John 1:29-41

Jesus Appears as the Lamb of God

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.”

³²Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ³³I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”

³⁵The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

³⁷When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. ³⁸Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

³⁹“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

⁴⁰Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). (NIV1984)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

What are you looking at?  That is a question that can be asked and understood in a couple of different ways.  For example, if you ask that question emphasizing the word you (What are you looking at?) it can be understood as a challenge, perhaps even as a challenge to fight!  But if you ask that same question emphasizing the word look ( What are you looking at?) now the question might still be understood as a challenge, but it is a challenge to share with someone what has captured your attention.

What are you looking at?  While that question is not stated verbatim here in our text, that is the question I would like us to use as we both study this text and apply it to our hearts and our lives today.  Our goal today is to see how John the Baptist would answer the question, “What are you looking at?”

What are you looking at?  John gives us three very clear answers to that question— all three of them closely intertwined!  John’s first answer is found in the words, “Look, the Lamb of God, who take away the sin of the world!”  We cannot overstate the importance of John referring to Jesus as “the Lamb of God.”  Going all the way back to the days of Abraham, the Father of the Jewish nation, the lamb played  a pivotal role in the religious life of God’s Chosen People.  The lamb took an even more central re-occurring role in the lives of God’s people during the days of Moses when the blood of the Passover lamb shed to deliver God’s people from the angel of death as he struck down the first born in Egypt.  For generations God’s people sacrificed the Passover lamb every year to commemorate God’s deliverance.  On the great Day of Atonement the high priest would bring two goats and “present them before the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting” (Leviticus 16:7).  He would cast lots to determine which goat was to be sent out into the wilderness as the “scapegoat” and which goat would be sacrificed to the Lord as a sin offering for the nation of Israel.  Over the course of time the goat which was sacrificed as a sin offering became known as “the Lamb of God.”  Every single morning and every single evening a lamb was sacrificed on the altar of the Lord to atone for the sins of God’s people.  (See Exodus 29:38-42)  And, of course, John’s reference to Jesus as the “Lamb of God” easily evoked Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy concerning the Suffering Servant, “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7).

What are you looking at?  John would answer that question by saying, “I am looking at God’s Lamb, the Lamb who was sent by God Himself, the Lamb who would achieve God’s purpose for sending Him into this world, namely, “to take away the sin of the world.”  There are three words that we need to unpack here.  The word which is translated as “take away” can also be translated as “take up, remove, conquer.”  The word that is translated as “sin” is in the single form.  By using the singular form of this word God the Holy Spirit is raising our attention above and beyond the individual sins which we tend to play down and excuse, to the abhorrent condition of the entire human race which is in a state of rebellion against God, separated from God and spiritually dead in transgression and sin.  By having John use the word “world” the Holy Spirit is emphasizing the very same truth that was brought out in our reading from Isaiah.  Concerning the Messiah the Lord says, “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept.  I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).

When John the Baptist looked at Jesus he saw the sacrificial Lamb who came into this world to “take up” all of our sin together with all of its guilt and all of its shame, carry it to the cross on Calvary’s hill (Pointing to the cross) where He would conquer that sin by shedding His holy precious blood as our perfect Substitute.  What do you see when you are looking at Jesus?  Let that question percolate in your mind as we move on to the second portion of our text.

What are you looking at?  John’s second answer to that question gives even more depth to John’s first answer!  Look at verses 30-34 of our text.  John goes on to say, “This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’  I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.  Then John gave this testimony:  ‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.  I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.”  I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”

Note how clearly John emphasizes the preeminence of Jesus, the Lamb of God.  John knew that even though he was older than Jesus, Jesus “surpassed” John because Jesus existed “before” John.  John knew that Jesus, the Lamb of God, is preeminent because He has existed from all of eternity.  John knew that Jesus, the Lamb of God, is preeminent because He is “the Son of God”!

What did John mean then when he said, “I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel”?  Obviously, John knew Jesus as his cousin.  He did not, however, understand the full significance and importance of Jesus— until Jesus came to be baptized by John in the Jordan River.  Somehow— we are not told how and we are not told when— but somehow God the Holy Spirit had revealed to John that one of the people whom he would baptize would be the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One of God.  How would John recognize Him?  John was told, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.”

When John looked at Jesus he not only saw “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” but he also saw the One who was “anointed” with the Holy Spirit and with power.  He saw the fulfillment of all the promises that the Lord God had made to His people— promises that go all the way back to the Garden of Eden.  All of this led John to make that beautiful confession, “I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”  What do you see when you are looking at Jesus?

What are you looking at?  The Holy Spirit gives us one more key aspect when it comes to answering that question.  Look at verses 35-39 of our text.  “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.  When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’  When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.  Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’  They said, ‘Rabbi,’ (which means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’  ‘Come,’ he replied, ‘and you will see.’  So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him.  It was about the tenth hour.”

John knew that while his style, his appearance, and his message was commanding a great deal of attention, his God-given role, his purpose here on this earth was to point people to Jesus.  So when John saw Jesus walking by yet again, John says to the two disciples who were with him, “Look, the Lamb of  God!”  It was almost as though John grabbed ahold of their robes, looked them in the eyes and said, “I am not the point!  I want to point you to the One who is! Look— there is Jesus!”

These two disciples understood exactly what John was telling them, and so they started following Jesus.  And when Jesus asked them, “What do you want?” these two disciples revealed that they wanted to spend some time with Jesus.  They wanted to learn more about Him.  They wanted to gain an even deeper understanding of what John the Baptist has proclaimed to them concerning the Rabbi from Nazareth.

What are you looking at?  John the Baptist was not the only one who could answer that question, was he.  In the closing verse of our text we’re told that when Andrew’s faith enabled him to answer that question correctly, he knew that he could not keep such eternally important news to himself!  So what did he do?  “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ).”

What are you looking at?  If I had asked you that question three weeks ago I am absolutely confident that every single one of us would have said, “I am looking at the Child of Bethlehem, the Word who became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”  The joy of knowing the true meaning of Christmas easily focuses the eyes of our faith on our dear Lord and Savior.  If I had asked you that question three days ago— how would you have responded?  Think about it.  What captured your attention three days ago?  Were you looking at all the “eye candy” that this world so freely offers?  Were you looking at all the recreational opportunities you have before you?  Were you looking at your calendar to see how you could juggle things around so that you could fit in all the things you want to do?

What are you looking at?  That is a question that we all need to ask ourselves each and every day.  While the good Lord blesses us with many wonderful things to enjoy on our journey through this world, we cannot allow anything to lead us to take our eyes off of Him!  (Pointing to the cross)  Not one single day goes by when we do not need to hear John the Baptist say to us, “Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”  When we recognize that each and every one of our sins is like a putrid stench in the nostrils of our holy, just and perfect God then we will recognize the unparalleled relief that comes from knowing that Jesus took all of our sins together with all of our guilt and all of our shame, placed them on His own shoulders and carried them to the cross on Calvary’s hill.  (Pointing to the cross)

Not one single day goes by when we do not need to hear John the Baptist assure us that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the One who was “anointed” with the Holy Spirit and with power.  Knowing that Jesus the Christ is the fulfillment of all the glorious promises that the Lord made to His people down through the ages can and will give us the confidence of knowing that the Lord can and will fulfill all of the wonderful promises He has made to us.

Not one single day goes by when we do not need to follow the example of John’s two disciples here in our text and spend some quality time with Jesus.  How do we spend quality time with Jesus?  That’s an easy question!  Jesus gladly and freely comes to us in His holy Word and in His holy Supper to deepen our faith, our trust and our love for Him.

When we are looking at Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, when we are looking at Jesus as the One who has been Anointed to fulfill all of God’s promises to us, when we are looking at Jesus as the One who strengthens and nourishes our faith— then what do we do?  Then we follow the example of Andrew and find someone with whom we can share this glorious news!  Whether it’s a family member or a friend or whether it’s through supporting missions throughout the world we can tell others, “We have found the Messiah, the Christ!”

What are you looking at?  May God grant that this is a question that we not only ask ourselves, but may God grant that the way we conduct ourselves among others will lead them to ask us, “What are you looking at?”

To God be the glory!

Amen