Friday, June 16, 2017

THE LAMB OF GOD, THE CHOSEN ONE



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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

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