamb?  For what purpose?  THIS IS GOD’S PROVISION.
  • THE LAMB’S NAME IS JESUS.  The scripture text reveals the identity of the Lamb.  It is Jesus.  His Name means “Jehovah Savior” or “Jehovah saves”.  He can be your Savior if you believe on Him and receive Him into your heart.
  • THE LAMB OF GOD WILL TAKE AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD.  This is indeed a profound statement.  There is no man that can take away sin.  There is no angel of God that can take away sin.  There is no animal sacrifice that can be offered that can take away sin.  Only the Lamb of God can take away the sin of the world.  He is the only one who can take away your sins.  THIS IS GOD’S REMEDY.
  • GOD SAYS, “BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD”.  Dear reader, God wants YOU to “Behold the Lamb of God”.  The word “behold” as used in this verse means “to take heed”, “to look intently, with earnest contemplation”, “to look upon with the object of learning”.  Have YOU ever really “Beheld the Lamb of God” from the Word of God?  THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.

 

In this message we want to “Behold the Lamb of God” with the purpose of learning about Him.  There are some specific things that God wants us to behold about the Lamb of God.  By way of outline we want to consider the following:

 

  1. BEHOLD THE WITNESSES OF THE LAMB OF GOD.

·        The Witness of the “Coats of Skin”.  (Genesis 3:21)

·        The Witness of the Passover Lamb.  (Exodus 12:3-7; 12, 13)

·        The Witness of the Leviticus Offerings.  (Hebrews 10:1-4)

·        The Witness of God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice his son.  (Genesis 22:1-13)

  1. BEHOLD THE WALK OF THE LAMB OF GOD.  (John 1:36)
  2. BEHOLD THE WORK OF THE LAMB OF GOD.  (Isaiah 53:7) (1 Peter 1:19)
  3. BEHOLD THE WORTH OF THE LAMB OF GOD.  (Revelation 5:9-14)
  4. BEHOLD THE WIFE OF THE LAMB OF GOD.  (Revelation 19:7-9)
  5. BEHOLD THE WRATH OF THE LAMB OF GOD.  (Revelation 6:15-17)

 

Let’s consider these points one by one beginning with;

 

1. BEHOLD THE WITNESSES OF THE LAMB OF GOD.

These witnesses are all found in the Old Testament of the Bible.  It says in (Romans 15:4) “Whatsoever things were written aforetime (the Old Testament) was written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”  Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, it says in (Luke 24:27) “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself”.  Let’s notice first of all;

 

  • The Witness of the “Coats of Skin”.

It says in (Genesis 3:21) “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them”.  Our first parents, Adam and Eve fell into sin when they heeded the words of the serpent (Satan) and disobeyed God.  Because our first parents fell into sin, we are all born into this world with a sinful nature.  We are sinners by nature and by practice.  It says in (Romans 5:12) “As by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”.  After Adam and Eve sinned it says in (Genesis 3:7) “The eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons”.  Satan “stripped them of their “robe of innocence” and left them naked and unfit for God’s presence.  They tried to remedy their condition.  “They were doing the best they can”.  Many people try to deal with sin in their own life by doing the same, “doing the best they can”.  Does this describe you my friend?  Like the fig leaves, plucked from their parent stem that would not stand the test of time, so to, your self efforts to deal with sin will not avail before a Holy and Righteous God.  The “coats of skin” were provided by God.  The need of Adam and Eve could only be met by the death of another.  The blood of an innocent victim had to be shed.  It was a foreshadowing of a greater sacrifice of THE LAMB OF GOD that would provide the believing sinner with “the robe of righteousness and the garment of salvation”.  Dear reader, have YOU been clothed with these salvation garments?

  • The Witness of the “Passover Lamb”.

The story of the “Passover Lamb” is found in (Exodus 12).  The nation of Israel was in bondage in the land of Egypt.  God said He would deliver His people from Egyptian bondage.  Pharaoh, however, would not let the people go.  This resulted in God bringing a series of plagues upon the Egyptians.  The last plague is stated in (Exodus 11:5) “All the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die”.  God said “all”, this included the firstborn of Israel as well as those who were Egyptians.  God, in His mercy, made provision whereby there was a way of escape.  The people had to “take a lamb”.  Their lamb had to be “without blemish”.  They had to “kill the lamb”.  They had to “take of the blood” and apply it to the side posts and upper door post of their house.  God said to them, (Exodus 12:12, 13) “I will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt”.  “I will execute judgment: I am the Lord”.  “The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will Passover you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt”.  Those who were sheltered by the blood of the lamb were saved from the judgment of God.  Dear reader, we can easily see how the “Passover lamb” is a witness of, and prefigures “The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world”. 

  • The Witness of the “Leviticus Offerings”.

In the book of Leviticus we read about the institution of animal sacrifices and instructions given to Israel regarding these sacrifices.  Various innocent animals were sacrificed, especially the offering of a spotless, unresisting lamb.  Concerning these sacrifices, we read in the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews, (Hebrews 10:1, 3, 4) “Those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually can never make the comers thereunto perfect.”  “In those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year”.  “For, it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins”.  Since animal sacrifices can not take away sins, why then did God institute this system?  They could only “cover” sin until the coming of THE LAMB OF GOD”.  The animal sacrifices were given as a witness of the Lamb of God.  They were types and pictures of Him who was to come.  Only the Lamb of God can take away the sin of the world.  Only the Lamb of God can take away YOUR sin. 

  • The Witness of God’s Command to Abraham to “sacrifice his son”.

We read in (Genesis 22:1, 2) “God did test Abraham --- And He said take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering”.  As father and son walked up the mount, Isaac asks the question, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”  “And Abraham said, my son, GOD WILL PROVIDE HIMSELF A LAMB FOR A BURNT OFFERING”.

Abraham was put to the test and Abraham passed the test.  As Abraham lifted up his hand to slay his son Isaac, God said to him, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad”.  It then says in (Genesis 22:13) “And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns”.  “Abraham took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son”.  Notice the multiple witnesses of the LAMB OF GOD in this story.  They include;

    1. The father who was willing to offer the son he loved.  It says in (John 3:16) “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  Unlike Abraham, God did not spare His Son.  It says in (Romans 8:32) “God … spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all”.
    2. The ram caught in the thicket.  This speaks of the substitute that God provided.  When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He was YOUR substitute.  He died in your place.  
    3. The words that Abraham spoke to his son, “God will provide Himself a lamb”.  It was a prophetic utterance, spoken hundreds of years before Jesus Christ came into the world as the Lamb of God.  This leads us to the next thing that God wants us to behold concerning the Lamb of God.

 

2. BEHOLD THE WALK OF THE LAMB OF GOD.  (John 1:36)

God wants you to “behold the walk of the Lamb of God”.  We read in, (John 1:36) “And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he (John) saith, “BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD”.  Here is the fulfillment of the words of Abraham, spoken many hundreds of years before, that God would provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering.  Dear reader, we are reminded from these words that the Lamb of God was here in this world.  He walked in this scene.  He left the glory of Heaven and came down in condescending grace.  The “Lord of glory” became the “Lamb of God”.  It says in (I Timothy 3:16) “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh”.  Why did the Son of God leave the glory of heaven to become the Lamb of God?  It says in (1 Timothy 1:15) “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”.  Dear reader, Christ Jesus came into the world to save YOU.  Have you ever acknowledged you’re sinful condition before a holy God?  God says in His Word, (Romans 3:9-11)”All under sin”, “There is none righteous, no not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God”.  “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God”.  These words form part of “God’s Portrait” of sinful mankind.  Man is not only a sinner, he is a guilty sinner and under the condemnation and wrath of God.  It says in, (Romans 3:19) “All the world guilty before God”.  There is no question that man is unable to provide a way of salvation by his own efforts, be they ever so religious, righteous or remarkable.  God has pronounced the verdict, “Guilty before God”.  God has passed the sentence, “Death”.   (Revelation 20:15; 21:8) “Whosoever was not found in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire”.  “The lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: This is the second death”.   Is your name in God’s “book of life”?  It can be because God made a way of salvation for all who will believe.  God, Himself, has provided the lamb for sacrifice. “BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD”.  This brings us to …………

 

3.BEHOLD THE WORK OF THE LAMB OF GOD. (ISAIAH 53:7) (1 PETER 1:19)

God wants you to “behold the work of the Lamb of God”.  When Jesus was twelve years of age, His parents, “found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions”. (Luke 2:46).  He said to His parents, (Luke 2:49) “Know ye not that I must be about my Fathers business”.  The Fathers business was the sacrifice of the Lamb of God on the cross at Calvary.  When the Lord Jesus came into the world it was for the purpose of dealing with the issue of sin.  “BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD, WHICH TAKETH AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD”.  The divine commandment in the Word of God is, (Hebrews 9:22) “Without shedding of blood is no remission (no forgiveness)”.  The Lord Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of God, had to go to the cross, (Hebrews 2:9) “That He by the grace of God should taste death for every man”.  Dear reader, it was on account of your sins and mine that He had to suffer there.  (Isaiah 53:7) “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her Shearer’s is dumb, so He opened not His mouth”.  It says in (Isaiah 53:6) “The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all”.  It says also in (1 Peter 1:19) that those who are redeemed (set free from the penalty, the power and ultimately the presence of sin) are redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”.  Dear reader, are you saved?  Have you ever been “born again”.  Was there a definite time in your life when you were convicted of your sins and repented of your sins?  Have you ever believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and received Him as your very own personal Savior?   Have you called upon the Lord to save you?  (Acts 16:31) “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”.  (Romans 10:13) “Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved”. 

 

4. BEHOLD THE WORTH OF THE LAMB OF GOD. (REVELATION 5:9-14)

God wants you to “behold the worth of the Lamb of God.  Revelation, chapter 5, describes a heavenly scene.  When the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, finished the work the Father had given Him to do, gentle hands took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a new tomb.  On the third day He rose again, out from among the dead.  (See Scriptures, Matthew 28:6, 7; 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4).  Some forty days later He ascended into Heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.  (See Scriptures, Acts 1:9-11; Revelation 3:21).  The Lamb of God is in Heaven today.  See (Revelation 5:6-8).  Those in Heaven, having been saved and born again by the Spirit of God,  sing a new song, (Revelation 5:9)”Thou (the Lamb of God) art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation”.  Notice the theme of their song, the worthiness of the Redeemer, and the greatness of His redemption.  Dear reader, will you be in Heaven, singing the worth of the Redeemer?  Please read also verses 10 through 14 about the universal and public acknowledgement of the worth of God and of the Lamb. 

 

5. BEHOLD THE WIFE OF THE LAMB OF GOD (REVELATION 19:7-9)

God wants you to “behold the wife of the Lamb of God”.  It says in these verses, (Revelation 19:7, 9) “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready”.  “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb”.  There will be a wedding in Heaven.  Just as a wedding should be, it will be a time of gladness and rejoicing.  These verses in Revelation 19 speak of the marriage of the Bridegroom (Jesus Christ) and the bride (the church).  The “church” in the Bible, consists of all who are saved, “born again” by the Spirit of God.  The apostle Paul in writing to the Corinthian believers said, (2 Corinthians 11:2) “I have espoused (joined) you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ”.  It is a metaphor speaking of the relationship established between Christ and the church, corporately, and the believer individually.  It says in (Ephesians 5:25, 27) “Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it”.  That He might present it to Himself a glorious church”.  Will YOU be at the wedding?  Christ gave Himself for YOU.  Are YOU saved?  If not, why not?  What are YOU going to do about this matter?  If your not at the wedding you will be under His wrath. 

 

6. BEHOLD THE WRATH OF THE LAMB OF GOD. (REVELATION 6:15-17)

God wants you to “behold the wrath of the lamb of God.  It says in (Revelation 6:15-17) “The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captions, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand”.  Dear reader, it is a wise person who seeks to be sheltered from the coming wrath of God.  These verses describe 7 classes of people, from the great to the small, who are hiding from God out of fear.  They describe a scene of universal terror.  It says in (Acts 17:30, 31) “God …now commandeth all men every where to repent:  Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man (Jesus Christ) whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead”.  Have YOU repented of your sins and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior?  He will either be your Savior or your Judge.  Neutral you cannot be.  (Acts 17:32-34) describe the response of those who heard these words of the apostle Paul.  They fell into 3 categories.  It says that “When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, SOME MOCKED, AND OTHERS SAID, WE WILL HEAR THEE AGAIN OF THIS MATTER”.  HOWBEIT CERTAIN MEN BELIEVED”.  In which category are you my friend?  Are you a mocker, a procrastinator, or will you be a believer?

 

My friend, I can tell you on the authority of the Word of God, that God loves you.  He is not willing that any should perish.  He wants you to be saved.  This is why He sent His Beloved Son to die on the cross for your sins.  You are traveling the “highway of life”.  Now that you have read this message, you have come to “the crossroads”.  Which way will you go?  Will you continue to reject the Savior and God’s offer of salvation?  Or, will you believe on Him and receive Him as your Lord and Savior?  It is your decision and your responsibility. 

 

Please give this matter your most serious attention.  Will you be a believer or a non-believer?  Your eternal destiny depends on your decision.

 

Christian Messenger