John 1:19-34 Thursday, 16 October 2020
“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” -John 1:29
Four hundred years of silence began between God and Jewish people with a warning, “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord…” Malachi 4:5-6. This silence ended with the coming of John the Baptist, the Messiah’s forerunner.
John was not from the tribe of Judah still people misunderstood him to be Messiah as John’s ministry was so great and people had never witnessed something like that before. To the question asked to him, ‘Are you the Christ? , John replies, ‘He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”(John 1:27) The purpose of John’s ministry was to introduce Lord Jesus to the Israelites and to make straight the way of the Lord. John’s preaching was about repentance and judgment. He cried out to the people that if they don’t repent they will have to face eternal judgment.
John and Jesus were cousins but still John didn’t know that Jesus was the Messiah (John 1:31) and it was God who revealed it to John at an appointed time. When John got that revelation, he testified three main things about Jesus:
John 1:29 – the Lamb of the God who takes away the sin of the world
John 1:33 – this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit
John 1:34 – He is the Son of God
Till that day sacrifice for sins was only for Jewish people but John points a Lamb (Jesus) as a sacrifice for the sins of the world and gives an open call to the people to repent.
John 1:29: The Lamb of the God who takes away the sin of the world
Romans 3:23 say, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” None of our righteous deeds could ever fetch God’s favour to forgive our sin [-all our righteous deeds are just like filthy rags, Isaiah 64:6]. The sacrifices in the Old Testament could not remove sins [-it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins, Hebrews 10:3-4]. Jesus became the “lamb without blemish and without spot” (1Peter 1:19) whose blood redeems us from sin!
John 1:33 – this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit
A person who accepts Jesus Christ into his life is “born of the Spirit”- the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in him from then on. Romans 8:9 says, “-anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His,” The Holy Spirit is “the guarantee of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:4). After Jesus’ ascension, the disciples waited for the promised Holy Spirit as Jesus had told them to (Acts 1:4,5). They were baptized in the Spirit and empowered to be His witnesses from then on (Acts2). It is the indwelling Holy Spirit who helps us to lead a victorious life.
John 1:34 – He is the Son of God
God sent “His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom.8:3); He became a “propitiation for our sins” (1Jn 4:10). One day, Son of God will judge the living and the dead, (Acts 10:42).
Dear Readers, it’s very clear that all have sinned and none of our arguments will lead us to eternity unless we testify the Lord Jesus to be our Savior and Redeemer. All who accepted the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior has another greater testimony to be preached-the Lord Jesus’ Second Coming. The Judgment Day is very near- lets accept this free gift of salvation through our Lord Jesus and ensure we spend eternity with Him.
John’s responsibility was to make a straight way for the Lord Jesus’ first coming. Our responsibility is to pave a way to prepare the Church for His Second Coming.
Thought for the Day: “People on earth hate to hear the word REPENT, those in hell wish they could hear it just once more.” -Anonymous