Introduction

The first 34 verses of John are pretty much one large introduction to Jesus. And within it is a large list of names

Word
Light
Christ Rabbi

Today we’re looking at three descriptions of Jesus and his work:

Lamb of God
The one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit
The Chosen One of God

By understanding Jesus’ work and how he accomplished it we will know how to join in with him.

The Lamb of God

John 1:29 ESV

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!

By calling Jesus the Lamb of God, John is comparing Jesus to the Passover Lamb. The Gospel of John goes to great lengths to make this connection clear during Jesus’ crucifixion.

Jesus’ last week is during the Passover celebration
His last meal is the night before the Passover day
He was killed on the same day that the Passover lambs were being slaughtered
The lambs could not have any of their bones broken, and John makes sure to tell us that not a single bone of Jesus was broken on the cross

Way back in the book of Exodus Israel is enslaved in Egypt. God sends Moses to tell Pharaoh “Let my people go!” but Pharoah likes his slaves. So God starts sending plagues on Egypt to twist Pharaoh’s arm.

After nine plagues Pharaoh still isn’t giving in so here comes the climactic 10th plague – God is going to kill all the firstborn in Egypt. And not just of the Egyptians, but the firstborn of any household who doesn’t follow the Passover ritual.

In Exodus 12:

Each household is to get a lamb
They’re to kill it at twilight and eat it for dinner
Take the blood of that lamb and smear over the doorposts of their house

And as a result:

Exodus 12:13 NIV

¹³ The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

The death of the lamb delivers the house from the death of their child.

This became a national holiday for Israel where they celebrated God delivering them from slavery and bringing them into a new relationship with him. And during troubled times of Israel the whole event was a sign of their hope that God would do something similar to save them yet again.

So when John points to Jesus, calling him the lamb of God, he’s saying that another Exodus like event is in store for God’s people. But not the one they were expecting.

John 1:29 ESV

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!

They expected to be saved from Rome. So they’re looking for God to put the hurt on those Roman oppressors in the same way he plagued Egypt.

Instead of delivering Israel from other people – he’s saving them all from the power of sin. Not just the Jews – but the world.

And as the lamb of God Jesus is going to take sin away by beating up the bad guy – he’s going to give himself up to death as an offering for our sake.

But we shouldn’t think that Jesus was a victim in any of this.

John 10:17–18 ESV

¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

In 1 John 3:8

1 John 3:8 ESV

⁸ … The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Long after his death and resurrection, the Apostle John sees Jesus once again in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 5:5–6 ESV

⁵ And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” ⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain…

Connect

Jesus did come to wage war – but not against the enemy we had in mind and not in the way we think wars ought to be fought. The enemy isn’t all of those people – those are hostages needing to be rescued from the real enemy. And we aren’t going to win the war by dropping bombs on the heretics.

You can get rid of an enemy in plenty of different ways:

create distance by leaving or kicking them out
Lock them away
Kill them
Or you can transform your enemy into a friend

It’s what Liechtenstein did!

Liechtenstein is this tiny land-locked country in Europe just south of Germany. In the Austro-Prussian War around 1866 they sent off a whopping 80 men to join the fight and came back with 81. They were such nice guys one of the enemy decided to come back home with them!

That’s Jesus’ way of waging war. He’s come down to earth to bring as many of us with him – not to drop the bomb and end it all.

Instead of killing the enemy he killed the enmity, dying for us instead of making us die for our sins.

And in place of that death he gave us life.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit

John 1:30–33 ESV

³⁰ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³² And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³ I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

John was able to recognize who Jesus was through his baptism. Rather than focusing on a baptism for repentance, like the other gospels do, John’s baptism here is for the single purpose of revealing Jesus.

Specifically, it was when Jesus was baptized that the Holy Spirit descended down on Jesus, confirming to John the Baptists that this is the one who will give everyone else the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a very broad subject, but there are some key concepts tied to it that we should know:

The nation of Israel was considered dead – the Holy Spirit was going to breathe new life into it
It would bring about a transformation for God’s people
It would make things the way they ought to be. Just as the Spirit of God hovered over the waters in Genesis 1:2 and formed something good out of a watery mess, the sending of the Holy Spirit through Jesus is going to make everything good again like in Genesis 1 and the Garden of Eden

This is why I think it came down specifically in the form of a dove. It’s a callback to the flood when Noah sent the dove out to find dry land.

In Genesis 1, before God begins creating, the world is nothing but darkness and water. When God judges the world in Genesis 6 with the flood, he’s essentially sending the world back to that uncreated state. But after the rains finish falling, God remembers Noah and his family on the Ark, and he starts putting creation back together. So when Noah sends out that dove and it comes back with an olive branch, it’s a sign that God is making things good again.

Well here’s a new dove – the Holy Spirit who’s coming to make everything good again.

Connect

Are you ever bummed with how poorly run some things seem to be? Those frustrating things that you just know could be done better, but for whatever reason aren’t?

Fulbright exit – left goes right, and right goes left
You’re not getting any mail so you call the post office and they say they sent you a letter explaining why, but you never got it because you’re not getting any mail.
Some are silly but others are just cruel. My brother has great health insurance form his job but they refused to pay for the birth of his kid because there was one box he didn’t check.

Beyond that, have you ever been frustrated at how much better you could have done?

In terms of success

Should’ve taken college more seriously
Why didn’t I take that job?
Why did I chose this useless major?

More importantly we recognize that we could be so much better as people

Why can’t I shake that one sin?
Why do I let my anger get the best of me?
I should’ve been there for my friend

And as the years go on the regrets just pile up. You started with such promise and high hopes – but have disappointed so many of them.

Jesus not only takes away the guilt of our failures, but by giving us the Spirit he’s making us into a better version of ourselves – the best you that you were meant to be:

Kinder
Gentler
Self-controlled
Patient
Faithful
Loving

And it all starts with the Holy Spirit that Jesus pours out on you when baptized in his name. Jesus came to give you a fresh start.

And on top of that, he’s invited you to join in that same work.

The Elect of God

When we get to verse 34 we have a choice to make:

John 1:34 ESV

³⁴ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

John 1:34 NIV

³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

We’re going to stick with God’s chosen one. It’s the only place where Jesus is called the chosen of God and it’s much more likely that chosen would be changed to the much more common Son of God then the other way around. Especially when there was an ancient heresy that believed that Jesus was just a really good man chosen to become God’s son.

It also makes sense as a connection to Isaiah 42, where God presents his servant.

Isaiah 42:1 ESV

¹ Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

First, we see that the Spirit is remaining on Jesus – just as it should
The Servant brings justice not just to Israel, but the nations – Just as Jesus takes away the sin of the world
In John’s Gospel, Jesus is the light that shines into the darkness

Isaiah 42:6–7 ESV

⁶ “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, ⁷ to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

So it’s very clear, that from John and other New Testament writers that the servant of Isaiah 42 is none other than Jesus.

Here’s the important part: anything that Jesus, the Servant of God in Isaiah 42 is supposed to do is what we are supposed to do.

I think it’s a pretty obvious point, seeing as we’re the body of Christ, but sometimes I’ll hear about needing to make a distinction between the work of Jesus and the work of the church. So Isaiah 42 is looked at and yeah, that’s what Jesus does.

He brings justice
He instructs
He goes out into the world
He’s given as a light
He opens the eyes of the blind
He helps make things new

All we do is show up to church and praise him for that.

That’s not how Paul saw things. While preaching in Antioch, Paul is a popular preacher until he starts including the Gentiles in God’s plan.

Acts 13:45–47 ESV

⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. ⁴⁶ And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

Did you catch verse 47? That’s from Isaiah 42:6. Did you also catch how Paul understood it?

Paul doesn’t say he commanded Jesus to be a light to bring salvation
Paul says that God commanded us to do that

God chose Jesus to bring about his plan of salvation. Then Jesus chose us to join in with him

John 15:16 ESV

¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

And lest we think that this is something only for the Apostles…

John 14:12 ESV

¹² “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

We can’t take away the sins of other people. We can’t give the Holy Spirit.

We can give ourselves in hopes of turning our enemy into our brother
We can forgive people and let them have a fresh start with us

Application

So let’s do that this week. There are people out there, maybe even in here that:

You’re annoyed at
Have some unresolved issue with
Or you think they’re just plain old mean

Give them a fresh start. Don’t conquer them with aggression but give them a fresh start. And don’t be surprised if they hurt you some more as you present the olive branch. Peter baptized the people who crucified Jesus.

And instead of being bitter over who that person is, think about who they could be. Think about what God could do with them through the Holy Spirit – shaping that evil and wicked person into something good.

Just like he did with us.