I apologize for there being no Musings last week.  It was one of those difficult weeks that come into our lives from time to time.  A week ago this past Tuesday, September 4, I received a call from my sister living in California that her husband had fallen at work.  At the time she did not know how badly hurt he was.  She only knew that they were attempting to revive him as they placed him into an ambulance.  Later, that same evening, I received a call from her saying that the prognosis was very grim...that Mike, her husband, only had primitive brain waves and was paralyzed.  He was on a respirator.  She asked if I would come out to be with the family.  So, that Friday, my Mother and I flew out to Stockton, California.  The family had already released him for organ donations.  I was privileged to give the message at his memorial service this past Monday.  Six hundred people were there and I shared the gospel with them, just as Mike would have wanted done.  My Mother and I then flew home this past Wednesday.  My sister and her family are doing about as well as can be expected in the light of Mike's swift home-going.  Just another reminder that we have no guarantees for tomorrow.  We only have today.  And we had better be ready when the Lord calls us home.  I know that many of you were praying.  Thanks!  We could feel the power of prayer.  Keep my sister, Diane, in your prayers.  These will be difficult weeks of transition for them.  And Thursday would have been their 32nd anniversary. 

A lot has transpired in the world these past two weeks.  Israeli warplanes flew over Syrian airspace creating cries of war.  So far neither side has quickened the pace toward war.  According to some reports in the New York Times the Israeli planes discovered a secret nuclear facility in northern Syria.  If that proves to be true, then Israel's attention will be more focused upon Syria then upon Iran...at least for the immediate future.  Meanwhile, Prime Minister Olmert continues his discussions with Palestinian President Abbas promising him the divided Jerusalem and the complete evacuation by Israel of Judea and Samaria.  One can only wonder what is going through his mind.  Personally, I believe the Israeli government is receiving incredible pressure from our government to continue the "land for peace" negotiations.  But, God is at work.  And the plans of man can never thwart His plans.  In fact, the psalmist tells us that God just laughs at man's vain and futile efforts. 

Meanwhile, in our country the debate over the continuation of the war in Iraq continues.  We have heard the reports from General Petraeus.  He believes that the military is accomplishing its objectives.  Now it is time for our government to put some pressure upon the Iraqi government.  The difficulty with that assignment is that only a handful of the present Iraqi government understand democratic principles of self-rule.  We have not done an adequate job of helping them to know how to govern.  As the presidential nomination contest heats up, more attention will be paid to the war. 

Our study of the Word takes us back into the first chapter of John, focusing upon verses 29-35.  According to the Gospel writer, we have now arrived at the second day of Jesus' ministry.  Now it is interesting to note that the Apostle John does not describe the baptism of Jesus.  In fact, some Bible scholars believe that this account is of the second meeting between Jesus and John the Baptist, occurring some 40 days after their previous meeting when John did baptize Jesus.  These scholars believe that Jesus is returning from His time in the wilderness having been tested by Satan.  If this timing is accurate, then the testimony of John the Baptist takes on an added significance as he has had time to reflect upon the events that transpired forty days prior when Jesus was baptized.  We do not have time to adequately deal with this entire passage, but I do want to focus upon that familiar testimony from John found in verse 29: "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

First, let us notice what John the Baptist did NOT call Jesus.  He did not call Him Elijah.  Now Jesus would have been accepted by the Jewish people as Elijah because they were looking for the return of this social reformer.  In fact, one of the last statements of the Old Testament told them to be prepared for Elijah's coming.  John did not call Jesus "prophet".  Jesus would have been accepted as a prophet because the people were looking for someone to call them back to moral reformation.  But, John called Jesus "the Lamb of God" addressing that one area where the people did not wanted to reminded - the area of sin and their need for salvation.

Now I found it very interesting in my study that John 1:29 and John 1:36 are the only two occurrences in the Bible of this title "the Lamb of God" being applied to Christ.  Yes, there are other verses that describe Jesus as being a lamb.  In 1 Peter 1:19, Peter proclaims that we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  In the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John hears the choirs of heaven give praise to the Lamb (Revelation 5:6, 8, 12).  But, you will not see the title "the Lamb of God" being used.

What did John the Baptist mean when he used that title for Jesus?  Immediately, several word pictures come to mind from the pages of the Old Testament.  First, one thinks of the Passover and the sacrifice of the Passover lamb whose blood was shed, then applied to the door frame of the homes to protect those living within from the hand of the angel of death (Exodus 12:1-13).  According to John 2:13, the time of the Passover was near and perhaps as John was speaking he was seeing a flock of sheep crossing the Jordan River on their way to the Temple for the sacrifices.  The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5:7 that Jesus is our Passover.  Let me ask you: Have you ever considered the beauty of the fact that Christ is your Passover?  You see, you and I deserved to die just as did the Egyptians.  We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.  The sentence hanging upon us is death.  But, just as the lamb died as a substitute, so Jesus died as a substitute for you and me.  Just as the blood had to be applied to the house, so my sins are not removed until I am washed in the blood of the Lamb. 

Another picture John the Baptist might have had was of the lamb God provided when Abraham, in obedience, offered up Isaac (Genesis 22).  Just as God provided that ram who was caught in the thicket by its horns, so God provided another Lamb, His Son, to die for us.  Friends, this is one of the most remarkable stories in the Old Testament as it relates to our salvation.  Spend some time this week reading and meditating upon it.  You will be glad for the time spent.

Finally, John could have had in mind the lamb who were daily sacrificed in the temple (Exodus 29:38-42).  Two lambs were sacrificed each day as a burnt offering to God.  They died in the place of the nation of Israel.  720 lambs died every year.  Perhaps John is stating that Jesus did what these lambs could not do: make a permanent atonement for sin.  Jesus Christ was the last "lamb" to be slain. 

What was the purpose of the Lamb of God.  John tells us it was "to take away the sin of the world."  The Greek word "take away" is an interesting one.  It has the notion of "taking something upon one's self with the intentions of taking that something totally out of the way."  In other words, it is to get rid of something, to remove it completely.  In addition, note that John uses the word "sin" not "sins."  John is referring to the totality of the world's sin, rather than to just a number of individual acts.  The word "sin" is all inclusive.  Nothing is left out or excluded.  Again, notice that it was the "sin of the world" not just the sin of Israel.  This is another glance at the completeness of Christ's atonement.  His death was completely adequate for the needs of all men (Hebrews 9:11-14; Hebrews 9:23-28). 

Friends, this title for Jesus - "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" - is one of the most significant in all Scripture.  Sometimes, just so I can capture its essence, I like to read this verse as: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of Max Frazier."  Praise God for the reality of that truth! 

I want to close this week, not with a quote, but with the verse of a hymn that, I think, captures the essence of this text.  It was written several centuries ago by William Cowper, a man who constantly battled mental disease, but who was mightily used of God.  He wrote: "There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Immanuel's veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains."  Amen!

Return to Max's Musings on John