John 1:29 "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
Today, we look at John's testimony concerning Jesus. I saw things just
now as I read through the verses 29-34 that I had never stopped to notice. They
are things that have been there all the time, but I'm not sure that I ever
stopped to take note of them. I say that to encourage each one to continue
reading and studying your Bibles. There are beautiful things that we might
miss, but then they will be revealed as we need to know them.
In our text verse, John makes the beautiful declaration that I suppose every
minister has used as a text at some point in their ministry. As John was
baptizing, he looked up to see a man walking toward him. As he observed this
man (we know it was Jesus), John boldly spoke, "Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world." I remind us that Jesus and
John were cousins on their mothers' side of the family, but in verse 31 we are
told that John did not know Jesus. In our day, we might wonder how that could
happen, but in that day I suppose it would be quite common. I could speculate
as to whether or not Jesus and John knew each other as children, but we are not
told that. Verse 31 plainly states that John did not know Him.
How did John come to the place where he could boldly state that Jesus was
indeed the Lamb of God? We are told that in verse 32. The Lord had revealed to
him the Messiah would be the one upon whom he would see the Spirit of God light
upon in the form of a dove. So I ask the question again, how did John know that
Jesus was the "Lamb of God"? The answer had to be that the Lord
revealed it to him. We are told that God does not change; so now I ask, how do
you and I know that Jesus is the Son of God? By the way, in verse 34 of
chapter 1, John the Baptist plainly states, "This is the Son of God."
So, how do you and I know that we are worshiping the true God when we worship
our Lord Jesus? We know it by the same way John knew: The Holy Spirit
reveals to us the things concerning Jesus.
John the Baptist said, "I knew him not." Then he states, "I saw
and bare record that this is the Son of God." Is that not our experience
also? I did not know Jesus until the Holy Spirit revealed Him to me. Now I can
say through our God-given relationship with Him that this Jesus is the One Who
took my sin away. Thank you Jesus.