Behold! The Lamb of God Who Takes Away the Sin of the World

Right before Jesus began His ministry, God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Him.  John knew what time it was.  Do you know what time it is?  John preached to the nation of Israel, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near."  The kingdom of heaven is the spiritual realm in which God rules and reigns forevermore.  Jesus was about to be revealed to the nation as the Messiah, the King and the Holy One of Israel.  John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah 40:3-5, "A voice of one calling: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD.  Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low.  The rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.  And the glory of the LORD will be revealed.  And all people will see it together.  For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

While John was baptizing, he saw Jesus walking towards him and he proclaimed to the people, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  In the book of Exodus, God sent Moses to Pharoah in Egypt to deliver the Israelites from slavery and bondage.  The people were suffering terribly.  Abraham's descendants were being severely oppressed.

Over four hundred years earlier, God had called Abraham to leave his home and his family and go to the land that he would show him. (Genesis 12:1-3.)  Then in Genesis 15, God promised Abraham that He would give him a son coming from his own body and his offspring would be as many as the stars in the sky.  God, then made a one sided or unilateral covenant with Abraham.  In a unilateral covenant, only the party that makes the oath needs to follow the specified terms.  God put Abraham to sleep and then He made the covenant with him.

So, 400 years later as God promised, God sends Moses to deliver Abraham's offspring from Egyptian bondage. (Exodus 3:7-10.)  Pharaoh refused to set God's people free, so God judged him and the gods of Egypt.  God sent 10 plagues.  At the final judgment, God told Moses to tell the people that everyone should take a lamb for his family, one for each household.  The lamb should be a year old with no defect or blemish.  The people were to kill the animal and take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of their doorframes of their houses while they ate the lamb.  That night God killed every firstborn human and animal whose house was not covered with the blood of the lamb.

When the death angel came, if he did not see the blood applied to the home, he had the legal right to enter the home and kill the firstborn.  The blood was needed to atone for the sins of the family of that household. Jesus is our Passover Lamb.  The first Passover was a type or a shadow of what was to come.  When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he knew that He would be the perfect lamb that would be killed and sacrificed, so that the sins of the whole world could be atoned for or forgiven.

Sin separates us from God.  God is holy and He cannot tolerate sin.  That is why He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to shed His precious blood for us on the cross.  Leviticus 17:11 says, "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life."  Hebrews 9:22 says, " In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins." 

God the Father sent Jesus to shed His blood so that our sins can be atoned for.  An animal's blood could not fully atone for man's sin once and for all.  In the Old Testament, the High Priest was required by God to make atonement for himself, his household and the entire nation of Israel, once a year. (Leviticus 16:32-34.) But after Jesus died on the cross, Jesus' precious blood atoned once and for all the sins of the world.  Jesus had no sin.  Hie is the perfect lamb without any blemish.  Jesus took our place on the cross.  He paid for my sins and yours. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Hebrews 9:24-28, Hebrews 10:19-23.

The Lamb's blood has been shed, however many have not applied the blood of Jesus to their hearts, so that their sins can be atoned for.  Just as the Israelites had to apply the blood of the lamb to their door posts in order for their sins to be forgiven and the death angel pass over them, the blood of Jesus needs to be applied to each person's heart so that he or she can receive eternal life.  John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

If you have not applied the Lamb's blood to your heart, and you would like to, please say this prayer.  Heavenly Father, I repent of my sins.  I confess with my mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and I believe in my heart that You raised him from the dead.  Please save me and help me to live for you now and forevermore, in Jesus' name.  Amen."  If you said that prayer, welcome to the family of God.  All things have been made new.  Please let someone know that you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  

God tells us in Hebrews 10:24-25, "And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we many stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities.  Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching."  Shalom.

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