Behold, the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world.
John 1:29
Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Man,
is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
John, the Gospel writer, describes Jesus as the Word in the opening verses of his Gospel:
"In the beginning was the Word. and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it .... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth .... No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known." John 1:1-5, 14, 18.
In the beginning, Jesus has always existed. He created everything and everyone. He is life; He is life eternal. He is exactly like his Father, God, and exactly like the Holy Spirit. They are in complete unison, complete agreement, complete harmony, complete oneness. Jesus is the exact representative of God the Father, and his mission is to make God known. Why would Jesus have to "make God known?" Because the world is in darkness. The Lamb of God came to take away the darkness and the sin of the world, and the sin was that the world doesn't know God.
Hosea 4:6 states: "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge (about God)."
Hard to believe that "He (Jesus) was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him." John 1:10
Upon being questioned by the Pharisees, John the Baptist replied: "I baptize with water, but among you stands One you do not know." John 1:26
The man who was an invalid for thirty-eight years and was healed by Jesus at the Pool of Bethesda "had no idea who healed him." John 5:13
When people asked Jesus: "Where is your Father?" Jesus replied: "You do not know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also." John 8:19
Jesus asked the Man Born Blind: "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" The man replied: "Who is he, sir? Tell me so that I may believe in him." John 9:36
Jesus talked to the disciples about hatred. "They (the world) will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me." John 15:21
"They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me." John 16:3
Lastly, Jesus prays "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." John 17:25, 26
The Sin of the World: People Don't Know God.
How does Jesus, as the Lamb of God, "take away the sin of the world?
By testifying about His Father.
By revealing the truth about God.
By demonstrating God's character.
By allowing everyone the choice to accept or reject Jesus' representation of God.
John the Baptist's Testimony:
John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John then said: "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.
"I saw the Spirit come down from Heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and testify that this is the Son of God." John 1:30-34
An argument developed between some of John's disciples and certain Jews over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan - the one you testified about - well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him." To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from Heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.' The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.
"The One who comes from Heaven is above all; the one who is from the Earth belongs to the Earth. The One who comes from Heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." John 3:25-36
For the followers of Christ,
their testimony about Jesus should be the same as that of John the Baptist:
"He must become greater; I must become less."
John 3:30
To Know God is Life Eternal
Jesus' Prayer to his Father:
"Now this is Eternal Life: that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
John 17:3
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