By: Joe Buckingham
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
Thankful for our two Johns today: only John the Baptist says this and only the Gospel writer John records it. John the Baptist was in the sin business, offering people a ceremonial dunk (sprinkle?) in the Jordan River to express their remorse over their sins and a commitment to do better. But when he saw Jesus coming he knew a whole different thing had arrived: Jesus came not to clean up sins, but to take sin away — and not just for folks who took the hike to the Jordan, but for the whole world. The other way the ancient Jews dealt with their sin problem — their personal/national rebellion against the just and holy God — was Passover. Each year the leader of a family would pick a perfect lamb and sacrifice it to cover the sins of the ‘clan’. They knew enough about genetics to know that killing your best lamb was sacrificing generations of better animals; but they were willing to pay that price for a restored relationship with God. Jesus, accord to the Johns, was the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the human clan for all who believed. Do you?
Lord, you are the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep and you are the Passover Lamb. I worship you for the price you paid to give me a relationship with the just and holy God. Amen.
