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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
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 is the One who will baptize with the Holy
Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
John 1:29-34
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be
to God.
As we saw in yesterday’s devotion, the baptisms of John
the Baptist, culminating with the baptism of Jesus, drew the attention and
curiosity of the Jewish religious leaders who after trying to figure out John’s
identity and why he was doing what he was doing. You’ll recall that John
deflected the attention away from himself and toward Jesus and rightfully so.
The Messiah who had been predicted by the prophets of old had finally arrived on
the scene and He would prove to be everything that had been prophesied and
more.
Well, as we continue to look at the first chapter in the
Gospel of John, we find John the Baptist providing further information as to
who Jesus was and what He had come to do. Look again at these verses:
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 is the
One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this
is God’s Chosen One.” John 1:29-34
It was after Jesus had been baptized. We don’t know how
long but it couldn’t have been too much time because John the Baptist’s
recollection of what happened during that special event was still very fresh in
his mind. We do know that the events within today’s passage happened the day
after John’s encounter with the Pharisees, priests, and Levites.
The scriptures tell us that it was on that day that Jesus
came toward John, prompting the one who was designated by the prophets as the
messenger who would introduce the Messiah to say:
“Look, the Lamb of
God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Here, through John’s inspired words, we know that Jesus
was not only the forecast Messiah but also the “Lamb of God” who came to take
away “the sin of the world”. Indeed, Jesus would be the unblemished, final
sacrifice needed for all mankind to atone for sin and He would satisfy this
destiny on Calvary’s cross, His blood serving to wash clean anyone who had or
has placed their faith, hope, and trust in Him as Savior. Some would refer to
Jesus as mankind’s Passover lamb as well, for His blood would cover His
believers’ iniquities and allow death to pass over when it came as He welcomed
them to eternal life with Him and God the Father forever.
This would have been enough for John to say about Jesus
but he had more to share:
“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.”
You’ll remember that John the Baptist had promised that
someone much more powerful than he was on the way, one who would not baptize by
water but rather by the power of the Holy Spirit. John reveals that he baptized
by water in order to reveal Jesus to Israel and what an amazing unveiling it
had been when Jesus was baptized, the next testimony we find John sharing:
“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 is the One who will baptize with the
Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
We learn two very cool things here.
First, we learn that God himself had communicated with
John the Baptist, telling him how he would know when he finally met the
Messiah, that His identity would be revealed when the Holy Spirit descended
upon Him. It was this man, Jesus, who would baptize with power by way of the
Holy Spirit.
The second thing we discover here is that Jesus was God’s
chosen One. In other words, all that happened with Jesus was not by mere chance
or coincidence. No, Jesus’ conception, birth, upbringing, and now adult
ministry were all a part of God’s grand scheme of things, His master plan for
how salvation would be brought to all people, Jew or Gentile. Jesus was hand-picked
by His Father to pay the price for the sins of the world, hand-picked to
conquer death and the grave so we might later, and hand-picked to be given all
authority on heaven and earth.
So in sum, here’s what we learned today:
Jesus was (and still is) the Lamb of God, God’s Chosen
One.
Let us worship Him for all that He has been, all that He
is, and all He is yet to be in our lives and in the lives of others.
Tomorrow, we see how He recruited John’s followers to
join His cause.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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