 In our sermon text this morning we're in John chapter 1 verses 29 through 34 and our sermon title Behold the Lamb of God that title comes from verse 29 and John's introduction of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world now? It's important to understand these things and there's a lot that's packed into that title for Christ the Lamb of God and A lot that's packed into his role as being the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world And so we want to spend some time this morning Finishing this text finishing this paragraph it stretches from verse 29 to verse 34 and taking a few moments to review some of the things that we talked About last week so we can understand these things clearly as Christians someone who's saved We are to live in light of these glorious truths and we have to understand them in order to live by them There's great application for your Christian life in understanding the atonement And I would encourage you any chance you get take time and study the atonement study Christ study his work on the cross study his Perfect life a study Christ and you'll get great benefit obviously for your Christian life The more that we can know him the more that we understand him the more that we're conformed into his image And the more that we can live the Christian life We looked at last week beginning in verse 29 the fact that Jesus Christ is the supreme sacrifice The supreme sacrifice and from verse 29 the Bible says the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world now There are many Inferences that we can draw about Jesus Christ from that title from that description it points to his moral Perfections Jesus Christ was sinless He was perfect where you and I break the law all the time Jesus Christ in every thought every word every deed perfectly fulfilled the law of God He was without spot without blemish And so in that sense the Lamb of God the perfect spotless Lamb of God he was sinless that Name that title for Christ points to his gentleness that Christ was gentle He came first as the suffering servant and like a lamb is thought to be gentle Jesus Christ is gentle He says to take his yoke upon him for he is gentle and lowly in heart, right? And you'll find rest for your souls it points to his voluntary offering of himself on behalf of sinners as Isaiah 53 he was led as a lamb to the slaughter So Jesus Christ was a sacrifice of himself He willingly laid down his life for those that are enemies of his by their wicked works for those that were lost in their sins Dead and sins and trespasses However Christ as the Lamb of God without a doubt brings flooding into our minds the idea of sacrifice The only way that sin could be taken away is through a sacrificial death of Christ Christ is the only one who could have done it. It was a a supreme sacrifice in the sense that it Accomplished and did over and above all that those Old Testament sacrifices could not do and those Old Testament Sacrifices simply served to cover sin, but Christ was a supreme sacrifice He was a supreme sacrifice in the sense that he brought a full and final end to all other sacrifice Accomplishing all that those Old Testament sacrifices could not fully and finally accomplish But he was also a supreme sacrifice by ultimately conquering Conquering sin and death bringing an end to sin for all eternity But secondly on your notes. We looked at the fact that he was a Substitutionary sacrifice in verse 29 where John says behold the Lamb of God who? Takes away the sin of the world that idea of taking away sin means that Christ was a substitutionary sacrifice Christ died as a substitute to take away sin to save his people from their sin And that means one that the Lamb of God would bear the weight of sin that he would take the Penalty of sin upon himself the punishment the penalty that you and I rightly deserve Christ took that upon himself It's where we get the term penal substitution. He took the penalty. That's Christ's atoning work But also the Lamb of God takes away sin in the sense that he carries it away He removes the guilt of sin. He takes away the stain of sin And you or I are declared righteous before God if we repent and believe in the gospel and in that we saw a picture of Christian in pilgrims progress where Christian with a great burden on his back comes to the cross and when Christian comes to the cross The burden just falls off his back and rolls away Christ the Lamb of God at the cross takes away sin now the work of the Lamb of God to take away sin Paying the penalty for sin and removing the guilt of sin so that sinners could be reconciled that God is called the atonement Christ's atoning work on behalf of sinners. That's important to remember and we'll make application from this that Atoning work that atonement is Specific it is actual. It's not merely hypothetical It isn't biblical to say it's not a biblical statement to say that Christ paid the penalty for everyone's sins in the whole world. It's not a biblical statement Some people don't they end up paying for their own sins in hell, right? So Christ didn't pay for everyone's sins. Some people pay for their own sins The sacrifice of Christ is an actual sacrifice Made for actual people with respect to actual sins Therefore the atonement or Christ's atoning work could be said to be limited to Particular people actual people and we see this throughout the scripture We look briefly that last week that must be understood now through a biblical balance Both of God's sovereignty and salvation and man's responsibility to the Lord man's responsibility Now that's abundantly clear in scripture God's sovereignty and salvation taught very clearly in a passage like 2nd Thessalonians 2 13 That says God from the beginning chose you for salvation It can't get much clearer than that, right? The Lord chose you for salvation if you're in Christ Knowing then those whom he chose knowing those that would be saved called the elect Christ then dies or atones for them It's particular his atoning work particular to those whom he has chosen Now at the same time It's abundantly clear from scripture that man bears full responsibility for his sin and is Commanded by God to repent and believe the gospel man bears full responsibility for sin If man does not repent and does not believe in the gospel He's liable for his own sin culpable guilty for his own sin And will pay the penalty for his own sin in hell for all eternity If he repents He proves Himself to be one for whom Christ died and we don't know how those two truths fit together But that's exactly what the Bible teaches at the same time that God is sovereign Dying for those whom he chose to save and at the same time man is responsible Fully responsible to repent and believe the gospel fully responsible to turn from his sin put his faith in Christ and be saved The Bible teaches both of those truths Simultaneously together in scripture Now you have to be careful in the way that we think about these things and careful how these truths impact your Christian life The Bible also says that those things which are secret belong to God Right for those things that are revealed that belong to us and our children and so what you can't do and I can't do As someone seeking to follow the Lord as a Christian putting our faith and trust in Christ is to insert ourselves Into the hidden counsel of God and begin to wonder what the mind of God is over those things only God knows God decrees God chooses God elects But it's not biblical or right for us to think to myself or for you to think to yourself You know I'm just not sure if God has chosen me for salvation or not and then to use that as an excuse not to turn from your sin Or to think to yourself. You know what? I'm having difficulty with this sin. I think I'm a reprobate You don't know that the Lord knows that the Lord only knows that and most people use that as an excuse for sin I remember witnessing to a man one time. He was sitting in his house. I asked him where he went to church He didn't go to church anywhere. He sat in his living room on Sunday morning And his thought process was the Lord is sovereign over salvation. So if the Lord wants to save me, he's gonna save me I can't do anything. And so the Lord wants to save me here. I am Lord. I'm sitting on my couch in my living room Waiting on you to save me. That's not a biblical attitude If he thinks that way, he'll never be saved the Lord commands you at the same time that Lord is sovereign over salvation The Lord commands you to repent and believe in the gospel And if you repent and believe in the gospel you give evidence of the fact that the Lord chose you from before the foundation of The world that from before the foundation of the world your name was written in the Lamb's book of life That from before the foundation of the world your name is engraving on his hand You give evidence of being one of his elect one of those for whom Christ died Charles Spurgeon said this and it's an interesting statement go out and prove your election by your conversion If you want to know that you've been elect of God beloved of God repent and believe in the gospel If you want to know that the Lord has saved you that the Lord died for you that the Lord paid for each of your particular sins on Calvary's cross then repent turn from your sin put your faith and trust in Christ And the Lord has done that for you Many use fatalistic thoughts of God's sovereignty as an excuse to continue in their sin We can't do that. So what does it mean then that the Lamb of God Jesus Christ takes away the sin of the world? It cannot mean of the world in the sense of every single person without exception Because there are people right now who are in hell paying for their own sin It couldn't mean every single person without exception Otherwise every single person would go to heaven and there are those who don't go to heaven It means everyone in the world without distinction both Jew and Greek in the text that we looked at earlier both Barbarian and Scythian slave and free male female Everyone without distinction the Bible says that he came to his own people who are those? The Jews right and his own did not receive him, but too many as did receive him. Who's that? Jews and Gentiles alike every tribe tongue and nation right to as many as did receive him to them He gave the right to become children of God Now there are a few applications to take from this you understand these things and you think about these things You meditate on these things these glorious truths of the wisdom of God in salvation There's actually Application that can be taken from this among many applications that could be made right one This should be a great source of comfort to the Christian if you are in Christ Then you can be assured that Christ died for you Your name is engraving on his hand your name is in the Lamb's book of life He paid the penalty for your specific sins every one of them when you think to yourself Oh Lord how I sinned against you and you remember that wickedness from your past and those acts of sin and how they grieve the Lord Christ on the cross shedding his own blood paid the penalty for every single one of those sins They've been washed away in the blood of the Lamb. You've been cleansed from that forgiven pardon for all of that sin When you recollect those Wicked horrendous trespasses against God and how they must have grieved the heart of God All that has been paid for by Christ if you're in Christ So it should be a great comfort to the Christian your sin has been taken away and now you Personally are numbered among his people your name engraving on his hand But also Christian should be a source of great affliction now over your sin when you sin when you fall into sin when you Freely willingly give yourself over to some trespasses some offense against God That sin when Christ went to the cross he paid for sins past present and future And when you sin that's a sin that's an action for which Christ paid the ultimate price It's a sin for which Christ bore the penalty in his own body on the tree That should be a great motivation toward holy living Live for Christ turn from your sin Christ paid the penalty for all your sins Live a holy life Don't allow yourself to take the grace of God and turn that into Licentiousness and excuse to sin more like Paul made the argument in Romans because sin no longer has dominion Because our sin has been taken away because Christ has paid the penalty. Does that mean we should sin more? Certainly not may it never be Paul said Turn from your sin for the unbeliever who's never repented who's never placed their faith alone in Christ alone Every one of your sins everyone every one of your blasphemies Every one of your idle words every sin of thought every sin that you've committed Every sin will be paid by you personally in hell for all eternity You'll pay for your own sin apart from Christ and your sin is Stacked up to heaven as David says there's so much Stacked up to heaven. It's a debt that is unpayable. You're gonna be paying for that it for eternity It is an infinite eternal debt that you owe because of your sin your many blasphemies how offensive your sin Against God has been You know this to be true thing on your sins for a moment If you've never turned from your sin to wholeheartedly with all your heart soul mind and strength follow Christ And you're still harboring sin You're still holding on to your own life still holding on to that sin that separates you from God the thing about it for a moment We all know this to be true When you add greatness or goodness or Innocence to someone You add weight To the sin committed against that one. I think about it for a moment. It's a Sin to lie to a friend, right? But how much more of a grievous sin would it be to lie to a grand jury or to lie to a police officer or to lie to a President right just thinking about it in terms of that you may disrespect a friend But what is it to disrespect a king right? You may commit a crime against an adult But how much more grievous that crime committed against a child, right? We all know we all have this sense of justice within ourselves Imagine now Christ. There is no one greater. There is none like him. There's no one else Christ is great Christ created you and all his power and all his glory all honor all dominion belongs to him There's no one greater than Christ Christ is good Supreme in his goodness that toward you and I who were once enemies of his in our sin Gave his life to secure our redemption. Christ is supremely good. Christ is supremely infinitely innocent Never sin not a sin of word not a sin of thought not a sin of deed And so your sin against him Carries in it an infinite weight of offense It is an infinite offense against an infinite. Holy God that deserves an infinite punishment an infinite penalty. You see? Christ is infinitely good infinitely great infinitely innocent you have sinned against him That's why your punishment will be infinite Your punishment will be eternal Lastly Christ sacrifice His sacrifice was supreme his sacrifice was substitutionary, but also it was a satisfactory Sacrifice satisfactory sacrifice and we begin to see this in several different ways beginning in John chapter 1 verse 30 First he is the satisfactory sacrifice because he is the God man. He is the God man in verse 30 John says this is he of whom I said after me comes a man who is preferred before me For he was before me now. This is the third time It's the third time in John chapter 1 here that John the Baptist has made this point that Christ is preferred before him Right, so this is important when the Lord repeats something like that. You got to take notice. It's important All of this goes hand in hand with John chapter 1 verses 1 through 5 Where we learn that Christ is the eternal word the pre-existent one And this is another way of saying that Christ is pre-existing John the Baptist is a testing to the fact that Christ is Pre-existent because John the Baptist was born before or after Christ Born before Christ John the Baptist was born before Christ But he's saying that Jesus Christ is superior or preferred before him now the Jews had a maxim or had an axiom That anyone who came before was greater than his successor if you were a Predecessor then by default of your earlier or first birth you were greater than or superior to your successor one who came after Here John is saying although Jesus Christ came after me in birth He was before me in the sense that he is pre-existent God in the flesh Eternal it's another way of John a testing to the fact that Jesus is eternal and John who was born first Isn't even worthy to lose his sandal strap right now similar similar argument is made here by Jesus himself in Matthew 22 And I want you to turn there with me Matthew chapter 22 Jesus makes the same argument and there are implications applications from this argument That Jesus Christ is preeminent Although he has come into the world and his incarnation he has come into the world after John the Baptist and also with Reference to Matthew 22 here. He's coming to the world after David look at Matthew 22 down in verse 41 Says in verse 41 while the Pharisees were gathered together Jesus asked them saying what do you think about the Christ? Who's son is he and they said to him the son of David? So he said to them how then does David in the spirit call him Lord? Saying the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool If David then calls him Lord, how is he his son verse 46? Of course, no one was able to answer him a word nor from that day on did anyone dare question him anymore You can put yourself in the scene all right You've got the Pharisees who come to Christ and they ask him a question in chapter 22 to try to trap him in his words They wanted to trap him so they could get rid of him right so they ask him a question Jesus just Forks their question just destroys their wicked reasoning okay Then the Sadducees come along and the Sadducees also have a question Jesus answers that question and just stumps the Sadducees and then the scribes come along and the scribes come along and Ask him a question. He does the same thing It's like every play that the Pharisees or the Sadducees or the scribes run They're getting dropped behind the line of scrimmage that play just fails. They're getting nowhere Right every and the economy of words to with how Christ answers them is just beautiful So Christ is stumping them and so the Pharisees go off sort of in a corner of a temple They're gathered together probably huddled together trying to figure out how are we gonna get him next and then Christ decides to ask them a question He poses a question to them the Christ whose son is he they said to him the son of David Now the Pharisees had come to believe that the Messiah the Christ was no more than a mere man No more than a descendant from David Some who sat by the river that day and watched Christ might have thought this is a mere man Oh, that's because the carpenter's son, right just a mere man He was not only a mere man He was far more than a mere man and that's the point that Christ is gonna make here more than a son of David But listen, that's one of the reasons that these groups were so angrily against him They saw the Messiah as a son of David Jesus Christ took that title to himself as Messiah Because he didn't reject any of their claims about him the multitudes were all crying out to him as the Messiah son of David We remember the accounts of the blind men son of David son of David had mercy on us Right the 10 that were crying out of the Lord for healing the lepers son of David son of David, right? They believe that he was a man and the Pharisees believed merely a man And Jesus Christ is saying no more than a man The Pharisees were angry because Jesus wouldn't reject this claim of himself that he was a Messiah And they thought the claim of Messiah was far too lofty for Jesus and Jesus is making the point that no This is far more lofty than even you understand This title that is being made of me that i'm making of myself Jesus said to them How then does David and the spirit call him lord saying the Lord said to my lord Sit at my right hand to let me make your enemies your footstool if David calls him lord. How is he his son? Now this is a quotation from psalm 110 Psalm 110 and any Jew at the time would have recognized instantly the quotation from psalm 110 They saw it as a messy annex psalm And so if you're looking at this quote here or you're looking at psalm 110 look at verse 44 here in matthew 22 This is david speaking and look at what david says The lord and your bibles that should be capital l capital o capital r capital d When you see that translated that is the covenant name. It's a translation of the covenant name of god. That's jahovah That's yaweh god the father. Okay, so if jahovah said to my lord capital l lowercase o rd That translates the word hebrew adoni or in the greek. That's kuryos It was a common name for christ as lord. All right, so you have david speaking and david saying the lord god jahovah said to my lord christ my lord adoni right My lord sit at my right hand till i make your enemies your footstool As sitting at god's right hand Was a statement of co-equal authority It was a statement of co-equal glory. It was a statement of co-equal exaltation Did god not say that he wouldn't share his glory with anyone else, right? And yet christ is raised to a position to the right hand of the father in glory Christ is god in the flesh Christ is the exalted one christ is raised to a position of authority equal to god now Equal to god in authority equal to god in exaltation, but also invincible God will make all of his enemies his footstool In other words every enemy every single enemy will be under the boot if you will of christ His boot will be placed to their neck. They are under subjugation to him All of his enemies are his footstool pointing to christ being infinitely invincible. Okay So the point that jesus is making in matthew 22 Tied to the point that john the baptist is making in john chapter one Is that the son of david? Or the son of man is insufficient to communicate the full truth about who jesus christ is He is also the son of god a son of god Isn't it awesome to think about back in john chapter one? Isn't it awesome to think about how jesus exegetes the scripture? Right jesus goes back to psalm 110 exegetes that for them as if to say You guys should have known this already, right? This is said in the scripture. Have you not read? Have you not read? Any exegetes of scripture? We're to know these things too. We have god's revealed word in our hands We're to study his word and to learn of him. We're to know these things by studying the bible He expected them to know it He's saying to the Pharisees you should have got this but listen Like many today the Pharisees came to the bible with their own agenda They came to the bible with their own ideas and so rather than recognizing these glorious truths from god's word about the messiah They missed it. They missed it. They had their own understanding and their own agenda their own ideas and they were blind to the truth John chapter one back in verse 30 john's basically communicating the same idea The repetition of john the baptist continues to serve To remind them and to remind us of who jesus christ was Jesus was god in the flesh the eternal word You see a man, but he's not merely a man And this is critical. This is important to your christian life If jesus christ was only a man or merely a man Then jesus is not god And jesus could not save you from your sins Sinful men would have no way to become reconciled to god It would be left without a savior left without hope But because jesus is both god and man jesus can save from sin He is the perfect man the god man taking away the sin of the world Only jesus fully man and fully god could offer a satisfactory sacrifice for sin But secondly now it's a satisfactory sacrifice because of god's revelation look at verse 31 John says i didn't know him, but that he should be revealed to israel. Therefore i came baptizing with water It was god's intent to reveal christ to the jewish people That was the reason that john the baptist came baptizing with water It was the reason that john the baptist baptized jesus christ and the river jordan The purpose of john's ministry of baptism Was to make known or make manifest to the children of israel the messiah their messiah And then beyond the children of israel to make manifest or reveal the messiah to the world In this the salvation Directed toward the nation of israel becomes a salvation that is directed to the world And john reveals him and john did it's interesting john didn't know him apart from a revelation from god Israelites didn't either did they he came to his own they didn't know him The israelites didn't know him apart from a revelation from god The truth is is that you and i don't know him either apart from a revelation of god You and i are dead in our sins and trespasses the bible describes us as blind The bible describes us as lepros the bible describes us as death What can a blind man see nothing? What can a deaf man hear numka? What can a dead man do? Nothing right? It um The lord has to give us life the lord has to give us sight the lord has to give us hearing understanding We need a revelation from god to be saved if you're here today, and you've never been genuinely saved lord hasn't changed your heart You're still in your sin. Listen cry out to god. Don't sit around and wait for some Spiritual revelation or you're some zapping to say Listen the lord is the source of salvation It's the lord who saves cry out to god For eyes to see cry out for god to god for eyes to see your sin Cry out to god for eyes to see the preciousness and the excellencies of christ Ask god to reveal to you More of who you are and then to reveal to you more of who christ is And to save your wretched soul You need a revelation from god The fact that that revelation comes from god gives you no excuse in your sin Well, you know i'm not saved because god just hadn't saved me That is thinking thinking unbiblical thinking that's thinking it will send you to hell It's interesting in matthew chapter 11. Listen to this from matthew chapter 11 beginning in verse 25 You see both sides of this it says there in matthew 11 25 at that time jesus answered and said i thank you father This is jesus praying i thank you father lord of heaven and earth that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent Listen to the sovereignty of god in his revelation of himself I praise thank you father lord of heaven and earth that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent And have revealed them to babes Even so father for so it seemed good in your sight All things have been delivered to me by my father jesus says and no one knows the son except the father now listen to this Nor does anyone know the father Except the son and the one to whom praise a prayer And the one to whom walks an isle And the one to whom makes a decision for christ No, and the one to whom the son Wills to reveal him God's sovereignty and salvation but now listen he follows it up with a statement of responsibility and this statement goes to you Come to me christ says all you who labor in our heavy laden laboring in heavy laden over what Over their sin over their separation from god over the judgment that hangs over their head They're weary under the weight of their sin And what does jesus say that he will do and i will give you rest Jesus says listen come to me if you are sick and tired of the life that you've made a wreck of If you are sick and tired of laboring under your sin If you are sick and tired of that great backpack of weight that just bears on you weighs you down Listen come to christ He will give you rest Christ says in 29 take my yoke upon you learn from me for i am gentle and lowly and heart That's something that you have to do you take the yoke of christ on you Is described as a yoke, but is it burdensome? No He's taking the weight off Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for i am gentle and lowly and heart and you will find rest for your Souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light It's a dual truth God's sovereignty and salvation man's responsibility God's sovereignty gives you no excuse for your sin If you won't repent it's because you won't repent If you won't believe in the name of the son of god, then you won't believe if you won't follow It's because you won't follow And yet he gives such glorious offerings doesn't he such a glorious free will free offering of mercy in christ If you'll come to him he'll give you rest Thirdly it's a satisfactory sacrifice because it's attested to by the spirit It's attested to by the spirit in verse 32 The bible says that john bore witness saying i saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove and he remained on him Now this was a a pre-arranged sign of god revealing christ as the messiah to john the baptist in verse 33 Refers back to the time that john the baptist baptized christ in the river jordan And it's a supernatural attestation Of the godhead that jesus is the christ that jesus is the messiah You have the revelation of god Here the revelation of god at the river jordan was god's audible voice at the baptism of christ And you have here also the holy spirit descending from heaven remaining on him It's all three members of the godhead all three members of the trinity it worked together here It's interesting also that the spirit remained on him. I want to make this point quickly That christ is our perfect example He's our perfect example in how to live the christian life Christ is a perfect example of faith in the sense that christ perfectly believed in and held to and trusted in the promises of god He's a perfect example of faith christ is also a perfect example of holiness. He never sinned But how was that accomplished? How did christ walk by faith? How did christ obey? He obeyed and walked perfectly lived his life in the power of the holy spirit Listen to this from isaiah chapter 11 verse 1 There shall come forth a rod from the stem of jesse. Who's that? That's jesus christ And a branch shall grow out of his roots The spirit of the lord shall rest upon him and look at the fruit of the spirit resting upon him The spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and might the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the lord This resting of the spirit On christ happened in full measure at the moment of christ incarnation When christ became man He had a full measure of the holy spirit strength of the holy spirit right from the very beginning That's how christ never sinned. That's in childhood. You can imagine right christ grew in wisdom and stature in the strength of the holy spirit But here we see a representation of that in the holy spirit descending on him like a dove and then remaining on him christ obeyed By faith trusting in the promises of god In the strength and power in the might of the holy spirit You and i are to walk by faith perfectly trusting in the promises of god Trusting in christ alone in the power of the holy spirit in the same way that christ did christ is a Perfect example of how we are to live our lives by faith in the son of god And in the strength and power and enablement of the holy spirit when you fight sin Trust in christ and cry out to the holy spirit for strength When you battle or you come to a circumstance where you're anxious or worried trust in christ reassurance from the holy spirit We live by faith in christ and in the power of the spirit Next this is a he is a satisfactory sacrifice because he was attested to by the father John says in verse 33. I did not know him But he who sent me to baptize with water said to me upon whom you see the spirit descending and remaining on him This is he who baptizes with the holy spirit John only knew who jesus was through divine revelation. It's similar to peter right jesus asked peter Who do you say that i am and peter says you are the christ the son of the living god and what did jesus respond to him with You did not understand this right this was this was revealed to you It's my father in heaven who revealed this to you flesh and blood did not reveal this to you But my father who is in heaven and again at the end of verse 33 The greatness of jesus over and above john the baptist is emphasized in the fact that john merely baptizes with water But jesus will baptize with the holy spirit But lastly he is a satisfactory sacrifice As one attested to by witnesses specifically john in verse 34 john says i've seen And testified that this is the son of god John is such a good example of a witness six times so far in the gospel of john It refers to john the baptist witness of christ We need to take example from john the baptist and how we are to witness of christ can't let that be lost on this it's also interesting that john likely knew him But he didn't know he was a messiah Many said at that time look there's isn't that the carpenter's son They knew who christ was who jesus was but they didn't realize that he was the christ likely similar to john if you've ever been to a um a family reunion They got a lot of people there you've never seen before No idea one person after another coming up and introducing them to like who are you i'm your cousin i'm your cousin Uh a lot of people in your family you may not know Might have been that john the baptist didn't know who christ was a lot of cousins However, it's likely that john knew him but did not know that he was the christ Um and again john concludes with his desire That in the way that he recognizes jesus as the christ He wants us to do the same through his witness that through the witness of john the baptist We would come to know jesus as the christ the son of god and that believing we may have life in his name And john has done a wonderful job with his witness. He testified of christ's pre-existence in verse 15 He was before me john said He testified of his lordship in verse 23 make straight the way of the lord He testified of his supremacy in verse 27 the greatest man born among women is not worthy to even loose his sandal strap Right He testified of his sacrificial work in verse 29 behold the lamb of god He testified of his divine right to baptize with the holy spirit in verse 33 He testified of his divine sonship verse 34 As we continue beyond this point now beginning next week john's gospel moves from john the baptist now and transitions to christ and we'll look at that beginning next week Lastly here There's a final aspect revealed in that messianic title from first 34 the son of god And that is point four on your notes that jesus is the saving sacrifice. He is the son of god as both the son of god And the lamb of god Jesus is the only one who can save Only one worthy to take the scroll Only one perfect and sinless the only one who would be an acceptable sacrifice To god the father the only one who could Propitiate or satisfy god's wrath against sin the only one who could bear What would be your eternal punishment? The only one that could bear that In his body at one time on the tree He was the only one He must be both in order to save as both. He is the supreme Sacrificial substitutionary lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world The question that you have to ask yourself is that is he your sin bearer? Has he taken away your sin? How do you know? If lord has taken away your sin Has reconciled you to god and dwelt you with his spirit and you're going to see a glorious transformation in your life You're not the man who used to be You're not the woman who used to do those things The lord owns you now you've been bought at a price. You are his own And he has made you by the strength of his spirit by the purchase of christ Made you his own special possession zealous for good works Bearing fruit bearing evidence right of a transformed life your great need is Fleeing the wrath of god Your great need is escaping the judgment that hangs over your head because of sin And we have a great redeemer A great redeemer who offers himself freely a lamb of god a sacrifice of god Holy and acceptable to god To take away the sin of the world to take away your sin every one of them past present and future To reconcile you to god you might have peace with god that you might be a child of god for his glory. Amen. Amen. Let's pray Father in heaven god, we praise you worship you horn For this glorious sacrifice For this glorious truth Of the work of christ both who he is what he's done His perfect life his sacrificial substitutionary death Lord we just rejoice in your salvation We're in awe of your salvation And we praise you and worship you for all eternity Because of the salvation you've provided for us in christ May we now lord by faith in christ in the strength of the spirit Live in the light of these glorious truths That we might be wholly pleasing to you We love you lord pray all these things in the blessed name of our great god and savior jesus christ our lord Amen