behold’the’lamb’of’god:’ john’1:29

Behold the Lamb of God: John 1:29

December 23, 2016

John 1:29

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him,And saith,

Behold the Lamb of God, Which taketh away the sin of the world.

Introduction

• The Galatians 3:28 Ministry is about unity in Christ. In order to be one in Christ, it helps to know who Jesus is.

: )

• Today we look at the Lamb of God, which appears in the first chapter of the Gospel of John.

The Lamb In John 1:29 Is a…

1. Symbol2. Sacrifice3. Savior

The lamb of God is a symbol thatdescribes the sacrifice of our savior.

Symbol

John the Baptist

•When he first saw Jesus, John exclaimed “Behold the Lamb of God…!” John said the same thing the next day, when Jesus came to be baptized of John.• John was not calling Jesus a sheep, but lambs ARE a simple, powerful symbol: When John mentioned lambs, people would immediately recall sacrificial lambs mentioned throughout the Bible. • Let’s review a few…

The Passover Lamb in Exodus 12

• The night before the Exodus, God told every household to take a lamb for sacrifice. If the household was too small, they were instructed to share a lamb with their neighbor (verses 3-‐4).•What kind of lamb? Verse 5 says:

Your lamb shall be without blemish, A male of the first year:

Ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

Blood on the Door

God told the Hebrews to put the blood on the door of their houses (verse 7), for God went through Egypt that night to strike down the firstborn (verse 12). Verse 13:

And the blood shall be to you for a token Upon the houses where ye are:

And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, And the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you,

When I smite the land of Egypt.

Lambs Are Simple Symbols

•After the Exodus, a male lamb without blemish was sacrificed in the Temple every morning and evening (Numbers 28:1-‐8).•A lamb is a simple symbol that is both powerful and meaningful. Why do people today overlook the lamb as a symbol for Jesus? For Christmas?•Why do people prefer symbols such as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny?

Lambs And Shepherds

• The Bible frequently discusses sheep and shepherds. Sometimes these are literal references, and sometimes these are metaphors.• Let’s dig deeper now into the role of shepherds so we can better understand the symbol of Jesus as “the Lamb of God.”

Shepherds

In the New Testament, Jesus Is the Good Shepherd

I am the good shepherd: The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

John 10:11I am the good shepherd, And know my sheep,

And am known of mine.John 10:14

In the Old Testament, Shepherds Had a Mixed Record• Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd. So when Cain killed Abel, a farmer killed a shepherd. (Genesis 4:1-‐8) “The first murder in history erupted from a farmer’s resentment of a shepherd.” (Randy Alcorn)• Egypt was an agricultural society, they didn’t like to eat mutton, and they had conflicts with nomadic shepherds. So Egyptians tended to look down on shepherds.

…for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

Genesis 46:34

Sometimes Shepherds Are Leaders

• In the time of the Patriarchs, shepherding was a noble occupation. Many of the Bible’s greatest heroes were shepherds: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David.•God promised that He will shepherd Israel:• “He tends his flock like a shepherd…” (Isaiah 40:11)• “As a shepherd seeks out his flock…” (Ezekiel 34:11)

•King David describes the God of Israel as a shepherd in Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd…”

The Role of Shepherds Changed in Israel

When the Hebrews settled in the land of Canaan, most became farmers and the status of shepherds fell. Being an outcast did not deter true men of God:• Some shepherds came to be prophets (Zephaniah 2:6 and Amos 7:14).• Samuel anointed David as king even though he was a shepherd (1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Samuel 7:8).

Culture Changes But God Does Not:Your Job and Your Status•Over thousands of years, shepherds have had the same role caring for the same animals. Society has changed around them, sometimes admiring them and sometimes despising them.•Our self-‐worth comes from our relationship with God, not our job. People may despise your occupation or they may admire it; God looks at the heart.

“Every nobody is a somebody to God.”

Pastor Jay Harvey Madison Avenue Baptist Church

Sermon about Luke 2:10December 18, 2016

Shepherds and the Birth of Christ

• The symbolism of shepherds sheds some light on the birth of Christ.• Let’s take a look at the history of Bethlehem, the sheep, and the shepherds.

There a Place Near Bethlehem Called Midgal Eder•Midgal Eder, or the tower of Eder, is first mentioned in Genesis 35:21. Rachel and Jacob were traveling to Bethlehem, and Rachel gave birth just outside town before she died. •Micah 4:8 also mentions the “tower of the flock,” which is probably the Midgal Eder. • Let’s see…

The Prophet Micah Calls Migdal Eder the “Tower of the Flock”And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of

Jerusalem.Micah 4:8

• Some commentators believe that the sheep pastured here, just outside Bethlehem, were the ones chosen for sacrifice in the Temple at Jerusalem.

Micah Says the Savior Comes from Bethlehem

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah,

Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto meThat is to be ruler in Israel;

Whose goings forth have been from of old, From everlasting.

Micah 5:2

The Shepherds Get Good News Near Bethlehem:Luke 2: 8, 10-‐11

8And there were in the same country shepherds Abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by

night. 10And the angel said unto them, fear not:

For, behold, I bring you good tidings Of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Shepherds Meet the Lamb of God

• The shepherds were in “the same country” as Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. These shepherds were near Bethlehem, and the Talmud says that the sheep for the daily sacrifices in the temple were fed in the Bethlehem pastures (near the Midgal Eder).•So it was shepherds who tended the lambs of God; it is fitting that shepherds met THE lamb of God.

Where Are the Shepherds This Christmas?

• Shepherds are mentioned many times in the Bible, and the baby Jesus was first seen by shepherds. •Why are shepherds missing in our holiday celebrations today? •Why do so many people prefer colored lights and Christmas trees to Nativity scenes?



The lamb of God is a symbol that describes the sacrifice of our savior.

Sacrifice

Blood and Sacrifice:Leviticus 17:11-‐12

11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: And I have given it to you upon the altar to make anAtonement for your souls: for it is the blood that

Maketh an atonement for the soul.12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel,

No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall anyStranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.

Blood and Sacrifice:Isaiah Chapters 1 and 53• “I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.” (1:11)• “Bring no more vain oblations…” (1:13)• “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” (53:7)

Blood and Sacrifice: Hebrews 9:13-‐14, 22

13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the

flesh:14How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your

conscience from dead works to serve the living God?22And almost all things are by the law purged with blood;

and without shedding of blood is no remission [forgiveness].

Culture Changes But God Does Not:How We Celebrate Christmas• Easter comes three months after Christmas. When I was a child, I thought that Jesus died three months after he was born. It took a while for me to figure it out… : )•We celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas. Why don’t we ever mention the cross at Christmas? • Are we are uncomfortable talking about death? Are we uncomfortable talking about the resurrection? •Or both?

Savior

The Lamb Is Our Savior:1 Peter 1:18-‐19

18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemedWith corruptible things, as silver and gold,

From your vain conversation [empty way of life] Received by tradition from your fathers;19But with the precious blood of Christ,

As of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

The Lamb Is Our Savior:1 Peter 1:20-‐21

20Who verily was foreordained before The foundation of the world,

But was manifest in these last times for you,21Who by him do believe in God, That raised him up from the dead,

And gave him glory; That your faith and hope might be in God.

The Lamb in Revelation:Revelation 5:1-‐31And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

The Lamb in Revelation:Revelation 5:4-‐54And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

The Lamb in Revelation:Revelation 5:6-‐76And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

7And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

2

The Lamb in Revelation:Revelation 5:88And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

The Lamb in Revelation:Revelation 5:9-‐109And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.




And Jesus is coming soon…

Culture Changes But God Does Not:The Return of Christ• The celebration of Christmas has changed greatly over time.• This Christmas, let’s celebrate the birth of Christ, the cross, and the RETURN of Christ.• The Lamb of God was slain for every tribe, tongue, and nation. That is a good message for Christmas. The blood of the lamb redeems every tribe, tongue, and nation; that is the central message of The Galatians 3:28 Ministry.

Let Us Pray

Lord we thank you for the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. By His blood Jesus redeems every tribe, tongue, and nation. And Jesus is coming soon:

He which testifies these things says, ‘Surely I come quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Revelation 22:20-‐21

Galatians 3:28 Gálatas 3:28KJV RV 1960

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither Bond [slave] nor free,

There is neither male nor female: or ye are all one in

Christ Jesus.

Ya no hay judío ni griego; No hay esclavo ni libre; No hay varón ni mujer; Porque todos vosotrosSois uno en Cristo Jesús.

How to Connect with Us

• Call Us: We have preaching, prayer, and live discussion every Friday from 7-‐8 p.m. The number is (712) 770-‐8086 and the code is 735-‐765.• Text Us: Send a text to Rob Martorana at (201) 919-‐2395. He will text you a link each Friday and you can see the message right on your phone.• Visit Us: www.Galatians328.com has all of our weekly messages and podcasts.• Email Us: Send an email to [email protected]

behold’the’lamb’of’god:’ john’1:29

Documents