The Lamb of God

John the Baptist announced Jesus as the Lamb of God, a sacrificial reference to Isaiah 53, whose once-for-all offering would forever atone for the sins of His people and redeem them back to God. Jesus coming was ignored by the religious leaders because they were looking for the Messiah to be gloriously powerful and victorious as a conquering King destroying His enemies. His appearance as a lamb caused them to reject Him. Jesus expects his followers to take the same path, but, unbeknownst to the world, that path is one of victory and triumph. This has to do with appearance only. The power of God is dynamic in apparent weakness. Like John who was asked to look on the Lion of Judah in Revelation 5, he did not see a lion, but a lamb.