Lamb Of God Is Jacob’s Ladder John 1:29-51 (Part 1)

About this Episode

Lamb of God is Jacob’s Ladder John 1:29-51 (Part 1) is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast.

As we learned two podcasts ago, John records in his first chapter of John, the 7 names and titles Jesus identifies with as the Eternal God. We first studied in verses 1-3 that Jesus is the “Word of God”, in vs 14 that He is “God in the flesh”, in verses 4-13 we learned “He is the Light of the world” and in verses 15-28 that He is “the Son of God”. In our reading today of John 1:29 through 51, we will see Jesus as “the Lamb of God” in vs 29-34, “The Messiah” in vs 35-42, the “King of Israel” vs 43-49, and lastly “the Son of Man” in vs 50-51.

Read John 1:29-34 and break down Jesus as the Lamb of God.

In one sense, what we see in the bible, the message of the old testament is “Where is the Lamb”? Gen 22:7 & 8 says “And Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together”

And in the New Testament, it can be summed, Behold the Lamb of God! John 1:35-36 “The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

The lambs that Israel sacrificed could not take away their sin once and for all, but God’s lamb, not only took away their sins but also the sins of the whole world.

John the Baptist understood that baptism for Jesus was in reference to the death, burial, and resurrection that He would endure on the cross as the sacrificial lamb. He most likely knew Isaiah 53:7 that says He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers are silent, so he opened not his mouth.

John now turns his attention to Jesus’ first disciples. We see in verses 35-42 John, the writer of this gospel, as one of His first disciples along with Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

Read verses 35-42

In verse 38 Jesus asks them, What do you seek? Here Jesus is forcing them to define their purposes and goals. Were they looking for a revolutionary leader to overthrow Rome? They did not answer him, but Jesus knew their heart and asked them to join Him with a come and see. What does come and see mean to us?

Verse 41 says we have found the Messiah. The word “Messiah” in Hebrew means, “the anointed” and the Greek word means “the Christ”. To the Jews, they understood this statement to be “the Son of God”. Kings were called “God’s anointed” in 1 Sam 26:11, so when the Jews spoke about their Messiah, they were thinking of the king who would come to deliver them and establish the kingdom.

Verse 43 says Jesus gave Simon a new name Cephas, which in Aramaic means “the Rock”. It took a great deal for Jesus to transform weak Simon into a Rock, but He did it. This is a great encouragement to all who trust in Christ.

It is worth noting that both Andrew and John trusted Christ through the faithful preaching of John the Baptist. Peter and James came to Christ because of the personal work of their brothers. Later on, we will see Jesus personally invites Philip to follow him, but Philip invited Nathaniel. The Bottom line is that we must invite others to follow Jesus.