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Behold the Lamb of God 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. John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah. He came preaching that the people needed to repent for the kingdom of heaven was at hand (Mt. 3:2). They were to prepare the way of the Lord and make His paths straight as written by the prophet Isaiah many years before (John 1:22). He baptized those who believed in water for the remission of sins saying that they should look for the One who would baptize them with the Holy Ghost and with fire. One day as John was baptizing, Jesus appeared and requested to be baptized. The heavens opened and a voice came from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased (Mt. 3:17). I can only imagine what John may have felt at that moment. Prophesies were being fulfilled right before his eyes. The Lamb of God had finally arrived (Gen. 22:8). There would no longer be a great gulf between heaven and earth. The sin that separated the human race from fellowship with God was being bridged. God would once more commune with man just as He did with Adam in the garden (Gen. 3:8). God Himself had come on the scene in human form to pay the penalty for sin that He Himself had prescribed (I Cor. 2:8). Sinless blood was necessary to atone for sin (Lev. 17:11) and the only One capable of providing such a sacrifice was standing right before him. The prophesy of Zechariah 13:1 was being fulfilled. A fountain was being opened for all sin and uncleanness. Zechariah 13:1 ¶ In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. I believe that the prophesy of Isaiah 53 came to John’s remembrance. The Suffering Servant whom Isaiah had written about was now standing before John the Baptist. He had no earthly beauty. He would be despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Certainly not a man held in much esteem. He was stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. It was He who would bear the sins of the whole human race, including you and me. He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, chastised for our peace, and by His stripes we are healed from all sickness and disease. The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He came willingly as a lamb to the slaughter without voicing any resistance whatsoever. At Calvary, He was cut off from the land of the living, because of our transgressions. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him, instead of us. His soul, instead of ours, was offered for our sin. However, it doesn’t end there. He came triumphantly out of the grave. He is presently enthroned on the throne of God, where He intercedes for us all (Rom. 8:34). From the throne, He looks back to the cross and sees the travail of His soul and says, “I’m satisfied to see all of these redeemed souls that I purchased with my blood. It was worth it all.” Romans tells us that by the death of one - many were made righteous. That’s us folks. Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one [judgment came] upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [the free gift came] upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. God said that He looked for an intercessor and couldn’t find anyone (Isa. 59:16, 63:5). Moses, Abraham, Isaac and David and many others were all men of God, but they weren’t perfect, they couldn’t provide the necessary sacrifice. It was necessary for a Savior to be holy, undefiled and separated from sinners (Heb. 7:26), nor could any guile be found in his mouth (I Peter 2:22). Nobody but Jesus has ever met those requirements. The blood of Jesus is our propitiation i.e. the one time required payment for all of our sin (I John 2:2). We have God’s promise that when He sees the blood of the Lamb, He will pass over us (Ex. 12:13). The blood of Jesus is a perpetual flow that flows from Calvary to the throne of heaven and back down to our souls. It cleansed us from past sin and is readily available for present and future sin (I John 1:7). We were once the darkest of sinners, but now we are washed, sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus, by the Spirit of the living God (I Cor. 6:11). Because of the unmerited favor of God’s grace, we have redemption and have been bought back from the possession of the enemy (Eph. 1:7). We are no longer held in chains of darkness, Jesus set us free and whomever the Son has set free, is free indeed (John 8:36). The purchase price was much higher than all the gold and silver of this world. We were redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus. He is the Lamb of God who was foreordained before creation, because God saw the pitiful condition of each and everyone of us, and decided to do something about it (I Peter 1;18-23). When we stop and consider who we are compared to the matchless purity of Jesus , it causes us to shudder. We ask, “Who am I Lord that you gave your life’s blood for me? Help me to never forget where you brought me from and the awful price that you paid to deliver me. Lord, help me to remember that you gave your all for me. May I always serve you willingly from the depths of my heart. It‘s the very least that I can do.” Free Ebooks That You Can Download. An Expository Study on the Book of Colossians The I AMs of Jesus Your thoughts and Inquiries Contact@About-Him.Com Subscribe to this devotional? Subscribe to About-Him Devotional Keep Looking Up! Don and Marie Spooner About Him! Ministries The purpose of About-Him.Com is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ whom we preach as the Almighty God manifest in the flesh. It is our desire that everything presented on these pages increases your faith in our God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Home About Us About His Word Bible Studies Flash Movies Guest Writers Humor Links Midi Music Songs of the Church Thoughts on the Life of Christ Weekly Devotions Audio Devotionals Topical Studies Contact Last modified: 10-05-2011 Contact us About Him! Ministries |