27 December, 2021
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DIGGING DEEP NO. 9154 – December 28th, 2021 |
In this first chapter, John recorded seven names and titles of Jesus that identify Him as eternal God. 1. The Word; 2. The Light – Jh.1: 4- 13.
3. The Son of God – Jh.1: 15- 28.
4. The Lamb of God- In one sense the message of the Bible can be summed up in this title “Lamb of God”. The question in the Old Testament is “Where is the lamb?” Gen.22: 7. In the four gospels, the emphasis is “Behold the Lamb of God”. After you have given your life to Jesus, you can sing with the heavenly choir “Worthy is the Lamb of God” Rev.5: 12. The people of Israel were familiar with lambs for sacrifices. At Passover, each family had to have a lamb, and during the year, two lambs a day were sacrificed at the temple altar, plus all other lambs brought for personal sacrifices. Those lambs were brought from men to men, but here is God’s Lamb, given by God to men. Those lambs could not take away sin, but the Lamb of God can take away sin. Those lambs were also for Israel alone, but this Lamb of God would shed His blood for the whole world.
What does John’s baptism have to do with Jesus as the Lamb of God? It is generally agreed in the New Testament that baptism is by immersion. It pictured death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus and John were picturing the “baptism” Jesus would endure on the cross when He would die as the sacrificial Lamb of God Is.53: 7; Lk.12: 50. It would be through death, burial and resurrection that the Lamb of God would “fulfill all righteousness” Matt.3: 13- 15. God the Father made it clear to John just who Jesus is by sending the Spirit like a dove to light on Him and remain on Him. This is also a beautiful picture of the Trinity.
5. The Messiah – Jh.1: 35- 42. The two disciples of John who followed Jesus were John, the writer of the gospel, and Andrew. John the Baptist was happy when people left him to follow Jesus, because his ministry focused on Jesus Jh.3: 30. When Jesus asked them, “What do you seek?” He was forcing them to define their purposes and goals. Were they looking for a revolutionary leader to overthrow Rome? Then they need to look elsewhere. Little did Andrew and John realize that day how their lives would be transformed by the Son of God. Jesus invited them to spend the day with Him, and no doubt He told them something of His mission and answered their questions. They were both so impressed that they found their brothers and brought them to Jesus. Andrew found Simon and John brought James. Whenever you find Andrew in John’s gospel, he is bringing somebody to Jesus. He brought his brother Simon Jh.1: 41- 42. He found the lad with the loaves and fishes Jh.6: 8- 9, and the Greeks who wanted to see Jesus Jh.12: 20- 22. No sermons from Andrew were recorded, but he certainly preached great sermons by his actions as a personal soul winner. “We have found the Messiah” was the witness Andrew gave to Simon. Messiah is a Hebrew word that means anointed and the Greek equivalent is Christ. To the Jews, it was the same as the Son of God Matt.26: 63- 64; Mk.14: 61- 62; Lk.22: 67- 70. There was some confusion among the Jewish teachers as to what the Messiah would do. Some saw Him as a suffering sacrifice Is.53: 3- 12, while others saw a splendid King Is.9: 6- 7. Jesus had to explain to His own followers that the cross had to come before the crown; that he must suffer before He could enter into His glory Lk.24: 25- 27.
Jh.1: 42 Simon’s interaction with Jesus changed his life. It also gave him a new name. “You are– and you shall be” is a great encouragement to all who trust in Christ.
Andrew and John trusted Christ through the faithful preaching of John the Baptist. Peter and James came to Christ because of the compassionate personal work of their brothers. Later on Jesus would win Philip personally, and then Philip would witness to Nathanael and bring him to Jesus. Each man’s experience is different, because God uses various means to bring sinners to the Savior.
In Conclusion – The important thing is that we trust Christ and then seek to bring others to Him.