Apr 13, 2017

Behold the Lamb of God


John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

The central theme of the Bible is God’s wondrous compassion for the human race, which was created in His image and likeness but has fallen so far short of His nature and goodness. Through the disobedience of the first man Adam, sin (meaning: all that is evil) entered into the world and shattered the communion between Mankind and His Maker.

The wretched sinfulness of mankind
The common cry of all men with a conscience is that we be delivered from our sins. The greatest burden that Man has to carry is the burden of sins. From Adam, man has carried this burden for the Word of God says: All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Look into ourselves and we will see a law in our body and mind which is contrary to Godliness. (Rom 7:23). This portion, i.e.Rom 7:16-25, reminds us that in our flesh, there is no good thing!(Rom 7:18) We end up doing the evil that we don't desire to do instead of the good that we desire to do! (Rom 7:19) Such is the depraved state of man. Out of the lips of such a man comes the cry - O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the shackles of this body of death. (Rom 7:24)

The Love of God
But though God is a holy and just God, and though he hates sin and wants to punish it, He is also a loving God (1 John 4:8,16). He desires fellowship with mankind and He desires that we are restored back to a relation with Him. This very same love is what sent Himself to Earth as Man Christ Jesus to bear our sin. The most famous bible verse (John 3:16) reminds us that  God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. To redeem humanity, God decided that He would bear the punishment for all humanity.
God Himself had to pay the price to redeem us back into fellowship with Himself. Thus, it was He who had to give His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for our sins. He therefore had to become man. God the Father prepared a body for His Son in the womb of Mary of Nazareth. Jesus was conceived by the third member of the Holy Trinity, the blessed Holy Spirit.

He bore our sin!
The primary task of the Lord was to be the Savior - to save people from their sinMat 1:21 - He shall be named Jesus, For He shall save His people from their sins. When he was taken by the Jews and the Romans and crucified, the Lord laid on him our sins. In the garden of Gethsemane, the Lord sweated drops of blood and became exceedingly sorrowful even to the point of death because of the weight of the sin of the world. To be more specific, He bore my sin & yours! And He took this burden to the cross. The nails of the roman soldiers didn't bind the Lord to the cross. It was His love for us that bound Him to the cross. It was my sin that held him there.

Slain from before the foundation of world
As Jesus came to this world as a baby (conceived by the Holy Spirit & born of the virgin Mary), remember, His life purpose was to live as man, to be tempted as we are, yet be pure and without sin, so that He could be the blameless Passover lamb who would die for us and whose blood will consecrate the new and living way for us to enter into the presence of God. By whose blood we are promised reconciliation with God! Rev 13:8 says, Jesus was The lamb of God who was slain from the foundation of the world. Because even then God knew that Man would sin and He had to prepare the plan to restore humanity.
The Son of God called Jesus, meaning “Savior”, lived a life without blemish. He then offered Himself without spot to His Father by the power of the Holy Spirit. Accepted and approved by God, Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God, who became the sacrifice for all who believe, upon the cross of Calvary outside the walls of Jerusalem. He was buried in a garden tomb, and He was raised on the third day as a sign for our justification.

He shall come again!
The Lord Jesus lives forevermore seated at the right hand of God until He comes again with 10,000 of His saints to receive all who believe on His Name, and to punish all who reject Him with eternal fire. This great salvation, which cleanses us through His shed blood on the cross of Calvary, is available to all. We must simply believe, confess we are sinners, ask Jesus to forgive us, ask Him to come into our hearts, and receive Him by faith. Then we will be born again by the Spirit of God and become a son or daughter of the Living God.

What must we do?!
As the jailor in Acts 16:30 asked, you may now be thinking - What must I do to be saved? My answer to you is: Acts 16:31 - Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved and your household! Who shall not perish - it is he that believes in the Lord! John 1:12 says: as many as believed Him, to them He gave power to become the sons of God. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

I invite you, blessed friend, to do so now and receive Jesus as your Savior.

Also I invite you to read your bible prayerfully (and experience the treasures of God’s Word, which is a guide for believers from earth to heaven.) Do so prayerfully and your eyes will be open to the wondrous truths that are contained therein. Jesus said, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). The Good news for the believer is that the Lord shall prepare us to be like Him and to make us as Kings and priests in His kingdom for all eternity.

In this season, when the world around is remembering Jesus & His sacrifice, My prayer is that it will cease to be an empty yearly, seasonal meaningless ritual and that it will become a daily meaningful reality to be lived and to be experienced.

God bless you!

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