The Advent of the Lamb of God
On the Fourth Sunday of Advent
John 1:19-37
“There are only two places where the powerful and great in this world lose their courage, tremble in the depths of their souls, and become truly afraid. These are the manger and the cross of Jesus Christ. No priest, no theologian stood at the cradle of Bethlehem. And yet, all Christian theology finds its beginnings in the miracle of miracles, that God became human.”
As we look at the “Lamb” of Advent, we must deal with the all-important “why” of Advent. In order to do that we must enter into the mind of God to really understand the causative etiology of Advent. Why was it necessary to have an Advent for the entrance into this universe of The Lamb of God?
In order to answer that question we must look at John 1:29 for within that one verse is the revelation and proclamation of the gospel! Imagine the scene as Yeshua approached the area of Bethany and John the Baptist spotted Him in the distance.
John exclaims, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” The first biblical mention of the Lamb appears in Genesis 22 when Abraham went to the altar to offer his son Isaac. Leviticus 14 talks about lambs as a guilt offering. The Apostle John came back to it in Revelation as a triumphal title for the conquering Lord…