Behold the Lamb

John – embattled by Pharisaic interrogators who want to know who he is and what he does – points away from himself to Jesus, whom he knows to be the Messiah because when the Spirit descended on him, he remained upon him. The Baptist makes the keynote declaration of his ministry: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

We focus on the call to attention, then consider the substance of the declaration: who Jesus is and what Jesus did.

He is the Lamb of God: he is the sacrifice that subsumes and surpasses all other sacrifices, making all others redundant as he provides the great propitiation for sin. God himself ordains, gives, and accepts him as he accomplishes the saving mission of the Triune Jehovah. This is the root of Christian theology: if Christ is not the Lamb, he is little else.

He takes away the sin of the world. Here is his principal labour and primary aim. His work is effectual, for the whole miserable mass of sin is removed from his people, taken from them by him and carried away. It is continual, for he is always bearing away sin, a sacrifice of eternal effectiveness and perpetual application. It is sufficient, extending far beyond the Jews and securing the redemption of an unnumbered host from every kingdom, tribe, tongue and nation. It is a sacrifice of incalculable value, for it covers the sin of any who come to Christ.