JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD

Jesus: The Lamb of God

INSTAGRAM: Jesus Pics

“Images of Jesus from the Gospel of John”

CONNECT How many of you use Instagram? Snapchat? These, along with Pinterest, are the fasting growing social media sights.  They are trying to close in on Facebook’s dominance in this genre.

Why are they so popular? There is an old saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words!”

John gives us an Instagram album of the life of Christ: Jesus pics...,

TENSION What difference do these pics make in my everyday life?

SOLUTION These snapshots all testify to something that Jesus has done for us and continues to do for us. They are all directly applicable to our lives today!

INSTRUCTION Let’s look at first of these Jesus pics.  In 1976, Alba and I were in Israel. We had a chance to be baptized in the same place where John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan River. He looks and sees Jesus approaching...

TEXT John 1:29 (NKJV) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” 

John 1:35-36 (NKJV) Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

John the Baptist did not know who Jesus was, even though they were related and were born six months apart. It appears they never played together as children; they never sat together at the kid’s table during family reunions!

However, when John baptized Jesus, he knew immediately that Jesus was the Messiah.

John 1:32-34 (MSG) John clinched his witness with this: “I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ That’s exactly what I saw happen, and I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: This is the Son of God.”

Now John had a complete knowledge about the significance of the Lamb. He could remember all the imagery of the Old Testament...

J. Sidlow Baxter: “The Master Theme of the Bible” …

PROGRESSIVE REVELATION

Genesis 4:3-7, Abel and his lamb

Genesis 22:6-8, Abraham, Isaac and their lamb

Exodus 12:3-23, The Passover lamb

Leviticus 22:21, The unblemished lamb

Isaiah 53:6-8, The submissive and suffering lamb

He could only envision how the New Testament writers would expand the picture…

John 1:29,35, John’s own testimony

Acts 8:26-37, The Lamb and the Ethiopian eunuch

I Peter 1:18-21, The risen Lamb

Revelation 5:6-14, The Lamb on the Throne

Revelation 21:22 – 22:5, The Lamb, King of Kings and Lord of Lords

PROGRESSIVE EMPHASIS

Genesis 4: The Necessity of the Lamb

Genesis 22: The Provision of the Lamb

Exodus 12: The Slaying of the Lamb

Leviticus 22: The Character of the Lamb

Isaiah 53: The Personality of the Lamb

John 1: The Identity of the Lamb

Acts 8: The Christhood of the Lamb

I Peter 1: The Resurrection of the Lamb

Revelation 5: The Enthronement of the Lamb

Revelation 21-22: The Endless Kingdom of the Lamb

PROGRESSIVE DOCTRINE

Genesis 4: Propitiation

Genesis 22: Substitution

Exodus 12: Protection

Leviticus 22: Absolution

Isaiah 53: Expiation

John 1: Sin removal

Acts 8: Personal salvation

I Peter 1: Redemption

Revelation 5: Government

Revelation 21-22: Eternal glory

PROGRESSIVE EXPANSION

Genesis 4: For sin

Genesis 22: For one person

Exodus 12: For one family

Leviticus 22: For one nation

Isaiah 53: For the elect

John 1: For the whole world

Acts 8: For whosoever

I Peter 1: For all history

Revelation 5: For all the universe

Revelation 21-22: For all eternity

Worthy is the Lamb!

Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne.
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless king
through all eternity.

INSPIRATION

Big deal, you may say, “What do all these big and fancy words mean to me today”? Let me take you a passage that recently the Lord showed me again…

Exodus 34:19-20 (NKJV) “All that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. “And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.”

APPLICATION

I was destined for a broken neck!

Proverbs 6:12-15 (NKJV) A worthless person, a wicked man, Walks with a perverse mouth; He winks with his eyes, He shuffles his feet, He points with his fingers; Perversity is in his heart, He devises evil continually, He sows discord. Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.

Proverbs 29:1 (NKJV) He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

You don't have to die of a broken neck! We are all donkeys, full of stubbornness and idolatry, destined for death. Jesus, the Lamb, purchased our life!

It is true of every truth we looked at today.

HASHTAG #Jesus paid it all!