But before we begin to explore John 1, let's come before our God and King. Let's pray once more. The Lord, you are the sovereign King. Nothing happens by luck, by circumstance, by chance. You have ordained all things for your glory. Everyone who is gathered here this evening is gathered because of your sovereign, providential hand. And the sermon that they are to hear has been ordained by you. O God, they will hear by your grace of the Lamb of God. They will hear of sins forgiven in Christ Jesus. And may that same sovereign hand be at work drawing people to yourself, calling people to yourself, saving souls. Oh God, we trust in your most sovereign, gracious, merciful hand. Bring glory to your name. Edify the saints, convict the sinner, convert the sinner. And Lord, As always, may you receive all honour, glory and praise. In the name of Christ, Amen. Well, John 1 verse 29 is our sermon text this evening. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Bible is a bloody book. We read in Scripture of sacrifices and blood being painted on altars. We read of animals being killed and their blood being drained into bowls. We read of creatures being killed and their blood dipped and painted on a priest's ear. The Bible is a bloody book. But all these creatures being killed, all these animals being sacrificed, all the individual lambs and oxen and pigeons, all of these sacrifices point to the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the scarlet thread that ties the Old Testament to the New Testament. Jesus Christ is the bridge that brings us from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Christ is the central picture of every sacrifice. In Romans chapter 6 and verse 23, we're told that the wages of sin is death. And who amongst us has not sinned? Who amongst us has not feel God at some point who amongst us has truly loved God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. And the wages of sin is death. And all of these sacrifices, all of these animals that have been killed, all of these sacrifices that have been slaughtered, they remind us that God requires, no, God demands death. And so, as sinners, We either die in this life and we pay our penalty in the depths of hell or someone else dies in our place and someone else pays our penalty. all those Old Testament sacrifices, all those lambs that were killed, all those animals that were brought to the altar and slaughtered on the altar, they couldn't pay this penalty. No mere creature could pay this penalty. But praise God, Jesus Christ is no mere creature. Jesus Christ is no mere man. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world. This text, this truth, can almost be considered the core of the Christian faith. Notice firstly, in verse 29, the title of Jesus Christ. He is the Lamb of God. John the Baptist is our speaker. John has been testifying in the wilderness. He's been speaking to Israel. He's been crying out, repent and believe. He's been telling all of Israel that the Messiah is coming. The Messiah is on his way. The Messiah is making his way towards us. He's coming. And now John spies the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is coming towards John. And John points to Jesus Christ and says, there, that's the Messiah. There, that's the Lamb of God. This is the title of Jesus Christ. But notice what John, the gospel writer, has told us. This Jesus Christ in John chapter 1, we're told He is the Word of God. He is God. He is God the Creator, God the Sustainer, God the Upholder of all things in this universe. Nothing that was made, nothing that was created was done so without Him. This is God. All of creation should bow down and worship Jesus Christ. All of creation should recognize Him as Lord and God. We as humans, we recognize prime ministers and presidents. We recognize kings and queens. We understand their authority. We understand that they should be reverenced. Christ Jesus, God, He should be reverenced. He should be worshipped. He should be exalted. And yet what does John call him? The Lamb of God. Not a lion. Not a creature of power. Not something prestigious. But a lamb. Something that's weak. Something that's timid. Something that's meek. a lamb. The Messiah, the one you've been telling us all about John, you call him a lamb. Surely you could have called him the Lion of Judah. He's called that elsewhere in scripture. But John points to Jesus Christ and tells us he is the Lamb of God. Even in our human capacity, we understand that the lamb is not a creature of any real significance. It doesn't project power. Take, for instance, the flash car. It's called Jaguar, not sheep. The Ferrari, its logo is a stallion, something that intimates power, something that shows its almost royalty. It's not a lamb. Why does John point to Jesus Christ and say he is the lamb of God? John's supposed to be the warm-up act. He's the best man. He's supposed to be setting the stage for Jesus Christ. And then he says, there's the Lamb of God. Why? We understand that titles have meaning. Titles have power. Titles communicate something. Consider boxers as they enter into the ring. The announcer says, and in the red corner we have Lights Out Laurie. And then his opponent comes in and it's second to none Michaels. These names communicate, these titles communicate that these men are fighters. That these men will put up a good show, that they will fight one another, that it will be difficult to win one against the other. These titles tell us something about the man. Compare the titles to Glass Chin Gary. or Easy Beat Barry. These names tell us that these second individuals, they won't put up a fight, they're not strong, they're weak. Titles convey meaning. So why does John, when the Messiah has appeared, when Jesus Christ has appeared, why does he call him the Lamb of God? What does this title tell us about Jesus Christ? Well, in the most general sense, it tells us that Christ is meek. In Isaiah 53 we read of the Lord Jesus Christ and we read that He is the Lamb of God. He is the promised Lamb and we're told that He is meek. He comes to this world to save sinners but He comes and there is nothing that would make us esteem Him. He comes with no real royalty, nothing that would mark Him out. He comes meek and lowly. In essence, Isaiah tells us that this Lamb of God is a bog-standard, ordinary lamb. He's ordinary, run-of-the-mill, nothing stands out, nothing shocks from his outer appearance. This is God. This is the Lord. He doesn't come with a helo around His head. He doesn't come with angels announcing every step. Creation doesn't bow down and worship Him. This is the Lamb of God who comes to save His people. But, even more importantly, this term, Lamb of God, It would, when it was announced by John the Baptist, it would create a chain reaction of historical thoughts in an Israelite's mind. They would hear Lamb of God and they would think back to their past. They would hear Lamb of God and they would remember that the Lamb has such a prominent place in their history. That the Lamb has been used by God time and time again. Consider the Lamb of God He appears in Genesis chapter 22. In the first book of the Bible in chapter 22, God requires a sacrifice. And he has chosen a man called Abraham. And he has picked Abraham and promised Abraham, Abraham, you are childless, but you will have descendants. Abraham, you are old and your wife, she is old and she is barren. but I will provide you with a child. And from this child you will have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. You will have descendants as numerous as the particles, as the sand on the seashore. And God in his mercy and God in his kindness provides this child and Abraham and Sarah call him Isaac. And then God decides and God tests Abraham. Abraham, I want you to take your son, your only son, the son of promise, and I want you to sacrifice him. I want you to kill him. So Abraham, in faith, goes to a mountain, ties his son down, And in the moment that he goes to sacrifice his son, God says, stop. And God, instead of sacrificing Isaac, provides a lamb. And in that moment, God has promised that he will be the God who provides. This is a momentous time in the life of Abraham. It's a moment that Israel would look back on, understanding that God will provide the sacrificial lamb. Or more so, the Israelites, when they hear the term lamb of God, they would think of the Exodus. They would think of the Passover lamb in Exodus chapter 12. In the second book of the Bible, God's people, these Israelites, who have come from Abraham's line, who have come from Abraham's descendants, they're under oppression by Egypt. They're in slavery to Egypt. And God raises up a man called Moses. And through Moses, God will deliver his people. God will rescue the Israelites. And so, plague after plague is sent to Pharaoh. Moses comes before this man, this king, and says, let God's people go. And Pharaoh rejects the offer. Pharaoh says, no, I will not relent. So God sends a plague. And then Moses comes back and says, let my people go. And Pharaoh says no, and God sends a plague. And nine times this has happened until finally the 10th plague occurs. Pharaoh, let my people go. No, I will not relent. Fine. Then an angel of death will go throughout the land and he will strike down the firstborn of every single family. But there is escape. Take a lamb. Sacrifice the lamb. Paint its blood on your doorstep. And in doing so, the angel of death will pass over your house. Your child will be spared. So the Israelites obey. They take the lamb, they slaughter the lamb, they paint the blood on the door. The angel of death passes over and Egypt, who have disobeyed, their sons die. And so Pharaoh finally relents and he lets the people go. And ever since, the people of Israel have celebrated the Passover meal, where they take a lamb They take a lamb to remember God's kindness. They take a lamb to remember God delivering them from the oppression of Egypt. Israel, when they hear the lamb of God, would think to the Passover. They would think and recall the wonderful mercy and grace of God. But not only that, Israel, when they hear about the Lamb of God, they would think of the sacrificial Lamb who would save them from their sins. In Isaiah 53, we're told of the Lamb who would come. Isaiah makes a promise, he makes a prophecy He tells us, He tells Israel and by extension us, that there is one coming who will save His people from their sins. And this Saviour will be like a lamb. This Saviour will die and He will go before those who judge Him, those who will put Him to death. He will go before them like a lamb. He will go silently. He will go willingly. He will go submissively. He will go like a lamb and he will die for his people. Israel have been told by John the Baptist, there's the Messiah. He's the lamb of God. And in their own minds, they would pick up the sacrificial language. They would pick up the Passover imagery. They would pick up the promised Savior from Isaiah. They would understand all of this. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ is behind all these pictures. All of these pictures and these promises and these prophecies, they are pointing forward to Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God. And notice what John the Baptist calls him. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Not a Lamb of God. Not one of many Lambs of God. Not another Lamb of God. He is the final, full, complete Lamb of God. He is the absolute Lamb of God. This is the final Lamb of God. This is the Lamb of God who will die once for all. The perfect sacrifice. He is the Lamb of God. Christ will save his people from their sin. He is the Lamb of God. But notice secondly, His title is the Lamb of God, but his task is to take away the sin of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ comes with a purpose. Each gospel writer tells us, in Matthew's gospel he will be called Jesus. He will save his people from their sins. In Mark's gospel we're told that Christ Jesus did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom. In Luke's gospel we're told that he came to seek and to save the lost. And in John's gospel we're told that he came as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Each of these gospel writers, they hit upon the issue, the great dilemma of humanity, the great problem with the human race. We're sinners. All of us have sinned against holy God. All of us have failed to follow God. Not one of us has loved God with heart, soul and mind. Not one of us has fully followed God's law. No, we are sick with sin. From our heads to our hearts, we are sick with sin. We're diseased with depravity. We are sick with sin. We're polluted with perversity. We're unclean. My friends, scripture tells us our great problem is that we are under the power of sin. John will tell us in his gospel that we are spiritually dead. Because of our sin, we are dead. dead in trespasses, dead to all spiritual light, dead to the wonders and the glories of God, dead to all spiritual stimulus. And because of this spiritual deadness, we are also spiritually darkened, for the light of the gospel, the light of the glory of God is evident around us. Natural revelation, the wonderful The wonderful truth about God as creator, it's evident even in creation. Even as we sit here right now under the trees, as the sun shines, God's nature, his nature as creator is evident to us all. And yet despite this, we refuse to come to him. We refuse to worship him. Instead we insist on worshipping ourselves. Instead we insist on setting up an idol and worshipping it. We are spiritually dead. We're spiritually darkened. We're spiritually dominated. John tells us that anyone who sins is a slave to sin. We have no hope of undoing the slavery. We have no hope of being rescued by ourselves. We have no hope of throwing off these chains. Instead, we will live and serve sin as our master. And so we are spiritually dead, spiritually darkened, spiritually dominated. And worst of all, we are spiritually damned. For God demands justice. We have sinned against holy God. We have failed holy God. We have walked in darkness. We have purposely turned our back against God. We have purposefully raised our fist against God. We have purposefully pointed our finger almost in the face of God and said, I will not have your ways. I will live my own way. I will be the master of my own destiny. I will be God. and God demands justice. Oh, I didn't know. I didn't know I'd broke God's law. You do. Your conscience cries out when you sin against God. Boys and girls, when you lie, when you refuse to tell the truth to your mum and dad, even then your conscience tells you that you've sinned against your mother and your father, but you've sinned against almighty God. We must pay the penalty. Fine. I'll be good. I'll give to charity. I'll come to church. I'll walk old ladies across the street. I'll buy them groceries. I'll go to this event and that event. I'll support anything. I'll even read my Bible. I'll pray. I'll work my way into heaven. I'll pay off the debt. I'll be good, I promise. We can't work our way out of this debt. We can't work our way out of the wages of sin. We can't pay off this penalty. In fact, scripture tells us that everything done without faith daily adds to our debt. All those good things, for they are good things, they're not of faith, and they will only add to our daily debt. They will only add to the wages of sin. But hallelujah, hallelujah that there's a savior. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Here's the solution. Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. the Lamb of God, the sacrificial Lamb. He will go to a mountain, and on that mountain, Mount Calvary, the sacrifice will not be stopped. God, in that moment, will sacrifice His Son, because He loves the world. And He will sacrifice His Son, and His Son will bear upon His back the penalty, the punishment due for our sin. Christ is that sacrificial lamb, the begotten son, the lamb chosen by God to bear the sin of the world. Not only that, Christ, he is that great Passover lamb. He will be sacrificed, he will die, so that God will rescue and redeem his people. In that moment, Christ, the lamb of God, will die upon Calvary's hill. And in that moment, God the Father will look upon his sacrifice and he will say, this has been accepted. In that moment, our sin is transferred to Jesus Christ. And in that moment, Christ Jesus has secured our redemption. Christ Jesus will set his people free. This great Passover lamb rescues and redeems his people. this great lamb of God. He is the one that Isaiah prophesied and pointed to. He is the one that Isaiah promised would come and he would go before his accusers. He would go to death silent as a lamb. He would not open his mouth. The Lord Jesus Christ Creator of heaven and earth, Christ who has done no wrong, Christ who is sinless, perfect, unblemished, goes to the cross of Calvary willingly. Christ looks at our sin and he says, you cannot pay the penalty. You cannot win this fight. You cannot dissolve the debt. But I can. And I will. Because I am the Lamb of God. He goes to the cross. He pays the penalty. This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And notice, He takes away the sin of the world. There is no specific sin mentioned here. Christ went to the cross, the Lamb of God died for all sin. It does not say that he is the Lamb of God only for the sin of murder. He is not simply the Lamb of God, only for the sin of stealing. He is not simply the Lamb of God, only for the most wicked, heinous sin. No, Christ Jesus, He is the Lamb of God. He has died for every sin, from the grossest, most depraved act, right the way to the most tiniest, littlest of white lies. Christ Jesus has died for the sin of the world. My friend, what keeps you from coming to this Christ? It can't be that you're too bad. It can't be that your sin is too much. It can't be that your sin is far too wicked, that Christ couldn't possibly have died for you, because Christ has made a promise. He has died for the sin of the world. Somehow have you outmaneuvered this promise? Somehow have you out sinned the sin which Christ died for? No, you're not too wicked. You're not too depraved. You're not too sinful. You're not too bad to come to this Jesus Christ. And also, this Christ, he dies for the sin of the world. The Jews were waiting for a Messiah that would save the Jewish people. This Lamb comes for the Jew and for the Gentile. He comes for all people. This Lamb of God dies for the rich and the poor. He dies for the educated and the uneducated. He dies for the boy and the girl, for the adult and the child. This Christ dies for all peoples, in every place, in every nation, at all times. The writer John. Later he will write other letters. In 1 John chapter 2 and in verse 2 he says that Christ Jesus is the propitiation, that Christ is the one who is born and taken God's wrath and removed God's wrath and he has done it for his saints and he has done it for the world. Even further we get to the book of Revelation where John receives a vision And in this vision, John turns and he sees a people, people in heaven from every tribe, every tongue and every nation, people from all over the world. Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, died for the world. He died for people like you and I. He died for everyone, for all peoples. He died for His people, elect from every nation. This is the Lamb of God. This is the work of Jesus Christ. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Oh friends, that you would know this Jesus, that you would behold Him. Because John the Baptist tells us, behold Him, look at Him, wander at Him, gaze at Him. Don't simply take a glance at the God man. I have tried my best by God's help to present this Jesus before you. Would you look at him? Would you behold him? Would you stop looking at self, stop looking to other forms of salvation, good works or the church or tithing or whatnot, but look and behold Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. There's absolutely nothing to prevent you from beholding Christ. The doors of mercy are not closed. The invitation to come follow me, the invitation to behold Christ, it is there. Look at him. So for you who are spiritually dead, look at the Lord Jesus for life. For you who are spiritually dominated, look at the Lord Jesus for freedom. For you who are spiritually depraved, look at the Lord Jesus for purity. For you who are spiritually damned, with no hope but hell, look to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, for deliverance. Look at him. Behold him. And brothers and sisters, we who have looked at him, we who have beheld him, Oh, that we would continue, that we would continue to behold Him, that we would look at the Lord Jesus Christ with the eye of faith, that we would look at Him with holy joy, that we would look at Him with wonder and love and praise and desire. Oh, friends, let us behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Amen? Amen.