january 15 2023
2023 Epiphany 2, January 15th
Old Testament: Isaiah 49:1-7
Psalm: Psalm 40:1-11
Epistle: 1st Corinthians 1:1-9
Gospel: John 1:29-42a
Sermon Text: John 1:29-42a
Sermon Title: “The Lamb of God”
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
At His baptism in the Jordan River, the focus of last Sunday’s sermon, Jesus was being revealed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and the voice of the Father declaring from heaven, “this is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased”. (Matthew 3:17b) John, who witnessed these things, now boldly speaks of Jesus; “on the next day (when) he saw Jesus coming towards him … (he said) Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. (John 1:29) John the Baptist had already confessed to the crowds, “I am not the Christ”. (John 1:20b) He is telling them; this Jesus is the One you should follow, not me.
We sing these words about the Lamb of God, every week in the liturgy and we join with the angels in the book of Revelation saying “Salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb” (Revelation 7:10b) “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain , to receive power, and wealth, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing … forever and ever”. (Revelation 5:12, 13b) The saints of God are those who have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” of God. (Revelation 7:14b)
In saying that the Lamb, Jesus, takes away the sins of the world, John is affirming the doctrine of “universal atonement”; that the sins of every person in the entire world, throughout human history, were placed on Jesus on the cross and that He “desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth”. (1st Timothy 2:4) Martin Luther wrote, “For these sins, He is willing to suffer and die, that our sins may be forgiven and we may attain eternal life and blessedness … anyone who wishes to be saved, must know (and believe) that their sins have been placed on the back of this Lamb of God”; who has no sin of His own.
We are saved by faith; because of the “precious blood of Christ … a Lamb without blemish or spot”, (1st Peter 1:19b) “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7) as the prophet Isaiah foretold it. So, as the Lamb of God, Jesus had to be true man in order to suffer and die, to atone for our sins, and the sins of the world, on the cross. He also had to be true man in order to perfectly keep God’s Law and commandments perfectly for us. This is called His passive and active obedience. Jesus is also true God as John now makes clear.
Now, John had previously (earlier in this chapter) spoken to the crowds saying that Jesus is the One, “who comes after me, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie”. (John 1:27) Here again, he repeats, “this is He of whom I said, after me comes a man who ranks before me , because He was before me”. (John 1:30) John is again bearing witness to Jesus’ divinity, of His eternal nature, that He has existed from all eternity. Earlier John had testified that “Jesus was in the beginning with God”. (John 1:2). Scripture also declares “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, and today, and forever”. (Hebrews 13:8) So, Luther also taught in the Small Catechism, “I believe in Jesus Christ, (who is) true God, begotten of the Father from all eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary”. (2nd Article explanation)
John the Baptist continued to speak of the Lamb of God saying, “For this purpose, I came baptizing with water, that He might be revealed to Israel”. (John 1:31b) John was not about promoting himself, but rather, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness; make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said”. (John 1:23) John preached “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3b) and pointed all people, including his own disciples, to Jesus.
That was the whole purpose of his ministry. The faithful preacher of God’s Word will do same thing today; point people to Jesus and Him alone for the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life. As the Holy Scriptures affirm, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name (than the name of Jesus) under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved”. (Acts 4:12)
Again, “John bore witness, I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and remain on Him … He who sent me to baptize, with water said to me, He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain; this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have borne witness, that this is the Son of God”. (John 1:32-34) To bear witness (here) simply means to tell the truth. John saw this at Jesus’ baptism, as we heard last Sunday. The Father’s words from heaven; “this is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17b); which John also heard; prove that Jesus is “very God of very God, begotten of the Father” as we just confessed in the Nicene Creed.
John continued to preach Jesus to his disciples, “and the next day again, John was standing with two of His disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked by and said (as he had said the day before) Behold, the Lamb of God. The two disciples heard him say this and they followed Jesus”. (John 1:35-37) John rejoiced when his disciples followed Jesus, for that was why he came. “He must increase and I must decrease”. (John 3:30) God worked through His Word and witness of John the Baptist to cause his own disciples to follow Jesus; who is the only way to the Father. Salvation is found in Christ Jesus alone.
Now, “Jesus turned and saw them following Him and said to them, What are you seeking? And they said to Him, Rabbi (which means teacher) where are You staying. He said to them, come and you will see. So, they came and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour”. (John 1:38-39) (which is 4 P. M.) They gladly respond to Jesus’ invitation; even though they do not fully know what following Him will involve; for they too will suffer abuse and persecution and martyrdom for the sake of their faith in Jesus.
Who were these two disciples of John the Baptist? “One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him; we have found the Messiah, which means Christ”. (or the Anointed One) (John 1:40-41) Even before going with Jesus, Andrew was so sure of who Jesus was that he bore witness to Him as the Christ to his brother first. “He brought him to Jesus and Jesus looked at him and said, so you are Simon, the son of John? From now on you will be called Cephas, which means Peter”. (John 1:42) The other disciple is unnamed, but is assumed by most to be the Apostle John, who never mentions himself directly in his Gospel.
If we read further in John 1, we would see this pattern of bearing witness to Jesus continue as, “Jesus found Phillip and said to him, follow Me … (then) Phillip found Nathanael and said to him, we have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote; Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph”. (John 1:43b-45) When Nathanael asked “can anything good come out of Nazareth? Phillip (invited him) saying; come and see”. (John 1:46) While talking to Jesus, Nathanael gave the great confession of faith, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49)
So, we have seen John the Baptist bear witness to Jesus, calling Him the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29b) and how the word world indicates universal atonement; that Christ Jesus died for the sins of all people who have lived or ever will live. We again heard John speak of Jesus, not just as a man, but as “the Son of God” (John 1:34b); God in human flesh; “and there is salvation in no one else”. (Acts 4:12a) Finally, we heard of some of John’s disciples begin to follow Jesus and then go and tell others about Him, bringing them to Him.
Notice the pattern of how people come to follow Jesus and believe in Him for eternal life; it has nothing to do with their goodness or righteousness or self-preparedness; They simply heard the Word, the Gospel, preached and the Holy Spirit did the rest; for we confess in the Catechism, “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in my Lord Jesus Christ or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel”. Before Christ saved us, we were “dead in our trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). And “no one can say Jesus is Lord, except in the Holy Spirit”. (1st Corinthians 12:3)
For most of us (maybe all of us), we were saved when someone brought us to Jesus, in the waters of baptism, just as Andrew brough his brother Simon Peter to Jesus. As John the Baptist said, Jesus is the One “who baptizes with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33b). He now gives the Holy Spirit to all who are baptized into the name of the triune God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “He saved us … according to His own mercy , by the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit”. (Titus 3:5) Therefore, baptism is a means of grace; As is the Lord’s Supper, the Sacrament of the Altar. Which we will receive momentarily.
As Luther wrote in the Small Catechism, “these words, “given and shed for you”, show us that in the sacrament, forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given to us … whoever believes these words, has exactly what they say; the forgiveness of sins”. Therefore, Luther exhorts us saying; “We must never regard the sacrament as a harmful thing from which we should flee, but as a pure, wholesome, soothing medicine, that aids you and gives life in both body and soul … why then do we act as if the sacrament were poison that would kill us of we ate of it”. (Luther, Large Catechism, “Sacrament of the Altar”, par. 68)
(Therefore) “even if a scoundrel receives or administers the sacrament, it is still the true sacrament; that is, Christ’s body and blood, just as truly as when one uses it worthily. The Sacrament is founded not on human holiness (of those who administer or receive it) but on the Word of God … which is not rendered false because of an individual’s unworthiness or unbelief … no one can change the Sacrament, even thru misuse”. (Luther, L. C. “Sacrament of the Altar”, par. 16-17) So, even if the pastor who administers the Sacrament or the person who receives it next to you is a hypocrite, all who believe these words of Jesus receive forgiveness of their sins and strengthening of their faith.
Of course, the means of grace that is included in all the others is the Word of God, Holy Scripture, the Bible. Holy Baptism is described as a “washing of water with the Word”. (Ephesians 5:26b) The Sacrament of the Altar also needs to include Jesus’ “words of institution”; but the Word of God itself is a means of grace. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ”. (Romans 10:17) “You have been born again … through the living and abiding Word of God”. (1st Peter 1:23) “The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword … discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart”. (Hebrews 4:12) These and countless other verses affirm that reading and hearing the Word of God, which is divinely inspired and without error, is a means of grace.
Knowing that these are the means by which God gives us His gifts of forgiveness of sin, life and salvation, it is important to know where God has told us we are to (normally) receive them; for our Lutheran Confessions condemn those who “imagine that God draws people to Himself … justifies them and saves them, without the hearing of God’s Word and without the use of the Holy Sacraments”. (Epitome, Article II, par. 13) “God has ordained Word and Sacrament as the ordinary means … to accomplish this end”. (Solid Declaration, Article XI, par. 76)
Therefore, “so that we obtain saving faith, the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted”. (Augsburg Confession, Article V, par. 1) So, the church, in the Divine Service, is where we receive these gifts from our gracious and merciful God. Therefore, we are to as Luther declared, “not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it”. (Small Catechism, 3rd Commandment explanation) Here is where “the Messiah, the Christ, … the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:41b, 29b) comes to us, every time we gather.
He promises to be here and thru His means, “He will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful”. (1st Corinthians 1:8-9a) His Word is always true. “The peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7) to life everlasting.