John

[0:00] As the Lord should be pleased to help me, I shall call your attention to a subject you will find in the Gospel of John, chapter 1, and the second half of the 29th verse.

[0:19] Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Verse 29, second half, chapter 1, the Gospel of John.

[0:37] This is a word which should be found in every sermon preached by men ordained of God to preach.

[0:55] For it is the essence of the Gospel, the purpose of the Gospel, in the proclamation of it, that poor sinners might behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

[1:12] The subject is one that is familiar. The words are often quoted. But ere you can enter into what the words proclaim, there must be a miracle wrought.

[1:28] The eyes of the blind must be opened. For the opening word in the subject is, behold. And you need eyes to see.

[1:40] And those eyes can only be given as the Holy Spirit is pleased to work that miracle. And the eyes of the blind shall be opened.

[1:52] Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. How highly favored was John the Baptist to, as it were, have the privilege to introduce the Lamb of God to the world at large.

[2:13] And especially in the age in which he lived. John the Baptist was a wonderfully highly favored man. And what great pleasure it must give him in heaven, where his redeemed spirit now is, as he beholds the Lamb of God there.

[2:37] To think that it was granted to him in the world at large. His mission in life was to encourage poor sinners to behold the Lamb of God on earth as the sinner's friend.

[2:53] I want to look at the subjects as the Lord shall help me from one or two viewpoints of it. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

[3:09] The great majority of mankind are not concerned to heed such a word as this. They are content to live as they were born.

[3:20] We will not have this man to reign over us. Depart from us. We desire not the knowledge of thee or thy ways. And now, in opening up the subject, I want to look first of all at the Lamb of God.

[3:40] And that takes us back to when the Adam fall took place. And God proclaimed to Adam and Eve how his worship was to be carried on.

[3:53] And what the basis of it was to be. The basis of the worship of God, as God made plain to Adam and Eve, was that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.

[4:10] And God taught Adam and Eve how he was to be worshipped by way of sacrifice. So that Abel, who listened to the divine teaching and worshipped God, and by living faith brought a lamb, and was accepted and is offering.

[4:36] By faith Abel offered unto God an acceptable sacrifice, more acceptable than Cain, who brought of the fruits of the ground, which were significant of the doings of the creature.

[4:53] And there was no shedding of blood, and there was no remission of sins. But with Abel, by living faith in exercise, he beheld the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, when he offered up a lamb for sacrifice, where there was shedding of blood, and it availed for him.

[5:18] By living faith he worshipped God aright. And now, later on, when the law was promulgated, and the Mosaic ritual was established, then it was made very plain to Israel of old.

[5:36] Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. And there must have been millions of lambs sacrificed and their blood shed as the Israelites came up to worship God and to offer sacrifice.

[5:57] Desire in matters to be made right between them and God for any breach of the law which they had made. And yet, with all the millions of lambs that were slain, and the rivers of blood that ran in the sacrifices made, yet there was no virtue, no real value.

[6:22] It was only to show a type of the Lamb of God who in the fullness of time would come and shed his blood, and that would be available for poor sinners to enable them to have matters made right between their souls and God.

[6:44] Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. And now, in thinking of the lambs that were offered in Mosaic ritual, there is a contrast.

[7:04] And now, the lamb was not of the same nature of him who offered it as a sacrifice. And it was not of sufficient value to satisfy the justice of God for the sin for which it was offered.

[7:25] And it was not a voluntary offering. And now, all these three characteristics are to be seen in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

[7:42] Jesus Christ was of the same nature as those who offered the sacrifices. He became man. He came down into this world and was seen among men as verily man.

[7:59] He took upon him the nature of the sinners whom he came down into the world to save, and yet without sin.

[8:10] And then, when we think of the value of his sacrifice, it is infinite in value, and none of us can begin to estimate what the value of it is.

[8:27] The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin, the Word of God declares. And his sacrifice, the Lamb of God, in offering his sacrifice, in shedding his precious blood, it is an infinite sacrifice.

[8:49] Its value is beyond words to describe, and it avails for all poor sinners who desire matters to be made right between their souls and God.

[9:02] And then, when the Israelite of old offered the Lamb, it had to be taken there. It was not a voluntary offering.

[9:13] The Lamb had nothing whatever to do with it. It was just taken to be offered. But now, with Jesus Christ, his was a voluntary offering.

[9:27] He did it on his own initiative, knowing what awaited him in offering the sacrifice. Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.

[9:39] God. In the volume of the book, it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O God. So that Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of God, was a voluntary offering, and an offering of wondrous value beyond words to describe, and an offering that could allay the claims of divine justice, so that matters could indeed be made right between poor sinners and God, with whom they had to do.

[10:17] But we go back to this word, behold. Behold, the Lamb of God. Do you behold the Lamb of God when you worship God?

[10:28] is it your concern? Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law? Behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.

[10:50] Do weigh matters up before God as to how things really are between your souls and God. Has he opened your eyes?

[11:02] Is your ear attentive to the gospel and the proclamation of it, that you may behold the Lamb of God in listening to the gospel by the eye of faith, and get a blessing indeed for your soul?

[11:20] That is the essence of worship. Behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world and then thinking again of the Lamb of God being the sacrifice that he is.

[11:39] He is God in our nature yet sinless and this sacrifice is all sufficient and ever avails.

[11:52] A lamb is an innocent creature and Jesus Christ was the holy harmless undefiled Son of God in his divine nature and yet he became man he took our human nature into union with his divine nature as the eternal Son of God that he might have a body wherein he could suffer and bleed and die and be the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world and then a lamb is a meek creature and when you read the life that Jesus lived in the Gospels how wonderfully meek he was he opened not his mouth to whatever his sufferings were he was treated with all ignominy and contumely hated by the wicked and yet as a lamb led to the slaughter is dumb so he opened not his mouth to whatever his sufferings were and yet his sufferings were beyond any human comprehension and in it all he was a willing sufferer doing the will of God doing it because of the work he came into the world to do love's redeeming work behold the lamb of

[13:30] God which taketh away the sin of the world and in taking away the sin of the world he had to bear it in one accumulated mass the Lord hath made to meet upon him the iniquity of us all so we read in Isaiah and when he hung on Calvary's cross and those words went forth my God my God why hast thou forsaken me then it was that he bore the sins of all the elect of God away to be no more remembered against them which taketh away the sin of the world and that means the elect world it must mean that because it cannot mean all the world otherwise hell would not be needed if all the sins of the world were taken away they would be forgiven them and heaven would be full and hell would be empty but it is not so hell is ever filling up with sinners who do not desire this man to reign over them behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world this sacrifice was acceptable to God the Lamb in Moses day under the ritual of the law had to be won without blemish as much as it could be and

[15:24] I have thought sometimes that when an Israelite came with a Lamb and the Lamb was refused because there was a blemish in it how disappointed the Israelite must be to think that he had to obtain another Lamb which answered that which was desired without blemish but when you come to God with this as your plea Jesus Christ the Lamb of God you know it is a Lamb without blemish and it is an all prevailing plea behold the Lamb of God behold all to have our eyes open more often to be engaged in doing it behold on earth the Lamb of God and then at length to behold the Lamb of God in glory where he is the glory of

[16:27] Emmanuel's Lamb behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world much might be said from that viewpoint of the subject but I want to notice also that when the Passover was instituted then it had to be a Lamb slain and all Israel had to be under their home roofs in their families and the Lamb was to be slain and the blood sprinkled upon the lintels of the door and the doorposts and they were safe while the destroying angel went throughout Egypt to destroy the firstborn of the Egyptians a beautiful setting forth of the gospel when I see the blood

[17:28] I will pass over you and it is the blood Jesus blood through earth and skies mercy eternal mercy cries behold the Lamb of God and now in that far back day when the Passover was first instituted there were instructions given as to how it was to be eaten thus shall ye eat it with your loins girded your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand and ye shall eat it in haste man it is the Lord's Passover it was to teach them that they were going on a long pilgrimage in the wilderness to journey to the land of promise which was promised them ye shall eat it in haste significant that you and

[18:33] I if we are people taught of God sinners born again we should be in haste to have matters made right between our souls and God and hasting through the world to a better world to come ye shall eat it in haste and there is one expression here which is very significant to me and it says ye shall afflict your souls and that is a very striking expression it means there must be mourning mourning of which the Savior said blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted and there needs to be much more of this afflicting of our souls than what you and I alas seem to know in following on in our profession of the name of Jesus ye shall afflict your souls so that whenever you behold

[19:38] Calvary's cross and him who died thereon when you thus behold the Lamb of God you should at that time hate sin more than ever you have done before in your life and that is the affliction of soul and it was to be the lamb was to be eaten with bitter herbs that is to signify that like later on when you sit at the Lord's table to celebrate the Lord's supper as we term it there should be an afflicting of your soul and a consideration of how much you have heard and strayed like lost sheep how much you have failed in your profession of the name of Jesus there should be bitter reflections solemn convictions but that is what it means to afflict your souls to meditate upon how far short you come in following on to know the

[20:47] Lord and how little you seem at times to be like Christians which you really desire to be before God ye shall afflict your souls and it means being eaten with bitter herbs means there will be bitter sorrows bitter convictions of sin bitter confessions of sin and bitter reflections that you cannot do the things that you would you would be a real Christian and live unto God and live for God but sin is mixed with all that you do and therefore you eat the lamb of God as it were with bitter herbs as you afflict your souls in how much you come short in all that you would be and would do in living the life of the righteous behold the lamb of

[21:53] God which taketh away the sin of the world and then there is another viewpoint of the Passover which is worthy of our consideration and you read in the Corinthians which the apostle Paul calls their attention to purge out therefore the old leaven that ye may be a new lump as ye are unleavened for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us therefore let us let us keep the feast not with old leaven neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth you see before they kept the Passover they had to sweep the house through and all leaven had to be put out the feast was to be eaten with unleavened bread all leaven was foreign to the service of keeping the

[23:10] Passover and now there is something like that when you behold the Lamb of God and desire to keep the Passover there must be no leaven and it means looking at it from this viewpoint the apostle Paul says purge out the old leaven and now you think of what it is to sit at the Lord's table as you will do later on if all is well and yet to have matters not right between you and some brother or sister who is before the Lord at the table with you that is the apostle Paul's meaning purge out the old leaven there must be nothing amiss the leaven of frivolity the leaven of a wrong spirit existing it may be between you and another forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us and then there is the leaven of worldliness and the leaven of fashion and the leaven of error and the leaven of inconsistency of conduct the leaven of vain conversation the leaven of self righteousness all this says

[24:39] Paul must be purged out as old leaven and not admissible when you sit together at the Lord's table I'm not fitting any caps on or making any allusions to you but I'm just telling you how the Passover had to be kept in olden time and so it should be kept under the gospel Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us therefore old old leaven must be purged out and what a mockery it really is if people who perhaps look as cancer each other and will hardly speak one to another should be found at the Lord's table to celebrate the doing and dying of Jesus Christ and yet they do not endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit the thing is a mockery and Paul says my brethren these things ought not so to be behold the lamb of

[25:46] God which taketh away the sin of the world and now the next consideration is which taketh away the sin of the world where is it taken to the spirit of God in the word of God gives us many illustrations of forgiveness of sins as to where as it were sin is taken to but Jesus Christ he made it non existent when Christ died for our sins they were blotted out to be no more remembered against us taken away never to come back again cast into the depths of the sea says Micah and you know the sea is of great depth and if Mount Everest the highest mountain in the world could be plucked from its roots and cast into the depths of the

[26:53] Pacific Ocean it would be buried altogether to be no more remembered so it is with the depths of the sea of Jesus sin atoning blood much might be said along that line of thought which taketh away and mark this word taketh as in the present tense it still takes away the sin of the world and any of you dear people this Sabbath afternoon if you were concerned regarding your own case as a poor sinner wondering depth of mercy can there be mercy for a wretch like me the gospel says yes there is the blood of Jesus Christ God's son cleanseth from all sin and if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness yes says

[28:02] Micah they will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea where they will be swallowed up and never reappear again to be no more remembered against us another word is your sins and your iniquities I will remember no more you see you and I do remember them we cannot forget them but God says and only God could say it I will remember them no more they are blotted out as it were blotted out from the mind of God that he will no longer remember them against you and then I like that illustration of Hezekiah when he said to God thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back it is a wonderful consideration as to where the back of

[29:02] God is but I believe it is to lead our thoughts to Calvary's cross because Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners he came down to do love's redeeming work and he was born obeyed by birth mysterious and he lived his life on earth as verily man and did love's redeeming work in every jot and tittle of it and then when he rose from the dead on that Easter morn long ago and descended up into heaven shortly afterwards as it were I say this with great reverence he turned his back upon that work he came down into the world to do and strictly speaking you can say the back of God is at Calvary's cross where Christ died for our sins died in the stead of poor sinners like you and me in having done love's redeeming work he returned in triumph on high ascended up on high and this

[30:19] Sabbath afternoon as we are here in the attitude of worship Jesus Christ is at the Father's right hand for poor sinners interceding if any man sin we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world and now if God should grant you this mercy and a great mercy it is to behold the Lamb of God it will be a mighty influence in your life from henceforth after you have beheld the Lamb of God you will want to live for him and live to him and show whose you are and whom you serve and now there are places according to what the scriptures tell us where you may have this privilege to behold the

[31:24] Lamb of God in all places where I record my name there will I come and bless thee and God has appointed what we call means of grace I have wondered many times at the origin of that phrase but still it is a phrase but the scripture says in all places where I record my name and in those places where the name of God is recorded you can behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world he is to be beheld in the word of God for the scriptures and the Lord bear one tremendous name the written and the incarnate word in all things are the same and sometimes in searching the scriptures you can behold the Lamb of God you can discern his works how he did love's redeeming work the details of it and your heart is attracted and your mind is absorbed as you read and you behold the

[32:40] Lamb of God doing love's redeeming work and you can behold that he did it for you and how good it is when you can search the scriptures and find your Savior in the sacred pages divine instructor gracious Lord O be forever near help me to read thy sacred word and find my Savior there he is to be beheld in the worship of God and that should be everyone's concern coming up to worship God to behold the Lamb of God like the hymn writer says what is the house to me unless the master I can see behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world and how good it is when you can find faith in exercise and you are on the stretch in the means of grace to behold the

[33:55] Lamb of God like the psalmist when he said one thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after that I may behold the beauty of the Lord dwell in the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world and there I think I must leave the subject as I do not feel at all well and I have said something for you to think about and the Lord help you to think about it and give you eyes to behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world and may you be helped to behold in him all your salvation and all your desire the

[34:58] Lord help you to think on these things Amen Amen