Book of John, chapter one that
we just read. I'm gonna be looking at several
scriptures today. You can turn there with me or
you can just follow along as I read. Twice in these verses that I
read, 29 through 36, twice in these verses, John the Baptist
declares to those around him, behold, the Lamb of God. The first time in verse 29, he
states the reason why he calls him that, which taketh away the
sin of the world. Now, lambs, as we know, were
the most common animal used in Jewish sacrifices. And those
sacrifices always included the shedding of the blood of that
lamb. This, of course, was a picture
of the Messiah that was to come, our Lord Jesus Christ, God. instructing
Moses and Aaron that a lamb was to be used as a sacrifice over
that, or during that first Passover in Egypt. A lamb was to be slain
in his blood, applied to the door and lintel in the doorpost. And of all those lambs slain
on Jewish altars, there were a type of this lamb that John
pointed out to those around him. Now throughout the book of Revelation,
Christ is called a Lamb, capital L, I believe it's 17 times in
the book of Revelation. And in chapter 5, verse 6, John
wrote, and I beheld, and what was it he beheld? A Lamb as it
had been slain. And in the unending ages to come,
as the redeemed of God worship the Lamb and sing his praises,
we are going to forever Behold those scars in his hand, in his
feet, and in his side. And extol his name, and our song
will be that which is found. Three verses later in chapter
five, we're going to sing, worthy is the lamb that was slain, who
hath redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred,
and tongue, and people, and nation. So I want to focus on these five
words spoken by John the Baptist, behold the lamb of God, That's
the title of this message. And I want to look at the work
of our blessed Savior from the unimaginable ages of eternity
past to the unimaginable ages of eternity future. There's one
central figure in this book, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ
himself. It is all about him. Don used
to call it the HIM book. and of all the things that he
accomplished and all the good that he has done for his chosen
people and for the glory of his name. Turn over with me to the
book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 8. We find here a description of
the Lord Jesus Christ in the far reaches of what we call eternity
past. Proverbs chapter 8, beginning
in verse 5, O ye simple, understand wisdom. Now what is Christ called
in 1 Corinthians 1.24? He is called the very wisdom
of God. O ye simple, understand wisdom,
and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear, for I will speak
excellent things, and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth,
and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of
my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing froward or perverse
in them. In dropping down to verse 14,
counsel is mine and sound wisdom. I am understanding. I have strength. By me kings reign and princes
decree justice. By me princes rule and nobles,
even all the judges of the earth. Then in verse 22, our Lord Jesus
Christ speaks of the time before there was such a thing as time
when he dwelt in perfect harmony and unison with the Father and
with the Spirit. He says, the Lord possessed me
in the beginning of his way before his works of old. And I was set
up from everlasting and from the beginning or ever the earth
was. When there were no depths, I
was brought forth. when there were no fountains
abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before
the hills were brought forth, while as yet he had not made
the earth nor the fields nor the highest part of the dust
of the world, when he prepared the heavens, I was there, when
he set a compass upon the face of the deep, when he established
the clouds above, when he strengthened the fountains of the deep. When
he gave to the seas his decree that the waters should not pass
his commandment, when he appointed the fountains of the earth, then
I would by him, as one brought up with him, and I was daily
his delight, rejoicing always before him, rejoicing in the
habitable part of the earth, and my delights were with the
sons of men." If we can use human terms, in describing the triune
God. This is how Jesus Christ spent
His days before the foundation of this world, before He ever
spoke this universe into being. He was daily the delight of His
Father, we're told. Next, we behold the Lamb of God
as He creates this universe. John touched on this in his lesson. In Genesis 1-1, Spoken of here is none other
we know than the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we know that? From the
first chapter of the Gospel of John. In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. We just read of that in Proverbs
chapter 8. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life
was the light of men. In Genesis 1-3, and God said,
let there be light. And we read in Isaiah 45, I am
the Lord and there is none else. I form the light, he says, and
I create darkness. And what's amazing is he created
all of this out of nothing. He simply spoke and it came to
pass. tell us that matter cannot be
destroyed, it cannot be created, even in a nuclear explosion.
They say matter is not destroyed, it's simply converted. Every
human body that's ever been on this earth is still on this earth,
it's simply gone through what the scientists tell us is a chemical
change. But what's amazing to me, and
I can't begin to grasp this, that this God that we worship
created, with a word, a universe so vast that our most advanced
satellite, I guess it's the Hubble and still going somewhere out
there in space, but man's most advanced satellites have yet
to find the edges of this universe. And you know what? They never
will. Because this universe, like the God who created it,
is infinite. Behold the Lamb of God as he
makes man, Genesis 1.26. And God said, let us make man
in our image and after our likeness. Now, I sometimes wonder if Adam
was not the identical twin of our Lord Jesus Christ. The reason
I say that is when something is made in the image of someone
or something, it is fashioned to look exactly like that someone
or something. And in verse 27 of Genesis 1,
it says, so God created man in his own image. In the image of
God, created he him, male and female, created he them. And
we find in Genesis 2, 7, and it says, and John quoted this
in the lesson, and the Lord God formed man out of the dust of
the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,
and man became a living soul. Now, note the wording here. It
doesn't say man became a living body, although that did occur,
but it says man became a living soul. And the reason he became
a living soul, and that soul being eternal, is because the
God who created that soul is eternal. And when he breathed
into those nostrils the breath of life and created that soul,
he created an eternal soul. And next, we behold the Lamb
of God and the types of the Old Testament. Now, there's a huge
list we could go through, and I'm certainly not going to do
that today because we'll be here for quite a while. But let me
just mention just a few in passing. These are types. And as I said,
this book is about Christ and Christ only. And throughout the
Old Testament Scriptures, we see picture after picture after
picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. in types, is what Hebrew calls
them, or Hebrews, I should say. Adam was the first man created,
so is the Lord Jesus Christ called the firstborn of every creature. He is called the first and the
last, the Alpha and the Omega. Abel was a type of Christ, and
then among other things, God had respect unto Abel and his
offering, as stated in Hebrews 11th verse. So it was, with the
offering of the Lord Jesus Christ of himself, for our sins. God accepted that sacrifice and
we know he did because he raised him from the dead and told him,
sit here on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Melchizedek was a type of Christ
in that he was both a priest and a king. Psalm 110 declares
Christ to be a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Further in Hebrews 11, we read of Melchizedek being king of
righteousness king of peace, having neither beginning of days
nor end of life. So it is with our Lord Jesus
Christ. The scriptures tell us that he abideth a priest continually,
forever, ever making intercession for his saints. Isaac was a type
of Christ in that he was a child of promise, born miraculously
long after his mother had passed childbearing age. And further,
Isaac willingly agreed to become a sacrifice when he was required
of his father to do so. What a good picture of our Lord
Jesus Christ becoming a sacrifice, laying down his life as a sacrifice
for his people. David, of course, was a type
of Christ in so many ways that that would be a series of messages
in itself. He was a shepherd who became
a king, chosen of God to be that king. So it is with our Lord
Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd. But he is also the King of Kings,
ordained to be so by God his Father from the foundation of
this world. The Passover lamb that I've already
mentioned was a type of Christ. The brazen serpent was a type
of Christ in that all who were perishing under sin merely had
to look at that brazen serpent. So it is with Christ. just to
look, and He grants us salvation. But we don't look until we've
already been given life. Next, we behold the Lamb of God
as He is conceived and born, miraculously, as no other man
has ever been conceived or born. When the angel Gabriel came to
Mary in Luke chapter 1, he told her, Hail, thou that art highly
favored, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. This is the same thing that can
be said of God's chosen people. We are like Mary, highly favored,
highly favored, chosen as Mary was to serve the purpose of the
God Almighty that we declare. Gabriel didn't tell Mary that
she was highly favored because of anything she had done of any
good. or any merit that God saw in her, it just simply seemed
good in the mind of God to choose this young lady to be the mother
of our Lord Jesus Christ. But Mary knew the natural order
of things when it came to the conception of a child. That's
why we read in verse 34, she asked the angel, how can these
things be, seeing I know not a man? In Gabriel's response,
we find in verse 35, and the angel answered and said unto
her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the
highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore, also that which shall
be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Never in the
history of this world has such a thing ever taken place. This
is how our Lord could be born, as no other man was ever born
before or since, to be born without sin. Behold the Lamb of God as he
comes forth from the womb, coming forth in perfection in order
to be that perfect sacrifice to put away sin. Next, throughout
the four gospels, we behold the Lamb of God as he walks this
earth. The scripture tells us that the child Jesus increased
in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. Now I
can understand how He increased in favor with man, but how is
it that our Lord Jesus Christ increased in favor with God? Was He not from eternity past
the apple of God's eye, ever the obedient Son, one, we're
told, with the Father and the Spirit? And I'll tell you what,
I read several commentaries on this verse, and not a one of
them seemed to give a satisfactory explanation concerning this question.
So I'll be honest with you. I'm as much in the dark on this
subject as I was before I started reading these commentaries, how
it was that Christ Jesus could grow in favor with God. I was
talking to a pastor friend of ours a while back, and what he
said applies here, I think. He said, sometimes it's okay
just to say, I don't know. And I think that applies here,
how our Lord Jesus Christ could grow in favor with God. Now, the first words that we
read spoken of by the Lord are found in Luke chapter 2, verse
49. Luke chapter 2, verse 49. And this is after he had stayed
behind in Jerusalem and was found by his parents in the temple.
And it says, he was sitting among the elders. both hearing them
and asking them questions. And they that heard him were
astonished at his understanding and his answers. And Mary rebuked
him for causing them such worry and sorrow. You can just imagine
what they were going through. But our Lord Jesus Christ replied,
how is it that you sought me? Wished ye not that I must be
about my father's business? Now here in this verse, our Lord
declares His very reason for coming to this earth to be about
His Father's business. And what would that business
be? He tells us in Luke 19.10, for
the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
So throughout the four Gospels, we find Him going about doing
just exactly that. We could literally spend days
listing all the things that were involved in that work, but suffice
it to say that every single thing that our Lord Jesus Christ did
as he walked in that land of Palestine was done because the
Father had decreed it to be so, and it must be fulfilled. The
wisdom that he displayed just simply did not fit the plainness
of this man that everyone knew as Joseph's son. We read of the
Lord Jesus in Matthew 7, teaching the people, and He spoke with
absolute confidence in what He said. And of course He did, He
was God. So we read in the last verse
of that chapter 7, And it came to pass, when Jesus ended these
sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine. For He taught
them as one having authority, and not as a scribe. He certainly
had authority. He was and is the ultimate authority. And in John chapter 7, we read
of a similar text. Starting in verse 43, it says,
So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken
him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to
the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they said unto them, Why
have ye not brought him? Officers answered, never a man
spake like this man. Even the unbelievers saw that
there was something very different from this man than any other
man they had ever encountered. And that includes even John the
Baptist. Now in Mark 2, we have an account
of the Lord healing that man sick of the palsy and how his
friends brought him and could not get in, so they tore the
roof off basically and lowered him down. And after the Lord
healed that man, and the man took up his bed and walked away,
those that saw it, it says, they were all amazed and glorified
God, saying, we never saw it on this fashion. We've seen some
pretty amazing things, but we've never seen anything like this. Next, we behold the Lamb of God
as He dies for His people's sins. In Luke 23, starting in verse 33, Luke 23,
33. And when they were come to the
place which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him in the
malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do. And verse 44, and it
was about the sixth hour, And there was a darkness over all
the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and
the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. When our Lord cried out with
a loud voice, and he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And having said thus, he gave
up the ghost. Now these six hours are the most cursed and
at the same time the most blessed six hours in human history. The most cursed because they
didn't demonstrate the true nature of man and his so-called free
will. The depravity of man's natural
heart. God in the form of a human being came to this earth and
did nothing but good and kindness Yet man exercised their free
will in the most evil way imaginable. They killed the prince of life,
as Peter told those Jews in Acts chapter three. But these were
also the most blessed six hours in the history of the human race,
because it was during these six hours that our Lord Jesus Christ
suffered the wrath of an angry God for his people. and paid
that debt due to the sins of those people. And he did all
this so that one day he might present us, Jude says, faultless
before his throne, in the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
as our Lord Jesus Christ declared, behold, I and the children which
God hath given me. Next, We behold the Lamb of God
as he comes forth from the dead. In the 20th chapter of John,
John chapter 20, we have the account of Mary Magdalene going
to the sepulcher very early in the morning and finding the stone
rolled away from the entrance. And she runs and tells Peter
and John, and they also come to the sepulcher and find it
empty. After which Peter and John left
and went home, but Mary stayed behind. And in verse 11, of John
chapter 20, it says that she stood outside the tomb weeping.
And then she stooped down and looked into the tomb and saw
two angels sitting where the body of Christ had lain. And
those angels asked her, woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto
them, because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not
where they have laid him. And in the next verse, she sees
Jesus standing but doesn't know that it's him. Verse 15, Jesus
saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She,
supposing him to be the gardener, said unto him, Sir, if thou hast
borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will
take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. One single word. And she turned herself, and saith
unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, master. Jesus saith unto
her, touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my father, but
go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my father
and to your father and to my God and to your God. Now notice in this verse that
the Lord Jesus instructs Mary not to touch him. But a little
over a week later, we read that he tells Thomas to put his finger
in the nail prints and to thrust his hand into his side. Now,
apparently, in the time span that our Lord did indeed ascend
to the Father and return to this earth, but I don't know and don't
have any idea what occurred when our Lord ascended to the Father
that made it okay for him now to be touched by Thomas when
a week earlier, he forbade Mary to touch him at all. I have no
idea at all. Again, sometimes it's just okay
to say, I don't know. There's mysteries in God's word
that I certainly can't explain with my limited wisdom unless
God reveals them to us. It's that way in all scripture.
But next, we behold the Lamb of God as He ascends into heaven.
Luke records this in the last four verses of his gospel when
he says this, and he led them out as far as to Bethany. And
he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to pass, while
he blessed them, he was parted from them and carried up into
heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with
great joy. And we're continually in the
temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. Now next, we behold
the Lamb of God as he rules all things on this earth. And this,
again, could be a message in and of itself. He told his disciples
in Matthew 28 that all power is given unto me in heaven and
in earth. Turn over to the book of Psalms,
chapter 2. I want you to see this. Book of Psalms, chapter 2. All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth, he said. And in Psalm chapter 2, the first
four verses, anytime you're distressed about
what's happening in this world, the recent events with Israel
and Iran, it seems the Middle East is a constant source of
turmoil in this world. But anytime you're concerned
with the goings-on of this world, turn over to Psalm chapter 2
and read these four verses. Why do the heathen rage? And
the people imagined a vain thing. The kings of the earth set themselves
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against
his anointed, saying, let us break their bands asunder and
cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision."
You know what that word derision means? It's scornful laughter. These men think they rule the
earth. They're sadly mistaken. Whatsoever
our Savior purposes shall never fail to come to pass. And though the world looks at
all the chaos and thinks we're nuts for saying that our God
rules all things and all these things come to pass because of
his decree, they look at us like we have three eyes. But what
they see is chaos. We see as a purpose of God, the
very purpose of God playing out before our eyes. And we should
rejoice in all that we see, knowing that all this is happening with
the good hand of our Savior, controlling all things. But sadly,
many times we don't. The next thing we behold, the
Lamb of God gathering his people to himself. We find the most
blessed promise in Jeremiah. Flip over there with me if you'd
like. Jeremiah chapter 32. This is such a blessed, blessed text.
Jeremiah 32, starting in verse 37. It says this, behold, I will
gather them out of all countries, whether I have driven them in
mine anger and in my fury. and in great wrath. And I will
bring them again into this place and I will cause them to dwell
safely and they shall be my people and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart
and one way that they may fear me forever for the good of them
and of their children after them. And I will make an everlasting
covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do
them good, and I will put my fear in their hearts, and they
shall not depart from me." It doesn't get any better than that.
These verses are speaking of the true Israel of God, the church
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Further, Christ promises that
all the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh
to me I will in no wise. cast out. And I love this verse
in Isaiah 54, 7. For a small moment have I forsaken
thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. One of the
definitions that I found of this word gather, it means to put
your arms around someone and hold them in a careful and loving
way. What a good description of what
our Savior does for his people. He gives us a heart to cry out
like David, save us, O Lord, our God, and gather us from among
the heathen to give thanks unto thy holy name and to praise triumph
in thy praise. Then we behold the Lamb of God
as he returns in the clouds. In Revelation 1, 7, it states,
behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him And
they also which pierced him in all kindreds of the earth shall
wail because of him. 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 16
and 17 tell us this. For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel
and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are
alive and remain shall be caught up together with him in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air And so shall we ever be with the
Lord. Now, there is a description in
Revelation 19, a very description of His return. Revelation 19, starting in verse
11. Revelation 19, 11, And I saw
heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he that sat upon him
was called Fruitful and True. And in righteousness doth he
judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that
no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood, and his name is called the word of God, that
word that was made flesh. And the armies which were in
heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. And
he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. And
he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King
of Kings and Lord of Lords." Lastly, We behold the Lamb of
God as He is worshipped by His elect forevermore. You're already
in Revelation. Flip back to chapter 4 a moment.
Revelation chapter 4. It says the 4 and 20 elders fall
down before the throne of God and this is what they cry out
in verse 11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive
glory. and honor and power, for thou
hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they were created. And in the next chapter of Revelation,
in verse 9, 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, and hast made us unto our God, kings and priests,
and we shall reign on the earth. Then in verse 12, worthy is the
lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and
strength and honor and glory and blessing. And there shall
never be an end to this praise sung by the saints of God to
this lamb of God. Because the Scriptures declare
many times that the kingdom of our Lord is an everlasting kingdom. Now in closing, John the Baptist
made this statement that we read at the beginning of this message,
Behold the Lamb of God. But John was just a man, as we
are, just a sinful man. And this is why we read in Matthew
11, verse 3, how that he sent two of his disciples to the Lord
Jesus, And they asked him, Art thou he that should come, or
do we look for another? Now John had already declared
Christ Jesus to be the very Lamb of God. He had seen with his
own eyes the Spirit of God descending and lighting upon him. But as I said, John was just
a man. But I believe the message that
our Lord sent to John through these two disciples put any of
those doubts to rest. And sadly, we are much like John. One moment we're confident that
we could take on this entire unbelieving world and stand firm for the name of our God and Savior.
And then almost like the flick of a switch, we find ourselves
unsure. Does this happen to you? We find
ourselves unsure. and doubting if we even have
a shred of faith, wondering sometimes if this gospel that we claim
to believe is even true or not. And we might even find ourselves
doing what Peter did and denying that we even know the Lord Jesus
Christ and throwing in maybe a few cuss words just for good
measure. But those times that we have are good for us. Because it's Peter we learn to
cling even more tenaciously to our Lord and Savior. He teaches us that unless he
keeps us, we are as unstable as a leaf blown in the wind,
ever susceptible to that sin which doth so easily beset us,
which is spoken of in Hebrews. This is why Paul wrote that we
have no confidence in the flesh, anyone we know, and especially
ourselves. But there is one in whom we have
and can have all confidence because he does all things well, this
one that John called the Lamb of God, this one who we shall
forever praise through eternity and bless his name for all that
he's done for us.