Summing Up the Prophets

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” John 1:29

This verse may be my favorite verse in the Bible. It sums up the entire Old Testament. It sums up the Gospel message. It sums up the scope of the work and purpose of Christ. It clearly foretells His death on the cross. It is a three second sound bite that really tells the whole story. It demands our attention with its introduction. It grabs our lapels and says, stop, listen, live! Then it tells the: who, what, why and for whom of the story of Scripture.

From Genesis onward the lamb represented the acceptable sacrifice to God and the substitute sacrifice for mankind. In Exodus it was the lamb that was slain and whose blood was placed on the door posts so that God would pass over those covered by the blood. In Isaiah it is Jesus who is pictured as the lamb before its shearers saying not a word. And why was a lamb slain? It was to cover the sins of the one offering the sacrifice. But Jesus doesn’t just cover our sins, He forgives them and carries them away. He offered Himself not for His own sins, of which He had none, but for ours. And He offered Himself not for just a few but for the world. This loving sacrifice is why Jesus can say that He is the exclusive way to God, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man comes unto the Father except by me.” 

Dear Father, Thank You for sending the Lamb of God and giving me forgiveness of sins and offering that same forgiveness to all who will believe in the Lamb of God. Amen.

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

  

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