John 1:29-31, The Lamb of God

29 The next day he 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 ranks before me, because he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."

For John to call Jesus the “Lamb of God” is extraordinary. To the Jews who heard these words, their minds would immediately turn to the Passover lamb, the lamb which was slain to protect the lives of the Jews when God bore his wrath on the firstborn of the Egyptians, the final of ten plagues that bought the Jews their freedom from slavery in Egypt.

It may have made them think of the last-minute sacrifice God provided Abraham as a replacement for Isaac, his son. What is says about us is that we are utterly unable to provide for our own atonement without the intervention of God himself. What was a secret about who the Messiah would be and the role he would play has now been totally revealed by the one who prepares the way, John the Baptist. Jesus steps in in our place as the lamb of Isaiah 53: “and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (v. 6c).

How many people are being crushed under the burden of their own guilt today? The good news is that Jesus has taken it away by taking it on himself at the cross. By exchanging our guilt for his right standing with God, we are left free from our slavery to sin, guilt, and shame. Give thanks to the Lord today for the freedom you have in Christ as you ponder these remarkable verses from Isaac Watts (with thanks to John Stott for making the connection):

Not all the blood of beasts

On Jewish altars slain,

Could give the guilty conscience peace

Or wash away its stain.

But Christ, the heavenly Lamb,

Takes all our sins away;

A sacrifice of nobler Name,

And richer blood, than they.

Believing, we rejoice

To see the curse remove;

We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,

And sing His wondrous love.