THINK TOGETHER.
When’s the last time you were excited to see someone.
READ TOGETHER.
John 1:29. The next day [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Do you remember who John the Baptist was? He was the cousin of Jesus, that was born a few months before Jesus was. Do you know any of your cousins? Likely you do. And it is also likely that you know some of the bad things they have done.
We don’t know much about Jesus and John growing up together. I’m sure they made trips to Jerusalem together for the holidays, like the one we read about yesterday. Maybe weddings and funerals brought their families together. We do know that John became a preacher before Jesus did. John would go out, away from Jerusalem where the Temple and the religious leaders were, and he would preach in the desert. He would also baptize people in the river (that’s why we call him John the Baptist today). Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people would go out to the desert to hear John preach about God, and sin, and repentance.
One day when John was preaching as usual, Jesus came out to hear his cousin preach. That’s when John said the famous words that are in today’s verse – Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Have you ever heard Jesus called the Lamb of God? Why would John call Jesus God’s lamb? What was so special about lambs back then? That’s right. Lambs were used as sacrifices for sin in the Temple. When people sinned against God, they would bring a lamb to the Temple where it would be sacrificed on a big altar. What does that mean? It means that the lamb (or another animal) would take the place of the person. The person deserves to be punished for their sin, but instead the lamb was punished in the person’s place.
But sacrificing lambs couldn’t really take away our sins. Why not? Because for our sins to be forgiven, they would have to be paid for by another person, not an animal. Only a person could be the substitute for people. That’s why God would become a person – Jesus. And that’s why John would call Jesus the Lamb of God.
When Jesus died on the cross for us, it wasn’t just to be a good example for us. Yes, Jesus is always the best example, but when he died on the cross it was so that he could be the substitute for us. The lamb. The one that would take the punishment for sin that we deserve – death. Even death on a cross.
The good news that John the Baptist knew about Jesus was that his cousin was also the perfect substitute for the whole world. I’ll bet you can’t say that about your cousin (or your cousin about you). In fact, we can’t say that about anyone but Jesus. Is Jesus your lamb? Your substitute? Are you trusting in his goodness alone to save you, and not your own goodness? I hope so.
Because of Jesus we can have the punishment for all our sins taken away.
With Jesus we can know for sure that we are forgiven.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Draw pictures of sheep together. Maybe glue on some cotton balls for wool. Talk about how lambs can be cute but also helpless and foolish, just like us. How are we helpless and foolish too?
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, I want you to be my lamb. Thank you for taking my sins away forever. Amen.
TLICfamily 