If you would, you want to follow
along, please turn to John chapter 1. John chapter 1. I want to read one verse. Verse 29 of John chapter 1. The next day, John seeth Jesus
coming unto him, and saith, behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world. And that's all I'm going to read
first to start with. There are many illustrations,
types, and shadows of Christ in the scripture, particularly
of the Old Testament. Throughout the Bible, But one
that is consistently used through the Old Testament and the New
is the title and the person of the Lamb of God. You'll find
it from generations all the way through to Revelations. Old Testament
and New, it's used as a type, a shadow, and an illustration.
And the Bible constantly uses this illustration or type throughout
the whole thing. Now, different aspects are revealed
as you go through the Old Testament from the beginning up until this
point in John chapter one. Here, the Lamb of God is revealed. The Lamb of God spoken of all
through the Old Testament up until this time is revealed as
Jesus of Nazareth. The Lamb of God is a person.
I remember reading years and years ago, decades ago now. Now,
please don't think badly of me, okay? I read the weekly world
news and the National Enquirer every now and then when I was
in a waiting room. There was a letter in there that some woman
had wrote for advice. And this woman had commented,
written that her husband had started going to church and started
talking to her about how she needed the lamb, and she needed
the lamb's blood, and she was scared. And this woman in this
advice column said, well, you might want to get away from him.
He could be violent. This is the world we live in,
folks. This is the world we live in. That was probably 30 years
ago, 20 years ago at least. Well, I'll lay you odds. I know
this for a fact, actually. People haven't changed. They
don't understand the Lamb of God any more than they understand
the man in the moon. And to them, they're both a mythic
figure. But the Lamb of God is the truth
of scripture. And here in John 1. In verse 29, John sees Jesus. And that's a heck of a statement
right there. That's a heck of a statement right there. How
many people saw the Lord Jesus Christ without seeing the Lord
Jesus Christ? How many people did he preach
to that did not see him as the Lamb of God? And I know the answer
is thousands. It's possibly a million. I don't
know how many people saw our Lord, heard our Lord. I know
one place 5,000 or so left him at one time. Just like that. Why? Because of something he
said, or what he preached. They saw this person, but they
did not see Jesus, the Lamb of God. Much less see anyone, the
one who taketh away the sin of the world. All they saw was a
man, a carpenter's son. Oh, we know his mother, we know
his father. Or where is your father? But John seeth Jesus. and says, behold, the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Right here in this
passage, we see the Lamb, the Lamb of God, who is a person,
identified. He's identified. These are the
words of John the Baptist, speaking as he saw Jesus approaching him. John had told the Pharisees the
day before that he himself, John the Baptist, he said, I am not
the Christ. But he didn't stop there. He
told them, I am not the Christ. They asked him, art thou Elias
the prophet? He said, who art thou? I am the
voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the
Lord. And they which were sent were
of the Pharisees. And they asked him, he says,
why are you baptizing? And John answered and said, I
baptize with water, but there stands, there standeth one among
you whom you know not. That's verse 26. He it is who
coming after me is preferred before me, who shoelaces it,
I am not worthy to unloose. And you know, you don't see a
word there from the Pharisees about Hey, where is this guy? Where is this one? Where is he? They didn't ask
because they didn't care. And they didn't care because
they didn't understand. And they didn't understand because
they still had uncircumcised heart and ears. But when John seeth Jesus, he
saw the Lamb of God. John told him he is here, he's
among you, and you don't know him. I'll lay odds, Walter, those
Pharisees were insulted. Who's this wild fellow with a
camel hair shirt coming telling us that the Messiah is here among
us and we don't know? We'd know before you would. That's the way they thought.
That's the way they thought when they talked to Christ himself. John said he's here, and the
Pharisees didn't care because they didn't believe. And I can
tell you this right now, the world still doesn't know the
Lamb of God today. The Lamb of God is identified
by John to be Jesus of Nazareth. And as of this moment right here
in this book, he was there. John saw him. But I can also tell you this.
Jesus of Nazareth, the Lamb of God, is right here right now. Because he said, where two or
three gather together in my name, there am I. Not outside, and here, this is
the amazing thing, not above. There am I in the midst of them. In the midst of them. Oh, man. And I looked at it a little bit,
and there's a couple of commentators that say, well, you know, John
May just been referencing Alam. And I thought, you're writing
a commentary on the Bible. You know, come on, folks. No,
he didn't say a lamb. He said the lamb. He said the
lamb of God. And all of the Old Testament
references were about referring to shadows of, types of, this
lamb of God, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ. So I want to go
through a few. Very quickly, I'm gonna try and
not keep you long. But in Genesis 4-4, you don't
have to turn there, because we're gonna do three or four of these.
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of the flock,
and the fat thereof, and the Lord had respect unto Abel, and
to his offering. And remember I said, in John
1, We have the lamb of God identified. Well, here back in Genesis 4-4,
we're told the lamb is necessary, absolutely necessary. God had
respect unto Abel and his offering, and his offering. Now, God had
not respect unto Cain and his offering. Abel brought what? A lamb, a firstling of the flock. Here's the thing. Even though
God had respect unto Abel, and I think I told you this some
years ago, a while back anyway. This is biblical theology 101.
If God had respect to Abel, then he always has had respect unto
Abel. Because you understand, God doesn't
change. And he doesn't say, God had respect unto Abel because
of his sacrifice, the lamb he brought. No. He said, God had
respect to Abel and his sacrifice. But here's the thing. Without
that lamb, there's no sacrifice. Without that lamb. Now, this
is a literal lamb. All the ones from the Old Testament,
they are literal. Baby sheep, lambs, that's what
they are. Able, in order to make a sacrifice
unto God, in order to make an offering unto God, there had
to be a lamb. The lamb is absolutely necessary,
because without the lamb, there is no sacrifice. And with the lamb, here's the
thing, with the lamb, accepted sacrifice was made, and only
with the Lamb. In Genesis 22 and verse 8, Abraham
said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went both of them together.
Here we see both the provision and the substitution of the lamb
By God. By God. Abraham was going to
sacrifice his son. It's told that. In Hebrews, it
tells you that he was expecting God to raise him from the dead.
They were going to make a burnt offering. God had told him. And he told him he needed to
offer his son. And Abraham had that in his head
the whole way up there and all the way up on top of the mountain.
But he told Isaac, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went, both of them, together. He told his son that God would
provide himself a lamb. Both Abraham and Isaac asked
him, where's the lamb? This was Abraham's answer. The lamb is for God. The lamb is for this was the
burnt offering. The lamb is the offering toward God. There must be a lamb. Yes. It's
Abel's day. It's the necessity. But here's
the thing. God will provide himself a lamb. And I love that sentence, because
you can take it either way you want. God himself is going to provide,
give us a sacrifice. God is going to provide himself
as the sacrifice. That's provision. That's the
provision of the lamb. And then, just as Isaac was laid
out on that altar, and Abraham had the knife in his hand and
was getting ready to kill him, God said, stop. And there's a
ram in a thicket caught by its horns. And get that ram and substitute
that ram for Isaac. Oh. See, not only do we see the
provision of the lamb, of God himself as a lamb, our lamb,
the lamb, we see the substitution. That lamb, that ram, took the
place of Isaac in that burnt offering. How? God provided it. It's all about God's provision.
God provided the lamb, God provided it all. Without the provision of God,
there is no substitute. So, the reverse is also true. With the provision of God, there
is a substitute. And I need a substitute. And
you need a substitute. Then in Exodus 12 and verse 6,
and ye shall keep it up until the 14th day of the month, and
the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the
evening. This is about the Passover lamb. And here we see. Two things,
the lamb's perfection and the lamb being slain. They were keeping it up to the
14th of the month to make sure it had no blemishes, no sickness,
no nothing. Why? Because the lamb had to
be perfect. The lamb had to be perfect. It
is to be without blemish, without spot of any kind. The Lamb is to be perfect inside
and out. The Lamb is perfect. I'll tell
you this, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, He is perfect, seen and
unseen. It doesn't matter whether you
see Him or you don't see him. It doesn't matter whether I see
him or I don't see him. It doesn't matter that the world
doesn't see him. This lamb of God that we know
is perfect. Here in the Passover, we're told
that, and then it says this, the whole assembly of the congregation
of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And it tells you how, I didn't
print it out here. The blood was shed on that lamb. Now understand, the reason that
lamb's blood was shed was the congregation of Israel did it
in the evening. We're the ones responsible for
the death of Jesus Christ. We're the ones responsible. But
that lamb had to be slain. That lamb's blood had to be shed. And it was put over the doorposts
and the lintel on the outside of the house of the children
of Israel. This perfect lamb must be slain
and the lamb's blood shed. Because here's the thing. as perfect as that little lamb
was, that little lamb, perfect, without
spot and without blemish, that lamb had no redemptive value
without its blood being shed. It must be slain and the blood
shed and the blood applied to the house because here's the
thing. God did not say to Israel, when
I see the lamb without spot and blemish, I'll pass over you.
Now it's true, the lamb was without spot and without blemish. But
God said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. The lamb
had to be slain. And the lamb's blood had to be
shed. And God would pass over them.
as he did not pass over the houses of Egypt. Inside the houses of
Egypt, where there was no blood over the doorpost and the lentils,
no blood of the lamb, there was death in every house, the death
of the firstborn. Without shedding of blood, there
is no remission. There's no freedom, none. And Isaiah 53 and verse 7 says,
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 opened not his mouth. And Isaiah 53. is about Jesus Christ from beginning
to end. The whole book of Isaiah is all
in the Bible. But here, in Isaiah 53 and verse
seven, that lamb that was spoken of in Genesis, that lamb that
was spoken of in Exodus, the lambs in, I didn't go into the
offerings in Leviticus, that lamb is first said here in Isaiah
53 is a person. shall be brought. He is brought
as a lamb to the slaughter. The lamb of God is a person. It's a person. He's brought as
a lamb, and that lamb is a person. A person is to be, this is in
Isaiah's time, the sacrificial lamb punished for the sins and
transgressions of his people as a substitute, and thereby,
as that slain substitute for their sins and for their transgressions,
healing and justifying many, many. Why? How? For he shall bear their
iniquities." We come to the literal presence
of the Lamb of God walking upon the earth. What did John say? Behold, this Lamb. This Lamb of God. You understand? This was not, I mean, I understand
not everybody had books in those days. They had scrolls, but generally,
you know, a scroll was an expensive thing. You know, you had to come
up with a material. They didn't go down to Walmart
and buy a book. You had to come up with the material. But see,
this is not what I've been talking about. The lamb is not uncommon
knowledge. They had the Pharisees and the
scribes. They had rabbis who taught. They
had people who spoke in the synagogues about this lamb. But here he
is in John's sight. With the Lamb of God, the sin
of the world will be taken away by substitution. Now, we say
now, the sin of the world has been taken away by substitution. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God,
the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Holy One of Israel. And how does he accomplish this
substitution? Romans 5 and verse 6 says this. For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward
us. And Paul's writing to believers
here, to us. In that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. And much more than being now
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. That's substitution, folks. That's
substitution. Stated in the scripture of Christ
for his people. We and us. And Paul is definite
on who he's referring to. Now I understand. I will tell
you that the whole world is ungodly. I will tell you that everyone
in the world is a sinner. But here Paul tells us, God commendeth
his love toward us. And that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. Much more now being what? Justified
by His blood. Not justified by our acceptance
of it. Not justified by our knowledge
of it. We're justified by His blood 2,000 years ago. And it goes on in Hebrews to
tell you, at that time, when He made this offering to God,
He obtained eternal redemption for us. Because I know some people want
to say, see, Christ died for the ungodly. Well, that's everybody.
Well, yes and no. Everyone is ungodly. I'm still
ungodly now. But I'm going to tell you something,
not everybody will own up to it. You understand there's lots
of people, there's lots of people want to accept Jesus Christ,
but they won't say that they're ungodly. or they won't believe
they're ungodly. I'll own up to it. Matter of
fact, I'll own up to it so fast right now that I will tell you
this. I am still ungodly right now in and of myself. He has shown me that. And if he hasn't shown you that,
you don't know him. You don't know him. There's no
way you're gonna come to Christ without knowing you sin. Now
you're not gonna know it the way he knows it. You're not gonna
know it the way he paid for it. But you're gonna know it. Come unto me all ye that are
weary and heavy laden. Then I'll give rest. You understand, think about it. The godly didn't need anybody
to die for. And here, very carefully, in
what Paul wrote, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. You understand? Christ didn't
die for himself. I said it yesterday. Even if
he was only saving exactly one sinner, he'd have had to do all
this. He would have had to die for
that one ungodly sinner that he was going to save. Only one. Christ didn't die for himself. Christ didn't die for a cause.
He died for the ungodly. Jesus Christ is not a martyr.
He's not a martyr. He is not a martyr. He's a substitute. He's a sacrifice. an offering
for sin forever. That's the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world. And we were justified by the
blood of the Lamb of God. Peter carries on. For as much
as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things
as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by
the tradition of your fathers, but with the precious blood of
Christ as of a lamb, without blemish
and without spot. He died for the ungodly, but
he didn't stay dead. Here we see the redemptive. resurrected
Lamb of God. And we are redeemed by the blood
of the Lamb of God. And we know he's the accepted
sacrifice, because God raised him from the dead. The grave
couldn't hold him. Why? Revelations 5 and 12, saying
with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb. that was slain. You can't leave
out the slain. Without the slain, there's no
sacrifice. Without the slain, there's no
substitution. Worthy is the lamb that was slain
to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and
honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as
are in the sea, and all that are in them heard I saying, blessing
and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth on the
throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever. Worthy is the Lamb of God. Worthy
is the Lamb of God. And here we see the worthy lamb
and the deified lamb. He is the lamb that was slain
and now lives forevermore. He took the book from him that
sits upon the throne because he's worthy. And the father told the lamb
of God, sit on my right hand. Nobody sits in the presence of
God except God. Oh my. Last one here, Revelations 21
and 22 and 23. Chapter 21, verses 22 and 23.
And I saw no temple therein. For the Lord God Almighty and
the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the
sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did
lighten it. And the lamb is the glory thereof. Oh, my. Here we see the returned
lamb. He's on earth again. He's the light thereof. God and the Lamb are the temple,
and the Lamb is the light. Guess what? He's always been
the light. Men just don't see it. Men don't
see the Lamb of God, the light of the world. The light. Here we see in this temple, everything
typified in the Old Testament. Because the Old Testament, you
had a temple. Before that, you had a tabernacle. And you know
what that tabernacle and that temple were? It was pictures
of Christ. It was pictures of the Lamb of
God. This Bible, because here we are,
what was it, Revelations 21, or 20, no, 21. The first thing
God commanded, that you'll read of in this Bible
in Genesis 1 is what? Let there be light. And where do we end up? There's
light. The Lamb is the light of the
world. And everybody in that world at
that time is gonna know Him. They're gonna see Him. He's the
light. That's the way the book begins,
and that's the way the book ends. It's not the ending, but that's
the way the book ends. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Jesus
Christ is the Lamb of God, and the question is, do you know
this Lamb? I've been talking the last couple
of times about being joined to Christ. Understand, this Lamb
right here is the one that we're joined to. And He's the one that
joins us to Him. This is the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world. The necessary Lamb, the provided
Lamb, the slain Lamb, the perfect Lamb, the personified Lamb, the
identified Lamb. The messianic Lamb, the resurrected,
redemptive Lamb, and the worthy, deified Lamb. The returning Lamb
who's coming. one day to this world to gather
together his people. Oh my, and he's gonna come and
he's gonna rule as the king of kings and the lord of lords,
and worthy is the lamb. And to be worshiped. Understand? Every knee's gonna bow. Every
tongue's gonna confess. whether willingly or unwillingly. It better be willingly. You might
rather have it to be willingly. But it's going to confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Do you know
the Lamb of God? His name is Jesus, and he is
coming. Only question. It needs to be
answered right now. And I'm gonna say this in a definite,
particular way. Will you have this lamb to reign
over you? Scripture said, we will not have
this man to reign over us. That's the answer of the majority.
I'm not preaching to the majority. I'm preaching to believers. Do
you believe him? You don't have to believe me.
Do you believe him? Do you trust him? His words right
here, his word is true. And I've read to you, I've talked
to you about what he said about himself. Will you have this man reign
over you? I mean, you know, they're out
there now. Have you ever heard this? You need to get Jesus in your
life. Or, I've accepted Jesus into
my life. Understand? No, they don't understand
that, because they say stuff like that, okay? Without Christ, You ain't got
no life. You don't have any life. There
is no life. Trust me, he's not going to be
accepted into yours. But this is what we're surrounded
by. The longer I go, the weirder it gets. Well, evil men and seducers will
wax worse than worms. You understand, that's not having
the Lamb of God reign over you. That's accepting another God
you can put on your shelf. Our God's not gonna be put on
a shelf. Like I said, every knee's gonna bow in submission and every
tongue's gonna confess to his glory. Now will you have that
man, this man reign over you? This God, this Lamb of God who
taketh away the sins of the world. Our Heavenly Father, thank you
again for this time and this place. Please use this message
for your honor and your glory. Be with Paul and Walter as they
come to speak and preach your word. and we will give you all
the honor and the glory now and forever because it is yours. And the lamb is worthy. Thank
you for him. In Christ's name we pray, amen.