Revealing Jesus 29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I meant when I said, A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me. 31I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel. 1. Behold the Lamb of God. One Sunday night we were singing, Worthy is the lamb that was slain And a girl new to the church asked an honest question to her friend, Who is the lamb, and why did they slay him? There are many songs written about the lamb. They are singing worthy is the Lamb up in heaven, even as we speak. Jesus is the lamb of God, according to this passage. How could a man be a lamb? Isn t it degrading to call Jesus a lamb? Actually for Jesus to be the Lamb of God is loaded with meaning and is a message that we must understand. We see lambs appear throughout the Old Testament. Two important references to a lamb are found in: the Passover feast and the Sin offering. The Passover feast reminds us that Jesus came to free us from Satan s power and the Sin offering reminds us that Jesus came to forgive us of our past sins. The first is for our freedom. The second is for our forgiveness. Passover Lamb: Frees us from Satan s power. Sin Offering Lamb: Forgives us of our past sins. - Someone may be thinking, I can never get free from these sinful actions, thoughts, and habits that have controlled my life. That s a lie. As the Passover lamb, Jesus FREES US from Satan s power!
- Someone may be thinking, I can never be forgiven for some of the poor choices I have made That s a lie. As the Sin Offering lamb, Jesus FORGIVES US of our sins. - Is there anyone in this room that would testify that Jesus has FREED YOU from sins that you used to be bound to, so now you walk in victory over what used to defeat you? - Is there anyone in this room who would testify that Jesus has FORGIVEN YOU, so now you are no longer under the crippling shame and guilt of past decisions? * Maybe you need to experience freedom from sin and forgiveness from sin, look to Jesus. He is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world. The Passover Lamb According to Paul, the passover lamb was a picture of Jesus (1 Corinthians 5:7). God instituted Passover as an annual feast, commemorating a time when the Israelites were set free from slavery to Egypt. You may recall the story of how Moses brought ten plagues to Egypt, including frogs and locusts covering the country, and the nile river turning to blood, but it was only after the tenth plague that Pharaoh finally was forced to let the children of Israel go. During the tenth plague, an angel of death went forth and killed the firstborn male of every home. Only the homes that had killed an innocent lamb and applied the blood to the door, was spared from this judgment of God.
It was only the blood of the lamb that could save them. It couldn t be their blood, it couldn t be their list of good works written on the wall, it couldn t put their church membership certificate. It had to be the blood of the Lamb an innocent lamb, a lamb without blemish. The blood of the lamb was applied to the door posts, actually creating a perfect foreshadow of the cross. The blood from Jesus head and hands would be sprayed to the cross, looking much like the door. There was a pool of blood under each door, for the lamb was slain at the door. Under the cross was also a pool of blood. After applying the blood of the lamb to their door, then they would take the meat of the lamb, and feast on the lamb as a family. We aren t supposed to just apply the blood of the lamb for our safety, but we are to enjoy the lamb. We are to enjoy Him in community as well. Ok, so why did the lamb need to be killed? That was the method God chose to set the children of Israel free from slavery to Egypt. Without coincidence is that Egypt s symbol was a snake. So it was the sacrificial death of the lamb that broke the chokehold of the snake! Satan is spoken of a snake (see Ezekiel 28:13). He came as a snake in the garden of Eden and tempted Adam and Eve. A snake is looking for something to devour. Snakes can eat something way bigger than them. They can shallow a watermelon. A snake is poisonous - and knows how to inject poison and turn liquid blood into jello. A bigger snake knows how to take the air out of you little by little, until you suffocate to death. Satan is looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). He spits poison, which are deceptive and negative thoughts. Satan tries to get us so bound to sin, until we are unable to break free. Yet, here is the good news: The sacrificial death of Jesus has defeated Satan!
That s what John the Baptist was declaring. God has sent a lamb, who would die a sacrificial death. That death would break the hold of Satan. Just as the people of Israel didn t have to be slaves anymore to Pharaoh and the kingdom of Egypt, we don t have to be slaves any more to the devil or His Kingdom of darkness. So in case you missed it, here it is again: Jesus Christ came to be the Lamb of God. To die a sacrificial death, so that his blood can cover our hearts, so that we can be free from Satan s hold! The lamb provided the blood, but the Israelites had to apply the blood. The blood was made available by the grace of God. But, we have to apply the blood by our faith (trust) in Jesus. Jesus died on the cross and shed his blood for our sins. When you receive Jesus Christ into your life, and you put your faith in what He did for you on the cross, that s applying the blood to the door. Are you marked by the blood of Jesus? We need the blood of Jesus Christ the lamb of God to cover our hearts. We can t put our trust in our good works, church membership, or our own blood, sweat, and tears- we need to put our trust completely in the blood of Jesus that He shed on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. When you are marked with the blood, you have power over Satan. When the blood is applied, Satan s hold is legally broken. The blood of Jesus says, My property. Satan can t puppeteer your life anymore, those strings have been cut. When the Israelites broke free from Pharaoh s grip, they didn t have to live like they used to do! I don t have to live like I used to. I can break free from all of Satan s traps and holds, because I am marked by the blood of Jesus- who is the Lamb of God!
I can live free from all that the Kingdom of darkness entails: hopelessness, sin, depression, hatred, lust, fear, greed, hell, etc. The Israelites didn t have to live in Egypt another day in their lives. We don t either have to live oppressed by the devil another day in our lives, for we are the property of Jesus Christ! When the judgment of God came the firstborn was killed in every home that didn t have the blood. The firstborn represented their future. No Jesus, no future. When you receive Jesus, you secure your future. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them. (John 3:36) The Bible teaches that those who have rejected Jesus Christ will not have a future in the Kingdom of God. But those who have received Jesus, He protects your future and eternal life is yours. They didn t just apply the blood of the lamb, but feasted on the lamb: This reminds us that Jesus is not only Someone who saves us from eternal death, but Someone we ought to be feasting on and being nourished by. How do we feast on Jesus? When we praise and worship Him, when we spend time with Him in prayer and in the Scriptures. We meditate on Him. We talk about Him. As you feast on Him, you are nourished by Him. He will strengthen you! If you are growing spiritually weak and tired, you need to get back to feasting on Jesus. You will always be energized when you have feasted on Jesus.
Now, this lamb was a slow-cooked/roasted lamb. That lamb was roasted in fire. They were only able to eat after it had been sitting on the fire. The fire speaks of the sufferings of Jesus. Remember how much He suffered for you on the cross. It wasn t a fast death, but a slow roast. Don t feast on a raw Jesus, feast on a roasted Jesus. Don t forget that He died for us. He wasn t just a good man, a great teacher, a powerful healer, and an exorcist. He suffered and died on the cross to pay for our sins! He went through the fire- the beatings, the torture, the humiliation, and the piercing- so that we can enjoy His grace forevermore! He is a slow cooked lamb! - He took the heat, which was a picture of the wrath of God, so that we would not have to take the wrath of God (see 1 Thessalonians 1:10, Romans 5:9). I don t fear the eternal wrath of God, for Jesus took it for me. As I child of God I do qualify for loving, stern discipline- but not the eternal wrath of God. It s also interesting how they feasted on the lamb in community. It wasn t just a private practice, but a family event. They would gather in a house and feast on the Lamb together. That s a picture of a church family, coming together to enjoy Jesus corporately. There is something special about enjoying Him together. I get stuff when I seek Him personally. But, I experience something so amazing when we seek Him corporately. We need both. Sin Offering Lambs were also used as sin offerings (Leviticus 4). These lamb needed to be without blemish for it to be a sin offerings. It was a foreshadow of a perfect man- Jesus Christ giving His life to take away our sin.
The person offering the sin offering would put his hands on the head of the lamb and kill the lamb.they would transfer their sin onto the lamb, and the lambs righteousness would be transferred to the person. This person would then be forgiven. But those little lambs were only a preview of the ultimate Lamb of God. On the cross, our sin was transferred to Jesus and the righteousness of Jesus was transferred to us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Now, we are forgiven! That s why He is the lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. The guilty couldn t die for the guilty. It took the innocent. Yet, there was no innocent human beings. You may say, You don t know my grandma, she was a saint! Well, there is stuff your granny didn t tell you about. This is why God had to send Jesus- His eternal Son- who He had eternal fellowship with- to come and live the perfect life so that He could be the perfect sacrifice, so the innocent could die for the guilty, so that the guilty can be forgiven of their sin! When John the Baptist was saying, Behold the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world!, John was saying, Jesus Christ, the lamb of God, sacrificially died for my freedom and for my forgiveness. I don t need to struggle with bondage to sin anymore, for I no longer belong to Satan s kingdom (Romans 6:14). I don t have to be bound to evil thoughts. I don t have to act like how I used to act. I have a new master. I am the property of Jesus. I will not go back to Egypt. I don t have to be beating myself up over what happened in the past. I don t have to live in shame and condemnation. I can live bold as a lion, because the righteous are as bold as a lion, and I am righteous because of what Jesus- the lamb of God- has done for me. I m free and I m forgiven! Jesus is my forgiveness and my freedom!
- If Jesus was only my freedom, I d still live ashamed and grieving over my past mistakes. - If Jesus was only my forgiveness, I d live being frustrated and feeling hopeless that I can t overcome sin. 2. See the gold, not just the mold. John the Baptist did not see his younger cousin through natural eyes, but spiritual eyes. He knew who his cousin was, not physically, but in the purpose of God. It s so easy to just see people for who they are in the present. But, we need to be able to see who God has purposed them to be. Don t just call out the dirt, but the destiny. Don t just see the mold, but the gold. John saw the purpose of Jesus, the destiny of Jesus, and the gold in Jesus. He knew what God called Jesus to be and John kept speaking out what he saw. Our job is not to look for people s sins or weaknesses. It doesn t take much discernment to see the mold on people, verses the gold in them. Don t just see who they are physically, look to see their God-given purpose. We have to look for the destiny, not just the dirt. If all you see is the dirt, you will be speaking words of death instead of words of life. You may not invest in them either, but rather you will ignore them. Here is a worthwhile prayer to pray, God show me how you see this person. show me their purpose, show me their destiny. When you see how God sees, you can help that person to become who they are destined to be. How often we get stuck on the physical mold on someones life, when God put gold under the surface.
When you see the gold, and someone is living far below what you know they are made for and called for, you call them higher, because you see who they are to become. You help them to see who they are to be. Chances are that they can t see it yet. Jesus walked up to a group of un- educated, unpolished fishermen and said, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). While we credit the disciples for believing in Jesus, Jesus also believed in their potential! He invested in them. We think those disciples had such great faith, but it s not hard to believe in a Man who raises the dead. It s much harder to believe in fishermen who cuss, have anger issues, big egos, and will even pretend that they don t know you- and believe that they are destined to change the world! That was Jesus. For Jesus saw them not for their dirt, but their destiny, not just the mold, but the gold. Jesus saw their potential and helped them to perceive it for themselves and become who God had made them to be. These men ended up changing their knownworld, working miracles, leading churches, and impacting countless number of lives. Are you someone who speaks destiny over people? Or, do you give people names that Satan, who is the accuser of the brethren, is giving them? I d rather speak God s destiny over somebody rather than Satan s destruction. Jesus came not to destroy lives, but to redeem them (John 3:17). The power of life and death is in our tongues (Proverbs 18:21). Speak life over people, and prophesy their destiny into manifestation! Have you put a curse on anybody? Now, you might be think- ing, That s what witches and warlocks do. I ve never done that. Before you jump to that conclusion, see what the Bible tells us about curses. Jesus walked up to a fig tree and when He found it to be barren, He said, May no one ever eat fruit from you again! (Mark 11:14). After a few days, the disciples saw that same tree that Jesus spoke to, and saw how it had withered from the roots. So, Peter said to
Jesus, Rabbi, look, the fig tree which you have cursed has withered (Mark 11:21). Jesus cursed the fig tree by declaring failure over it s future. Like trees, people are destined to have fruitful lives-sharing their fruit and their flavor with the world. But, whenever you say that someone cannot be restored or successful, you are cursing them. The fig tree withered from the inside out, from the unseen realm to eventually the seen realm. When you speak curses over somebody, you are poisoning them from the inside out. The effects of those poisonous words may not be seen immediately, but will manifest sooner or later! It will first poison minds, then lives. Contrast that with this. When I first met my wife, she was struggling with her faith and her walk with God. I continually spoke destiny over her. I would often get prophetic words that would be about her destiny, and I would share them with her. I remember seeing her face light up as I shared with her what God had showed me about her destiny. To make a long story short, just about everything I prophesied over my wife came to pass! Seven years before my wife ever led worship from behind a keyboard, I prophesied over her that she would be a worship leader. When I gave her that prophesy, I had never even heard her sing. Today, she is a dynamic worship leader, who leads people into the presence of God. Those encouraging words helped unlock her destiny! 3. Reveal Jesus in all you do. I am to reveal Jesus. You occupation is just a platform. There is a greater purpose to our job than to make money. It s to share Jesus. I m not saying we beat up everyone with a Bible when we go to work. But, when you really seek Jesus you will leak Jesus. When you keep looking at Him, you will start looking like Him. Walk with Him and then walk like Him. You keep feasting on Jesus, you will burp Him to others. May it be our prayer that everywhere we go, we will reveal Jesus.
I believe when we stay fixated on the Lamb and we see people the way He sees them, we can t help but reveal Jesus. Even as a church. I want to share with you a story of how we had to privilege to reveal Jesus to some young people in San Pedro just a couple days ago.