Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Holy is His name.Believe in His authority to do what you cannot.
John 1:1 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made
The Creator person of the Trinity was Jesus. God the Son took on human flesh! He did not leave us without help. He has given us Holy Spirit to be our helper here and He will get us safely home.
God offers everyone the gift of accepting Jesus and to sit at His table.
1 Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
Romans 10:13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all,
Hebrews 2:9 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
2 Peter 3:9 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Ephesians 1:13 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise
1 Corinthians 15: 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
Does the laughter of children do your heart good? At what angle does the sun enter your house? Are you comforted by the sound of rain of your roof? And have you watched the hummingbirds dance?
Is your heart glad in the presence of compassion and grace and mercy?
I love to watch the hummingbirds dance. I loved to put on my “dancing shoes”.
I love the smile that fills my face when I hear anyone playing old time rock and roll. I love to stretch out on a garden bench on a warm summer day.
I love books, delight in poetry, and find sustenance in writing.
I love small gestures of generosity, witnessing the extraordinary number of big hearts there are in this world.
I love prayers that begin with the words, “Thank you…”
I love friends who remind me that I’m not on this journey alone, and that my opinion of myself needs some work.
I love it anytime someone says, “Let’s have a moment of silence,” and then makes it two.
I love cleansing tears that don’t need to be explained away. I love it when I make decisions from a soft heart.
I treasure the certainty that grace gives us all many second chances. Sabbath Moments
John 1:29–34
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” 32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” The New King James Version
The Lamb of God is an allusion to the symbolism of the Passover lamb in Exodus 12:3.
Jesus is the Lamb of God—the lamb provided by God to atone for the sins of the world in a way no animal ever could. This reference foreshadows Jesus’ death as the ultimate fulfillment of the annual Passover sacrifice.
Similarly, the Apostle Paul equates Jesus with the ultimate Passover sacrifice in 1 Corinthians 5:7. In Exodus 12, each family is commanded to sacrifice a lamb without blemish on the 14th day of the first month. The blood of the lamb was spread with a hyssop branch on the doorposts and lintel of the entry to each house. The lamb’s blood protected Israel’s households from the judgment of the 10th plague, the death of the firstborn. The lamb was to be killed and cooked whole: none of the bones were to be broken.
John’s symbolism clearly places Jesus in the role of Passover lamb, including the day of His death and the treatment of His body. The purpose of John’s ministry was preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah. The Gospel of John tends to use “Israel” as a positive label for God’s chosen people, identified ultimately by their beliefs, not ancestry. John the Baptist simply testifies as a witness to the event. The event itself is spoken of in the past tense. John did not know Jesus was the Messiah until God revealed it to him. John the Baptist is functioning as a formal legal witness to Jesus’ identity. Faithlife Study Bible
In the OT, the Israelites sacrificed lambs at the Passover feast and as offerings.
Jesus Christ is the Lamb that God would give as a sacrifice for the sins not only of Israel, but of the whole world (Isaiah 52:13–53:12).
John and Jesus were cousins, so they probably knew each other. But John apparently did not know that Jesus was the Messiah. All John knew was that he was to baptize with water and that the Messiah would be made known to Israel through him. God had given John a sign by which he would know the Messiah, namely, the descending of the Holy Spirit as a dove.
He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit is mentioned 7 times in the NT it speaks of this ministry of Jesus. The NKJV Study Bible
John saw Jesus coming to him, and pointed him out as the Lamb of God. The paschal lamb, in the shedding and sprinkling of its blood, the roasting and eating of its flesh, and all the other circumstances of the ordinance, represented the salvation of sinners by faith in Christ. And the lambs sacrificed every morning and evening, can only refer to Christ slain as a sacrifice to redeem us to God by his blood. John came as a preacher of repentance, yet he told his followers that they were to look for the pardon of their sins to Jesus only, and to his death. It agrees with God’s glory to pardon all who depend on the atoning sacrifice of Christ. He takes away the sin of the world; purchases pardon for all that repent and believe the gospel. This encourages our faith; if Christ takes away the sin of the world, then why not my sin? He bore sin for us, and so bears it from us. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Mark 1:8 I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
John 1:15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”
1 Peter 1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
Revelation 5:6–6:1 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne…
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