Jesus: The Lamb of God

(crowd cheering) - Well, good morning, church family. Such a joy to have you with us today. My name is Wes if you're new here. So grateful to have you in the room. We'd invite everybody today to take your Bible out and turn to the Gospel of John chapter one today. We're in the second half of John chapter one. If you missed last week's introduction to the series, that's available on YouTube. We'd love for you to go to our website or YouTube and check that out so you can follow along and stay up with where we're at. Any fans of the television game show who wants to be a millionaire. So let's see where all the old people are 'cause that show debuted 27 years ago. Can you believe that? Like for those, some of us in the room that makes us feel super old. On August 23rd, 2009, a guy named Ken Basin appeared on the season finale of the 10th anniversary special and he was an entertainment lawyer and a Harvard Law graduate. So a super smart guy that would qualify to be on a game show like that. In fact, before he made this episode, he appeared on as a semifinalist on college jeopardy. So he had already been around the game show circuit and he, if you know how the game show works,

you answer questions in a series of increasing amounts of money lay on the table. If you get one, you're out. And there's a total of 15 questions to get to the million dollars. He had answered all the first 13 questions correctly. He gets to question 14 and it was this. What film actress's death was reported on the front page of the debut issue of USA Today? Audrey Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, Grace Kelly or Greta Garbo and Ken wasn't sure. So he used his lifeline to phone a friend and the friend told him I'm only 35% sure it was Grace Kelly but he narrowed it down to A or C. So then he uses another lifeline to call the expert who on this particular episode was Bill Nye the science guy. And Bill tells him it was Audrey Hepburn. And in the end, Ken goes against Bill Nye and chooses Grace Kelly, which was correct. And the price pull went up to half a million dollars lays on the line. And so here we are, the 15th and final question with one million dollars on the line. Here's the question, for ordering his favorite beverages on demand, LBJ had four buttons installed in the Oval Office labeled coffee, tea, coke and what? Fresca, V8, Yuhu and A&W. Ken said he had a hunch but he decided to use his lifeline and pull the audience.

And the audience results Fresca, 15%, V8, 12%, Yuhu, 40% and A&W of 33%. So Ken went with the audience and got the answer wrong. The million dollars evaporated and his total prize winnings for that episode was $25,000. You know, some questions are costly to answer incorrectly. And at the end of John 1, there's a question for us that's super important that we know to get the answer right and it is this question, who is Jesus? The church has to get that answer correct. And you know how people answer that question, there are many and variety of ways that people will answer that question. In Jesus' day, some thought Jesus was demon possessed, trying to explain away his power. That's who they said he was, he's got demons, that's how he drives out demons. Others thought Jesus was a fraud and a blasphemer, explaining away his big statements about himself. Today, people might tell you Jesus was a good person, Our Muslim friends would say he was just a prophet. Hindu friends might say he was a God of many, many kinds of gods. Atheists might even acknowledge a historical Jesus, but say history kind of made him to be something more than he really was. The people who call themselves Christians might struggle to answer this question, believe it or not. Last year, Legionnaire Ministries released a survey because they ask questions every single year. They surveyed the United States to get a poll on how people think about religion, spirituality,

Christianity, et cetera. And they polled thousands of people and they asked this question. They asked this statement, "You can agree or disagree." Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God. Would you believe that 24% of people who call themselves evangelical Christians that agreed with that statement? Almost one in four people who call them Christians themselves Christians did not know how to answer that question correctly. It was amazing, shocking. There's another question that they asked. God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam. 47% of evangelical Christians agreed with that statement. And man, it ought to be really concerning to us that nearly half of the people who call themselves Christians see valid paths to God that do not include Jesus. John would lose his mind to know that people who call themselves Christians in 2026 don't recognize Jesus as the Son of God. Thus, the second half of John 1 attempts to make absolutely clear the answer to the question who is Jesus. I need to know that. You need to know that. The world needs to know that. But the first interrogation of the religious leaders is who is John the Baptist. We were introducing him last week in some poetic language. This week, John the Apostle gets a little bit more specific. Now this guy John the Baptist has attracted a lot of attention out in the Judean desert near the Jordan River. And because he's attracted a lot of attention, the religious authorities decide they need to come and investigate and figure out who is this guy. And so they send some folks down there to ask him some questions and they ask him, are you the Messiah?

Nope. Are you the prophet Elijah? Not a chance. Are you a prophet? Wrong again. Here's how John describes himself, John chapter 1 verse 24, "Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, 'Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?' I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." Rather than make himself the center of attention, John says, "I'm not even worthy to do the job of a slave and untie his shoes because that was the job for a slave." Now John could have said, "Hey guys, you go back to Jerusalem, you can tell them, 'Hey, I am the last and final of the Old Testament prophets. My birth was declared to my father by an angel, the Holy Spirit empowered me for this mission that I have been sent on while I was in my mother's womb. And by the way, the Son of God called me the greatest man to ever walk the face of the earth." Take that back to Jerusalem. But instead, he says, "I'm not the one that you need to know about." The answer to that question, who is John the Baptist, "I'm a nobody. I'm here just to point the way." Man, what an example. I think an example for us, we could say it this way, that we ought to with our lives aim not aim to make much of ourselves, 'cause that's the temptation, isn't it? To build audiences and followings, to get people to think about us in a certain way, we can be attention seeking and egotistical and make ourselves the center. And so I would say to you that John leads the way

to say whatever platform the Lord has given you, use it for the Lord's glory and not your glory. So keep a healthy perspective about who you are. If anyone could have racked, John had the credentials to do so. But he used that attention to point people to Jesus and you might be thinking about how, like how do you do that? Well, I think you could, everyday things that happen to you. When somebody gives you a compliment in your life, you could say, thank you for that. Praise God that he's allowed me to be a blessing. Or when someone else elevates you, keep yourself grounded about what you aren't. Or when he blesses you financially, use those resources to help others to make much of Jesus and then give the credit to God for what he blessed you with. That's how you make much of it. You love people well. You use your life well, not to make yourself the center, but to make him the center. And then the center of the story enters in the story here in John chapter one, verse 29. The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I meant when I said a man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.

I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel. Then John gave this testimony. I saw the spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me the man on whom you see the spirit come down and remain as the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and I testify that this is God's chosen one. So here's John with laser focus who wants us to have absolute clarity about Jesus' identity. And you'll see several times in John one that Jesus is referred to. John testifies to Jesus as the Lamb of God. And what does that even mean? If you're new to church, you might be like, I have no idea what that means. And that would be a legitimate question that sometimes maybe church people we blow past and assume everybody understands what that means. So let me give you some background to that and tell you what it means. It means that Jesus is a gift that is provided by God to take away our sins. That's what Jesus, the Lamb of God means. And certainly the imagery here has kind of multiple layers to it.

Of course, we could start with the imagery that flows out of Passover where when the Israelites left out of Egypt, they crossed through the Red Sea and God instituted right before they left Egypt. This act that they had to perform to kill a lamb and take the blood and put it over their doorposts so that when the destroying angel came by, the angel passed over the houses on whom the blood of the lamb was present. So when John says there is the Lamb of God, it means this is the one who is saving us from the wrath of God. His blood is going to be the way that we have new life. But lambs were also offered in the daily temple sacrifice every morning and every evening there was a lamb offered as a sacrifice at the temple. Then there's also the day of atonement and the language of Isaiah 53, which says like a lamb is led to the slaughter, pointing us to what would happen on the cross. The death of the animal, this lamb was a way of reconciling people to God. The problem was that not that people weren't reconciled, but the problem was that people kept on sinning after that. And so the sacrificial system, as Hebrews reminds us, didn't permanently deal with our sin struggle. But now John wants us to know that God has made available the perfect sacrifice. The sacrifice of sacrifice is the once for all sacrifice has come into the world. Here he is right here, Jesus, the Lamb of God. So Jesus, when he comes into the world with his blood, he just doesn't talk about sin or make people guilty for sin or pretend that sin doesn't exist. What does John say he does? He takes it away. So when John says he takes it away,

John is saying that Jesus addresses the deepest need that humans have in our relationship to God, at our deepest level, our separation from God that is brought on by the sin that we have in our lives. And everything that the Old Testament has been foreshadowing is now standing in reality, in the flesh, in a person. There he is, the Lamb of God. And because he's that Savior and he's paid that price for you, you have been redeemed and you have been set free. He has taken away your sin. So the question is, if that's true, if you believe that, why would you let the enemy keep you in a prison of shame and guilt in your life? If it really was taken away, why would you hang on to it? Why would you constantly beat yourself up? I'm so stupid. I can't believe and I'm such an idiot and you just berate yourself rather than say, "Praise God, I've been redeemed." He took it away. And now, because it's taken away, I have the freedom and the ability to live in the joy and the restoration of knowing I'm right with God. And I think a lot of Christians never experienced that and that's sad. Because it's been taken away. Isn't that reason to sing this morning? Y'all didn't sound like that's reason to sing today, all right? Is that reason to sing today? Yes, it is. It's a reason to jump up and down and get excited because, man, he's taken away the guilt of sin. He's taken away the penalty of sin. He's taken away the stain of sin, the separation of sin, the dominion of sin, and the presence of sin in our lives is gone. So don't hang on to it. And then John continues, verse 35. The next day, John was there again with two of his disciples. These two disciples in this moment are unnamed. John's going to give us the name of one of those in a second. So hang on. When he saw Jesus passing by, so Jesus comes, makes in another appearance the day after he's baptized, Jesus is passing by and John again says, look, the Lamb of God. And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, what do you want? And they said, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? Come, he replied. And you'll see. And so they went and saw where he was staying and they spent the day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. That's a really interesting part of the passage here because John had a large following of people that came out to hear him preach and to see him baptized and to be baptized in the desert. And now there is a transition in just the first few verses of John's gospel where some of John's disciples no longer follow John and start to turn their attention to Jesus. So if John's role was not to be the center, it was to prepare the way for Jesus. When Jesus arrives, it's time for John to get out the way.

And he doesn't go, John doesn't go chasing down the disciples who decide to follow Jesus. It's not a competition. John acknowledges, I'm way down the totem pole here. Jesus gets first place. And if my guys, they ought to turn and follow him. And here we're introduced to some disciples who start tagging along with Jesus. And the question that Jesus asked this guy, these disciples in verse 38 is a profound one in our NIV. It's translated, what do you want? Now don't hear that as Jesus saying, like, why are you bothering me? Like, what do you guys want? that's What are you seeking? Wait, what are you looking for? Which is both a dangerous and gracious question it's dangerous because it can reveal our true motivations But it's gracious because it can invite us to a place of real honesty, which Jesus always appreciates And as we'll see throughout John some follow Jesus Because they just wanted to see the miracles that Jesus performed as if he were some sort of ringmaster at the circus And others wanted to follow Jesus This is John 6 because they wanted the free food that came with following Jesus Because he could just make it happen and everybody's like awesome. We didn't have to go out today and buy any Jesus just provided it And some people just followed Jesus just because they had burning questions and they thought Jesus might get answered their questions For others they followed Jesus because they assumed that he was going to take on political power and kick the Romans out And so they wanted to be first in line maybe get a spot in the cabinet So this question What are you seeking is a phenomenal question for discipleship? What am I seeking from Jesus? And we often say that we want God that would be the church answer to give But what some of us really want is we hope what God will give us like God is Santa Claus or something The reason that you're following is just so when you pray he'll give you what you want That's why some of us pray only when we're in a crisis Do I want to get from Jesus or do I want Jesus There's a big difference in the way you answer that question Because if you only want him when you get from him When you don't feel like you have a need in your life, you won't be chasing him

Do I want Jesus' help without Jesus' holiness? If so then you don't want Jesus Do you want his blessing but you don't care much for obedience to him Then you don't want Jesus Do you want to feel better about yourself? Without repentance? Then you don't want Jesus Do you want to be saved from hell without Jesus really being Lord of your life? Then you don't want Jesus Jesus wants you and not just something from you Do you want him? Is the question that we are presented with here in John 1? And to their amazing credit so early in Jesus ministry These two disciples answer with both a title and a question The title is Rabbi, which means teacher In other words when somebody you call them your teacher It means that they have something to say that you need to learn from that you need to receive from and so you get out pen and paper And you start taking notes because the teacher has some authority some wisdom some guidance that you need He has some information that we don't have And then they ask him Hey, by the way, where are you staying at? Now on the surface when Jesus asked them the question What is it that you're seeking and they say hey, where are you staying tonight? Seems on the surface like they've dodged the question But spiritually it suggests Actually, they want to hang out with them What are you seeking? Well, we're kind of seeking you. We're hoping we could spend the day together. Would that be all right? Could we follow you wherever you're headed next? They want more, in other words, than just some sort of passing moment.

and they want his nearness, they want access to him, they want conversation with him, and his ongoing presence. This is a crucial discipleship theme throughout the Gospel of John. That true following is not something that is occasional or hab-hazurt. Contact with Jesus. It is abiding with Jesus, being with him, being near him. So again, the question, do you want to be with Jesus? And most people might say, well, of course, yes, I do, but a quick examination of our lives might prove otherwise. 'Cause the next question would be, well, if so, when do you spend time with him? Like, when does that happen? How often do you read his word and how often do you listen to him? Do you spend time talking with him every day? We just sing about that calling God, and we'll call you in the good days and call you on the bad days when I'm on the mountain and when I'm in the valley, like, is he on your mind? Do you think about him? Do you reference him through the day? And for us to learn from him, you can't just show up to class when it's convenient or when you feel like it. These guys believe that Jesus had the words of life. And so they reoriented their lives.

We're gonna stop doing this, stop following this guy because we realize this guy, the Lamb of God has something incredible to say to us. And so they reoriented their lives and Jesus invites them over. Come hang out with me. Come spend the day. Man, what an incredible invitation. Isn't that amazing? That the God, we just read John 1-1, the God who created the universe into being says, I wanna spend time with you. And in a world where we feel so often rejected, what an amazing and beautiful invitation in our lives. That Jesus takes these guys' curiosity and converts it into an encounter with himself. But that invitation from Jesus to come and see then becomes contagious. And then John lets us in on the name of one of those two disciples, that's verse 40. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother, Simon, A.K.A. Peter, and tell him, we have found the Messiah and he brought him to Jesus. And Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon, son of John, "and you will be called Cephas, "which is translated as Peter, which means rock."

Now don't miss the progression here that's occurring in John. Here's Andrew, a disciple of John the Baptist. So Andrew didn't start with Jesus, he started with John the Baptist. And Jesus says, "Hey Andrew, "why don't you come and hang out with me, "come and see where I'm staying." And then Andrew has this encounter with Jesus and recognizes that something as special is here, he spends the day with Jesus and then the text tells us what's the very next first thing that Andrew does. But I got to go tell my brother about this. It's incredible. And so he goes and grabs a guy named Simon who we know today as Peter and invites him. And Andrew says to Peter, "You got to come and see this guy. "You got to come and listen to him. "We have found the God, the Messiah, "the one that all of the scriptures have been pointing to. "He is here, I know it, I've seen it, I've experienced it. "You won't believe the things that this guy says "and does, it's amazing." And so Peter, one of the incredible apostles after whom one of the largest and most famous churches in the world is named, came to Jesus at the invitation of someone in his life, had said, "You got to come and see this." And the same thing happens, by the way, the next day, when Jesus invites a guy named Philip

and then Philip invites him, and have a life-changing encounter with the Messiah. And here's what I appreciate so early in John chapter one is that these evangelists, they don't have every answer to the person of who is Jesus. They aren't scholars, they aren't professionals. In fact, they don't even have any training yet. They simply know that they have experienced something by hanging out with this guy, and they must share it with the people that they love most. And I wonder if you have the same desire for people in your life, that because of your time, you are encountered with the person of Jesus, the Messiah, the Lamb of God, and your excitement, you want other people to make sure they have the same encounter you have had, because when you experience something awesome and amazing in your life, don't you go talking about it? If you got a great deal at a store, you're gonna tell somebody, hey, you gotta go shop at this place, or something awesome happens in your life. You're gonna tell people about that. So why on earth would you let the greatest thing that happened to you, your salvation, your redemption, your forgiveness, and then stay quiet about it? That doesn't make sense.

Andrew and Philip and so many other these apostles are examples for us. Man, I have to invite people to come and see. They don't know a lot, but they know Jesus wasn't an ordinary guy. And I would suggest to you, by the way, this is the best strategy for evangelism that exists in the world. Not paid advertisements or marketing campaigns, although I'm not opposed to those kinds of tools, the greatest witness for Jesus you have is your encounter with Jesus. And what if you were to pray this week? Lord, would you show me the person that you want me to invite to come and see? This isn't complicated, like just inviting somebody, hey, would you come and experience what I'm experiencing right now? 'Cause the Lord is just doing something in my life, has done something in my life, and I want you to also experience that because man, it's just filled me up and I want you to have the same joy that I have. And so at the beginning of the telling of the story of Jesus, John wants us to know with absolute certainty how to answer this question. Who is Jesus? And at the end of chapter one, we can already say that Jesus is the Son of God, the Lamb of God, He is our teacher,

He is the King of Israel, He is the Messiah, He is also the chosen one. That's His identity. We gotta get that right, church. 'Cause if we don't get that right, we won't be excited to tell people to come and see a great moral teacher. We won't be excited to have people just come for the day for some sort of spiritual high. When people have a life-changing encounter with the God of the universe and what He has done for them, then we'll be excited to share that and the blessing will continue. We say, come and see, people come and see, and their life is transformed, and then they get it and they share it, and this is how multiplication happens. And may we as a church understand that, know that, experience that, and then share that with the world. If you're ready to share that, this morning say, I'm in church. Let's stand to our feet today. Lord, we thank you for the testimony of John the disciple today, about John the Baptist, and these early disciples, Andrew and Peter and Nathaniel, and so many others. Father, as they modeled for us the excitement about finding the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

And Lord, we thank you that that's true in our lives today, that you have taken away our sin, that we are not left to our guilt and our shame and our failures. Lord, but that you have redeemed us and brought us forward into new life, that we may experience your joy and your freedom from being slaves to sin. And Lord, I pray that you'll help us. Lord, to model that, to invite others into that, not to hoard it for ourselves, not to keep it a secret, but to pass it on to new life for others, Lord,