Q1. Prophetic Insight

[luray mcclung]

In response to question 1 of the first lesson, I believe John the Baptist's statement addressing Christ as The Lamb of God refers to sacrifice for several reasons. First, the Baptist's role as prophetic Elijah, his prior knowledge, his hereditary priesthood, and his wilderness experiences contributed to his address: "Behold, the Lamb of God..." Next, the relative clause which follows in the same verse, "who takes away the sins of the world", is quite paramount in that only the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, could cover all sin through His shed blood on the cross at Calvary. Animal sacrifices would not suffice for the sins of the world. The humanity of God was necessary. Meanwhile, I was also reminded of Peter's response to Christ's question: "Whom do men say that I am?" Peter answered, "Thou art the Christ, Son of the Living God." The Father in heaven revealed the answer to Peter. Likewise, in John 1:33 the Baptist begins, "I would not have known Him, except the one who sent me to baptize with water told me...." I believe John knew in his heart that Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb of God. The second part of the question is tough for me. I feel it's like a microcosmic/macrocosmic stage...for Jews only, then for Gentiles and for all people. The comprehensiveness of "sins of the world" was indeed a radical

concept, one human sacrifice for all humanity. (Isn't John 3:16 encouraging in these times?) Be blessed. Luray McClung

[Peggy]

Q1. Going past the fact that the Jews understood the slaying of a lamb to mean the removal of their sin in God's eyes, to take away something, means that something has to be used to do it; i.e., if you had a stain on your garment, soap would be used to remove it. The soap in a sense sacrifices itself for the sake of the stain removal; it gives of itself for a greater good. In Jesus' case, "the Lamb of God that take away the sins of the world" would mean that Jesus would have to give something of Himself in order to take away the sin.

"Sins of the world" is radical in that the thinking to that day only applied individually - a lamb for a person. Now John is saying that Jesus would take away all sins for all people. Certainly we can say that initially Jesus only came to the Jews, however, the thought process was the same - one lamb for one person's sin. Now we have a Lamb for everybody's sins - not a continual sacrificing for each sin, but a once for all sins for everybody(cleansing on a daily basis is a different issue).

[Rev. Bill]

In 70 A.D. the problem of sin and sacrifice was active amongst Jewish Christians. Hebrews 9:12-18 describes Jesus the Lamb as once for all, removing the ancient rule of sacrifice, having given Himself as the spotless lamb for all who have sinned.

[Sunshine Miller]

"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World." In other words... Look upon the One who has come to us all...'the Lamb''; to which describes His gentle character and then to say "Who takes away the sin of the World"... they only knew one way this could be done; again describes sacrifice/blood. By John saying "of God"... because only God could forgive sins.

Only a little research allowed me to see also that Lambs were followers of the Sheperd... they depended upon the Sheperd... Also did Jesus. A lamb fits Jesus perfectly. Amen!

[Peggie]

We know that John The Baptist's statement refers to sacrifice because lambs were used as sin offerings. Also, that John said, "which takes away the sins of the world" would involve tremendous sacrifice, not just for one person but for the whole world! An animal sacrifice would never suffice for the sins of the world to be forgiven, this required the precious blood of Christ, the only perfect human, the precious Son of God.

[Karen Bomba]

The end of John's statement is"....the lamb who takes away the sin of the world." Animal sacrifice

was the only way for people of that time to deal with sin. Since he was refering to taking away sins,

it seems practical that he would convey it in a way they could relate to.

Just one additional thought in reference to sacrifice that I think is interesting..... in Mosaic law

the people provided the sacrifice, but the very first sacrifice recorded was provided by God.

just as Jesus was provided by God for us. .....Genesis 3: 21 " The Lord God made garments

of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them."

( Without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sin.)

[Sgt_Z_Squad]

Hi Everyone-

Great responses and all points covered. As many of you said, through the context of the Scriptures you know John was referring to sacrifice. John was sent as the messenger to proclaim the arrival of the Messiah and to prepare the people through the baptism of water and repentance. "For I baptize with water, but He will baptize you with the Spirit."

"Sins of the world" - great thoughts here, especially those referring not only to the Jews but also the Gentiles and the atonement for ALL, future, present, and past.

Bob

[shadylady]

The lamb was the sin sacrifice for the common people as described in the Leviticus passage we read - John was pointing this out to us in behold the lamb. Taking away the sins of the world was controversial as only God was able to forgive sin (take away sin) - so he was saying Behold this is God himself. The one other point I would make is that the lamb sacrifice at the temple/tabernacle was one lamb for one person/family - it would take millions of lambs to absolve the sins of the world - yet the death of the Son of God himself was one man for the sins of whole of mankind.

[richard palmer]

When John mentioned 'Lamb' in the statement, typically, lambs were sacrificed.  Not only did this imply sacrifice but also that the sacrifice was perfect and without blemish (as the sacrificial lambs had to be).

*****

Thank you Diane for mentioning this very important quality of the sacrificial lamb, you stated it beautifully! A detail that I will keep in my mind from now on. I knew that the Lord was sinless and had to be, to fulfill prophecy, but it is nice to have this correlation from the old testament of the lamb, and Jesus as the lamb!

[gbkuntz]

Just as John the Baptist knew in the womb that Mary was carrying the Mesiah and had stated that one greater than he would follow him, he knew that Christ was the Lamb of God. John was given that knowledge by the Holy Spirit.

John knew that sin in the world needed to be taken away and the Jesus was the sacrafice sent to do that for mankind.

[bjcollin]

Q1. How do you know that John the Baptist's statement about the Lamb of God refers to sacrifice? (John 1:29). How was the comprehensiveness of "sins of the world" so radical a concept? Exposition

How can it not refer to sacrifice? John the Baptist was Zacharias the priests' son so he would have been raised in the sacrifical system. John the Baptist was sent by God as a witness to testify about the coming Messiah (John 1:6-8). John the Baptist was a fulfillment of the one in Isaiah who was called to be "the voice of the one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord'". (John 1:23, Isaiah 40:3) In the same verses in Isaiah it was also to be proclaimed to Jerusalem that her sin has been paid for and was paid for double. The sin had to be attoned for with sacrifical blood and that meant a lamb. John the Baptist knew that Jesus was that lamb. Paul also proclaimed this in 1 Corinthians 5:7, Peter proclaims this in 1 Peter 1:19-20, and John proclaims this in Revelation 5:12. The individual sin was taken care of individually with sacrifice, the sins of the nation of Israel were taken care of during Passover by the High Priest with sacrifice. To stretch for "sins of the world" was indeed a radical concept at the time. Jesus was God's answer for the sins of the world.

[Linda Stanley]

Q1. How do you know that John the Baptist's statement about the Lamb of God refers to sacrifice? (John 1:29). How was the comprehensiveness of "sins of the world" so radical a concept? Exposition

John spoke out and said"Look,the Lamb of God,who takes away the sin of the world.He was speaking of Jesus ,to the people.Lambs were also used for sacrifices to obtain forgiveness for sin.Little did the people know or even understand what John was saying or meant about Jesus,<but>John new Jesus was the lamb.Comprehensiveness of "sins of the world" so radical a concept is an expression of everything apposed to God.Jesus comes to deal with the sins of everyone in the whole world."Look The Lamb Of God,"who takes away the sins of the world.Jesus gave us life,and also gave us a choise. Blessings Linda

[Anthony Mixer]

John the Baptist's statement about the lamb of God refers to sacrifice because God modeled the ritual of sacrifice at the Passover and established the sacrificial system in the book of Leviticus.

The comprehensiveness of the "sins of the world" was a radical concept because it applies to gentiles as well as Jews; pagans as well as believers; past, present and future sins; which challenged the exclusive, narrow mindset of the Jews of that day.

Tony

[Bob Wardrop]

Shalom: My name is Bob Wardrop from Inverness, FL. I have been actively involved in whatever church I attended. I have taught Bible classes for the past 35 years that included youth as well as adults(different classes). I have also taught confirmation classes for the past 6 years. If I had to lay a claim as to the type of a Christian that I am, I would have to say that I am a moderate. I am not afraid of what I will find in my studies. Only those who are of a weak resolve and have secret fears are usually the ones who will scream the loudest when they see or hear something that is not what they learned.

Ques. 1: In actuality, we do not know what was on the Baptist's mind when he spoke the words of Jn. 1: 29. Many theories have evolved-some not wise nor helpful to every mind. What we have to be careful of is that we do not get lost in theorizing. The explanation of how Jesus the Christ takes away the sin of the world may satisfy one mind, but may leave other minds unimpressed. As Christians, the word from our mouth should be, "the fact that He does take it away is certain, even though it may be a slow business."

Ques. 2: Rev. I'm somewhat lost due to your posit of anger as an appropriate response to sin. My question for you and others is: how does this relate to what Jesus said in Mt. 5: 21-22?

I am looking forward to the study.

[Peter Huang]

John 's statement about Jesus refers to his sacrifice because he said of Jesus as one who takes away the sins of the world. The Jewsish concept of sin was that it can be forgiven by the sacrifice of an animal so as the one who takes away the sins of the world Jesus was the sacrifice.

The Jewsih concept oif sin was that it refers only to the Jewish ppeople as the people of God but the sins of the world would include the whole world of non Jewish people as well. In this wa y it was a radical concept,

[Dennis Hatlestad]

Lamb of God. An expression found in the Bible only here and in verse 36. The expression seems to be a general reference to sacrifice, not the name for a particular offering. John was saying that Jesus would be the sacrifice that would atone for the sin of the world.

[richard palmer]

John the baptize stated in the gospel of John (sorry for the lack of chapter and verse) he said that there is one among you that will come after me, that existed before me and that he did not know him, even though John was Jesus cousin, they did not know each other before the day Jesus was baptized by John, so John was not an ordinary prophet, but had a special ministry given to him by God it would seem, so in my opinion, John knew way more than anyone could comprehend at that time in history. Fascinating!!

[linda biloni]

I know the statement refers to sacrifice because lambs were used for sacrifice and John referred to jesus as the lamb that would take away the sins of the world.

One man's sins required a lamb to be killed so that it's blood would be shed. The sins of the world would require more than the bloodshed of lambs. Also, the sinner was the one that killed the lamb. Therefore, what would the world have to kill to get atonement?

[Sandra Wiens]

The poeple John was talking to knew full well that a lamb was the preferred sacrifice for atoning for sin. To take away the sin of the world was radical because to that point, The Jews were God's chosen people, the people He had a relationhsip with. If Jesus was to take away the sin of the world, the status quo was no more - everything ws about to change .

[Audrey Hill]

The sacrificial Lamb fits Jesus accurately, since He, as Son of God and Son of Man is the only being perfect and great enough to actually atone for sin and at the same time, represent and substitute for all me in this atonement - once and for all.

Jesus gave His life so that the sins of the world could be forgiven if we believe in Him and repent and ask for forgiveness.

[Hector Villarreal W.]

Q1. How do you know that John the Baptist's statement about the Lamb of God refers to sacrifice? (John 1:29). How was the comprehensiveness of "sins of the world" so radical a concept? Exposition

First Question. - Answer:

A)

Boths situations were direct revelations form the Holy Spirit to John, however, his reference to "quite the sin" , guide us to Lev 3:7; 7:37 pace sacrifice. Confirmed by Peter in IPeter 1:18-20

To Jewis this was a brand new concept, even mentioned by the Prophet

Isaia 9:1b-3 and repeated by the Apostles - Acts 11:18; Romans 9:25;

I John 2:2 - because Israelites consider Jehova as their own posession, the only God but just for them, not for the other nations.

May the Lord bless you

Hector Villarreal W.

[Helen Williams]

The scripture states that John saw Jesus coming when he said "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Lambs were commonly used by the Jews for sactifices to obtain forgiveness of sin.

The comprehensiveness of "sins of the world" was so radical a concept because some are offended by the idea that blood had to be shed to make atonement.

[debs4jc]

How do you know that John the Baptist's statement about the Lamb of God refers to sacrifice? (John 1:29). How was the comprehensiveness of "sins of the world" so radical a concept?

Before John said this some people had been asking him if he was the Messiah. So when he says this it's like he's saying..Look, I'm not the Messiah (or the one who is coming that I've been telling you about)...Here He is, the worthy one who will save us from our sins.

Of course from the lamb and from the idea that to take away sins requires sacrifice we know what John is talking about. To extend this blessing to the Gentiles was a radical concept for the "chosen people". They were not expecting this. I doubt that they were excpecting a meek lamb either.

Praise God and the Lord Jesus, our perfect Lamb supplied by God for our sacrifice!

I've enjoyed reading all of your answers, it's amazing how so much of the gospel is in this one little verse.

[Vickie]

It's great to be back with you all, and to see so many new faces!

You all have so eloquently answered the questions, so I would just like to say thanks for the insights!

Blessings to you all!

[Dennis Williams]

John was a man well versed in the Jewish laws and traditions, I don't believe he would have "proclaimed" this without a God given understanding of the implications. He was taught by God in the wilderness and prepared for his mission, to prepare the way, so it stands to reason that he was aware of the claim that he was making. The people on the other hand would have a problem with this statement, as proven by the fact that they eventually rejected Christ and demanded a murderer instead be freed. They had the scriptures as proof, John had the Spirit as proof. They were disobedient to the scriptures and thus failed to recognize the fulfillment of those scriptures in the person of Jesus. John both knew the scriptures and was obedient to them and the teaching of the Spirit. We need more Johns today.