John 1:29-42 We usually think of sheep as dumb, harmless animals. If you go to a petting zoo, you’ll find sheep and not lions and tigers. That’s because zoo keepers think they’re safe. So when we hear John telling us that Jesus is the Lamb of God, our tendency is to see him as that nice cuddly lamb in the petting zoo. But that’s not what John has in mind While this title – Lamb of God – might sound strange to us, first century Jews would have understood. Because lambs played an important role in their worship and in their Scriptures, what they heard was a reference to the Passover Lamb that symbolized their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. They would also have had the message of the Suffering Servant in their minds. The Servant, who like a lamb led to the slaughter and a sheep standing before its shearers, suffers for the people living in exile so that they might find freedom from their sins that keep them in bondage. Jesus is proclaimed here as the one who liberates us from the...
Sermons of a Disciples Preacher Ministering in Troy, Michigan