John 1:29-34
Have you ever read through the Old Testament book of Leviticus? It describes the sin offering, the peace offerings, the other offerings that almost all required the death and blood of an animal. It describes everything from the offender placing his hands on the animal’s head to acknowledge sin to the actual burning of specific pieces of the animal and its fat. It describes how the priest was to take some of the blood of the animal and splash it on the altar as they asked God to forgive the sin of the people. After a reading Leviticus for a few days I get overwhelmed and thank God I was not alive then. I would have needed a huge herd of animals to pay for my sin.
Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. His body and blood satisfied the wrath of God toward sin for eternity. It goes back to our devotion from day 1. Jesus was the plan from the beginning. He came knowing only His death and resurrection would satisfy the need of a perfect sacrifice once for all.
In December we visited Israel and a part of our tour took us to Bethlehem. We toured the cave area where it is believed Jesus took his first breaths as well as the shepherds fields where the good news was made known. Our guide explained that Jesus was placed into a makeshift bed made from the trough animals would have eaten from. They talked about the wraps He was swaddled in suggesting the possibility that the wraps could have come from Elizabeth. If you go back and read the gospel account when Mary found out she was expecting Jesus she went to see her cousin Elizabeth who had her own miraculous story of bearing a child. Elizabeth’s son John would be a forerunner of Jesus. The cloth could have been from garments worn by Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband who served as a priest. He had been offering sacrifices as described in Leviticus before the Lord when God had told him that Elizabeth would have a son and that he “Will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.” Luke 1:16-17 The guide talked about how the lambs in the fields where the shepherds were probably kept lambs that would one day be used as sacrifices at the Temple. These lambs were wrapped with the cloths to prevent them from being scraped or injured. The guide reminded us that Jesus like those lambs was being prepared to one day be The Sacrifice. Only a perfect lamb could be used for sacrifice. John was right when he said, “Here is the Lamb of God, who take away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 John knew from his experience as the son of the priest the importance of that sacrifice. He also knew and made known that Jesus was The Son of God.
Thank God today that you too are on this side of the Cross. Thank Jesus for what He did to pay for your sin. Confess any known sin and make it your purpose today to tell someone today about the difference Jesus has made in your life. John said it best when he said “He must increase and I must decrease.” When we make much of Jesus and less of us we are following the example John set for us.