Theology

Behold the Lamb

An Advent reading for December 11.

Advent Week 2: Sin and Redemption


John the Baptist played a crucial role in preparing people for the Messiah. This week, we consider what Scripture says about John’s purpose. We reflect on how his teachings about sin and repentance can speak to our own lives of Christian discipleship.

Read John 1:29–34.

The Old Testament is replete with shepherds. Abraham was a shepherd, as were Jacob and Rachel, as well as Moses, King David, and the prophet Amos. Shepherding was an important job because the community of God’s people in the Old Testament needed sheep. They needed lambs, a lot of lambs, in order to fulfill the requirement of sacrifices to God.

The thought of a seemingly endless slaughter of lambs can be unsettling for us. Just imagine how unsettling it must have been for those who participated in these bloody offerings! Yet because of sin, God required a sacrifice. He required a lamb. But not just any lamb. The lamb had to be spotless, without blemishes or defect (Lev. 22:21–22). In other words, it had to be perfect.

Even though God’s people were tasked with choosing the most perfect lambs, those lambs were never perfect enough. Their sacrifice covered sin, but they could never actually take it away (Heb. 10:4). Every cry of a lamb sacrificed in the Old Testament was in some ways a cry of longing for the truly perfect Lamb of God.

This cry continued through the generations until one day, John the Baptist saw Jesus walking toward him and declared, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Here, John the Baptist offered an answer to the piercing question Isaac had asked his father Abraham many years before, and that echoed through the centuries: “Where is the lamb?” Abraham had replied to Isaac, “God himself will provide the lamb” (Gen. 22:7–8).

There by the river, John the Baptist declared Jesus to be the lamb God promised to provide. Behold, the perfect, unspotted, unblemished Lamb of God (see 1 Pet. 1:18–19).

We’re not looking for the lamb anymore. He has come. Jesus Christ is that lamb who was sacrificed—crucified—in our place (1 Cor. 5:7). He is the lamb “pierced for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities” (Isa. 53:5). Jesus is the lamb, the only lamb, that once and for all made the sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 10:12).

John bore witness to the fact that Jesus was the “God’s Chosen One” (John 1:34). The baby who was born, whom John declared, was also "the Lamb who was slain" (Rev. 13:8). Today, when we worship the Lord, may we echo John's prophetic words: Now behold the lamb!

Anthony J. Carter is the lead pastor of East Point Church in East Point, Georgia. He is the author of several books, including Dying to Speak and Running from Mercy.

Read John 1:29–34. (Option: Also reflect on John 1:6–8; 1 Cor. 5:7; 1 Pet. 1:18–19.)

How do John’s teachings about sin and repentance connect with his testimony about Jesus? How do you desire to respond to Jesus as you contemplate his identity as the Lamb of God?

Also in this issue

Many core tenets of the gospel reverberate powerfully throughout Advent’s traditional readings and themes. In these daily devotional readings from CT, we reflect on the mystery of the Incarnation, on Christ’s purpose as the long-awaited Messiah, on our sin and need for repentance, on God’s promises of salvation and justice, and on our firm hope in Christ’s return and everlasting kingdom. We prepare to celebrate the “newborn King” who was “born that man no more may die,” as Charles Wesley’s beloved carol declares. And we’re reminded again and again throughout Advent that the gospel is not just for us, but it is a message of “great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10)—it’s good news that’s meant to be shared.

The God Who Suffers

A Light to the Nations

Great Joy for All People

Quietly Hidden

Gospel Anticipation

A Pregnant Promise

Let it Be

Silent Time, Holy Time

What it Means to Be God

The Baby King

The Light Is Coming

The Messiah’s Mission

True Hope

Bringing Us Home

What Hope Looks Like

The Gospel of Advent: Good News for the Season

Amazing, Cleansing Grace

Good, Severe News

Repentance Made Possible

The Rising Son

Comfort My People

He Won't Leave Us Alone

The Gospel Life in Person

Come, Lord Jesus!

City of Light

All Things New

Right or Left?

Watch and Pray

We Begin at the End

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