Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
John 1:29
The word Behold is recorded in biblehub.org over 1800 times in the King James version of the Bible. It is derived from the Greek word eidó: be aware, behold, consider, perceive.
From Helps Word Studies we learn ~
1492 /eídō ("seeing that becomes knowing") then is a gateway to grasp spiritual truth (reality) from a physical plane. 1492 (eídō) then is physical seeing (sight) which should be the constant bridge to mental and spiritual seeing (comprehension).which has the literal translation of: .
Our English definition is “to perceive through sight or apprehension : see. 2. : to gaze upon : observe.
Our scripture highlights our first needed awareness of Jesus. We are to behold Him first as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World. The good news for us is that He became the sin bearer for all mankind that we might become right in the sight of God, 2 Cor. 5:21.
Fulfilling Old Testament prophecies Jesus ~ ‘was led as a Lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth’; Isaiah 53;7; Acts 8:32 and still more fitting, ‘the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all, Isaiah 53:6 and By His knowledge shall He justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:11.
It is as we come into an awareness of our own original spiritual condition; dead and separated from God, we must find our way back to what was abdicated, union with our heavenly Father. For by one man sin entered and death through sin. Death spread to all men because all sinned. Romans 5:12. Sin entered into the human race through one man, Adam in the garden of Eden, and in dying (spiritually) he died (naturally). “In dying thou shalt die. Roman 6:23 adds, ‘the wages of sin are death…”
We find in John’s declaration the one who had been prepared from the foundation of time, Christ, our passover lamb, has been sacrificed to provide a way of escape from the nature and effects of sin. The cause and effects of sin were dealt with through his sacrificial offering, death on the cross, Heb 2:14; 1 John 3:8-10.
While Jesus has destroyed the power of sin through His death, burial and resurrection, it is still required of man to believe and acknowledge the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved from this place of spiritual death, Romans 10:9 and be reconciled to God. In this new birth, we count ourselves dead to sin and alive unto God and present ourselves to Him as an instrument of righteousness, allowing no sin to reign in our mortal bodies, Romans. 6.
Beholding Him gives us pause to remember who He is, what He has done, what it has given us, creating much thanksgiving.
It is as we now Behold the Lamb, we do so with the understanding that our nature has been redeemed through his precious gift of life and blood poured out. We find the way back into fellowship with our Heavenly Father through his son, Jesus Christ. Jesus declares from John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus’ own proclamation that we who are poor in Spirit are blessed! Without a recognition that we need/needed a saviour, we cannot begin our journey as a disciple with one who is not only our Saviour but our Lord.
As we Behold the Lamb, we are continually mindful of the gift of life He has given and continues to give. He is ever living to make intercession, His work continues to wash and cleanse us from all unrighteousness and present us before our Father holy and blameless.
“…if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8.If we saywe have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truthis not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.…1 John 1:7-9
This then, is not only our entrance into fellowship but it is the very thing that maintains and develops our union with Him.
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.