The next day, he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29 ESV
How we see Jesus is important. The ‘he’ speaking in our verse is John the Baptist, the verse goes on to say:
“‘This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water that he might be revealed to Israel.’” “And John bore witness……”
Even as a natural relative, John still had to have Jesus revealed to him as the Messiah. It was at the baptism of Jesus that John saw what all of Israel watched and waited for; the Spirit descending and resting upon him, and to this, John bore witness.
Beholding Jesus as the Lamb of God takes us into a greater understanding of our redemption and salvation. Israel looked and waited for their Messiah. The one who would save and deliver them from their enemies. They understood the sacrificial lamb offering atoned for their sins.
To have Jesus proclaimed as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world was a revelation that had to be received and believed in order to benefit. To understand the condition and nature of sin is to realise the need for a Saviour. There is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. Salvation is in none other. Acts 4:12.
We see in that when Jesus appeared, he was not exactly what they are expecting. Isn’t this our dynamic today as believers? There are things we have yet to see and learn about Jesus as we meet our daily experiences. Life doesn’t always live up to our expectations, and we could stumble. Like John the Baptist in Matthew 11:3, questioning, “Are you the one who is to come or should we look for another?” This question from the one who bore witness to the Spirit descending and the Father affirming should not amaze us. We face the same doubts when our experiences challenge our beliefs. Losing our awareness of the only one who can truly save us, is a step towards another for salvation.
Beholding the Lamb as the one given by God to take away sin, gives us the daily assurance that we have been made right in the sight of God. We are now able to come before Him without shame, guilt, or condemnation. Jesus became sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Not by works that we have done, Titus 3:5, but only by the gift of His son.
Who among us does not need to be continually reminded of these truths; thus, we must, Behold the Lamb of God.