Today's scripture: John 1:29-34
"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!"
I spent the weekend in the Oakland area of California. I presented at a
conference on Saturday, and then I drove about 20 miles to have dinner and
spend the night at my dad's. As I drove, I meandered through farm country and
passed by several sheep ranches. I was disappointed that there weren't any
fluffy little lambs bounding about.
Lambs are so cute, but when Christ is described as the "Lamb of God,"
the metaphor is anything but a cute fluffy lamb. According to a commentary by
Albert Barnes:
A 'lamb,' among the Jews, was killed and eaten at the Passover to commemorate
their deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 12:3-11). A
lamb was offered in the tabernacle, and afterward in the temple, every morning
and evening, as a part of the daily worship (Exodus29:38-39). The Messiah was predicted as a lamb led to the slaughter, to
show his patience in his sufferings, and readiness to die for man (Isaiah 53:7). A lamb, among the Jews, was also an emblem
of patience, meekness, gentleness. On 'all' these accounts, rather than on any
one of them alone, Jesus was called 'the Lamb.' He was innocent (1 Peter 2:23-25);
he was a sacrifice for sin the substance represented by the daily offering of
the lamb, and slain at the usual time of the evening sacrifice (Luke 23:44-46);
and he was what was represented by the Passover, turning away the anger of God,
and saving sinners by his blood from vengeance and eternal death (1 Corinthians 5:7). (Barnes' Notes on the Whole
Bible)
Our Savior, our Messiah, came to earth to shed His bled for us, to cover our
sin. He, the perfect, sinless Lamb, chose to suffer and die ... for us.
He is indeed the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."
Your sin. My sin.
How can we be anything but grateful? How can we do anything but surrender
everything to Him?
Today's scripture: John 1:24-28
We are so unworthy. So very unworthy.
We fail so often, sin so frequently, neglect our Lord time and time again. We
pass by opportunities to share the gospel. We don't denounce sin. We take
salvation for granted.
We are so unworthy.
John the Baptist said it well ... We're not even worthy to untie His sandal.
Yet, God sees worth in us. He sees something so worthy that He was willing to
send His Son—part of Himself—to die an excruciatingly painful death. And it was excruciatingly
painful. Before Easter, I watched The Passion of the Christ again. It's
extremely graphic, depicting the pain and torture our Savior experienced on our
behalf. Then yesterday, I watched the fifth part of The Bible series on The
History Channel (*) in which Jesus is beaten and crucified ... He did that for
unworthy me—and unworthy you.
We are loved. We are loved.
And the One whose sandal you are unworthy to untie sees you as worthy. In fact,
you are His child. His very, deeply loved child.
Amen!
*If you haven't watched the series, I encourage you to do so. Yes, there are
parts that aren't exactly biblically accurate, but for the most part, it's very
good. The final part, though, is amazing as it depicts the crucifixion,
resurrection, and start of the early church. Just the scene where the
resurrected Jesus comes into the room with the disciples (again, not 100
percent accurate) and gently touches their heads ... I wept.
Today's scripture: John 1:19-23
We Christians are blessed to have so many men and women of faith who have come
before us. The patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament. The apostles of
the New Testament. Early church fathers. Missionaries. Martyrs.
These saints (because, after all, each of us who follows God is a saint) have
paved the way for us to know our Lord even more deeply.
The men who followed God's call to scribe the very words of the Bible did as
John the Baptist did: They "made straight the way of the Lord." The
Bible has what many have called a "scarlet thread" that is woven from
Genesis through Revelation, and the entire Word tells of God's grace and His
plan for salvation.
The apostles laid the foundation for the church, the physical representation of
Christ's body. We learn so much about serving and loving God and others through
their words. Men like John and Charles Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, Mordecai Ham, and
Billy Sunday fulfilled their calling to influence others. Servants such as
Billy Graham and Charles Stanley continued to carry the torch through today and
have passed it to Bible teachers like Greg Laurie and Andy Stanley.
These men continue to "make straight the way of the Lord."
While many of us will never have a national or international forum to share the
gospel, we too can be forerunners. In our own circles of influence, we can
share God's truth. To our friends. Our families. Our children. Our co-workers.
We too can be used by God to help others see the truth, to "make straight
the way of the Lord."
Today's scripture: John 1:16-18
Grace upon grace. I love these words. Grace, as we know, means unmerited favor.
We receive salvation, not because of anything we've done, but because of what
God has done for us. Jesus' coming to earth to pay the penalty for our sins
allows us to be reconciled to our Father.
Even more, before Jesus' incarnation, God's people followed His law. They
received atonement for their sins through annual sacrifice of a perfect,
flawless lamb. After Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, however, He
Himself became truth, and we who follow Him are no longer under the law (Romans10:4; Galatians 5:8; Philippians 3:9).
While we still should adhere to some Old Testament commandments (no other gods,
honoring parents, not stealing or lying) and New Testament exhortations (living
the fruit of the Spirit), our main focus should be on loving and serving God—heart,
soul, mind, and strength—and loving and serving others.
And as we remember what God has done for us, simply because He loves us, we
should surrender ourselves to Him daily, seeking His will. Because if we don't,
if we continue to live as we choose, then we're saying, as Paul wrote,
"Christ died needlessly" (Galatians 2:21). So then, "What should we say? Should we keep on sinning, so that God’s
wonderful kindness will show up even better? No, we
should not! If we are dead to sin, how can we go on sinning?" (Romans6:1-2, CEV).
God has given the most amazing gift of grace to each of us who has chosen to
follow Him. Grace upon grace. The question is, are we living to honor that
gift?
Today's scripture: John 1:14-15
God, the Sovereign Creator of all things, the Alpha and Omega, the Almighty,
loves us so much. More than we can truly comprehend.
Even though He knew we'd rebel and turn from Him, He still loves us. He loves
us so much that He had a radical plan of reconciling us to Him. He would come
to earth in human form.
Think about it. The omnipresent God would confine Himself to flesh and bone. He
would experience pain and weariness. He would feel hunger. He would laugh with
His friends and weep at loss. He would strain and sweat, working muscles and
joints.
All because He loves us.
He would feel rejection and betrayal. Then, as we observed last week, He would
be beaten and nailed to a cross.
All because He loves us.
The need for shed blood of the perfect Lamb is still a mystery to me. God could
have provided salvation in another way. But instead, He chose a way that
reminds us that Jesus experienced all that we do.
All because He loves us.
More than we can comprehend.
Today's scripture: John 1:9-13
Yesterday, we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). He
is our Redeemer, our Messiah.
He is the "true Light" available to anyone who accepts salvation
through His death, burial, and resurrection. Yet, so many have not received
this gift ... and so many more will refuse it.
We who follow Christ know that we have become "children of God"
because we "believe in His name." And because of the grace we have
been given, we should desire nothing less than to serve God and to help others
find that same grace.
I've been focusing on how God is calling me to serve Him in this season of my
life. I've been blessed to serve on worship teams and in drama ministries. I've
had the privilege of leading a small group. Now that God has led me to a new
church, I'm prayerfully waiting on His guidance to lead me to whatever area of
ministry He has planned for me.
I desire to serve Him. But even more, I desire to be used by Him to reach
others so that they too might see the Light, so that they too might become
children of God.
As you reflect on yesterday's celebration, thank Jesus yet again for His
sacrifice on your behalf. And ask how you might serve Him and reach others for
Him.
