The Joy of Christmas

In this verse, John the Baptist explicitly identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God, linking Him to the sacrificial lamb in the Old Testament, especially the Passover lamb, and highlights Jesus’ mission to redeem humanity through death on a cross.

So it’s Christmas, but we’re talking about death on a cross, because the reason why Jesus came was to die so that we could live again. And we know that that is possible because He Himself died and was raised.

Jesus is identified as the Lamb of God, a marker of His sacrifice for humankind. Our key scripture illuminates the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, which was in Isaiah 53: 7. It describes Jesus, the Messiah, as a lamb led to the slaughter, symbolizing His silent and willing sacrifice.

It also emphasizes the atonement of sin when it says, takes away the sin of the world, which connects Jesus to the role of a sacrificial offering and emphasizes His purpose of bringing forgiveness and reconciliation between God and humanity.

We know that it was God’s plan for Jesus to fulfill His role as Redeemer, because Revelation 13:8 tells us that He is the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

We also know of the purity and supreme sacrifice that was necessary from 1 Peter 1,:18-19, which says,

 “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  1 Peter 1:18-19 (NIV)

There was no defect. There was no blemish.

We also know that Jesus is the victorious Lamb who is worshiped in heaven,

 “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” Revelation 5:12 (ESV)

Imagine if we just got up every morning and said, “You are worthy, Lord, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” And all of that is already His.

John1:29, is our primary scripture because it declares in an emphatic and very brief, but to-the-point manner, that Jesus is the Lamb.

It is the core message of John’s Gospel, and it is something that really leads us to the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

Lambs are gentle. They are pure. They are meek. They have this characteristic that you wouldn’t think that they can do anything.

But Jesus was powerful as a Lamb. He was powerful. He was spotless. He was unblemished. He had everything in Him that was pure to be able to do this job.

When you look back at the basis of the scripture in Exodus 12:5, it says, your lamb shall be unblemished, a male, a year old. We know that goats couldn’t do that. We know that cows couldn’t do that. The only animal that was akin to what was needed was an unblemished lamb, something innocent. That is what the lamb represents. Innocence.

When we identify ourselves with the Lamb of God, the world knows that there is protection on our lives.

Jesus is the reason for this season. When I think about Christmas and how things have changed in my own lifetime, it can be disheartening.

When I was younger, you could hear Christmas carols that led us back to the reason for Christmas, not novelty songs, but songs that pointed us to the Lamb. The joy of Christmas for me was getting up early and going to church to sing about the Messiah. And even today, the joy of Christmas is knowing that an unblemished Lamb came into the world to take away my sins.

Father, I thank You for who You are. I thank You for Your love. I thank You for being that pure, unblemished sacrifice that we celebrate.

Lord, we thank You. We celebrate You every day, but we thank You for being humble enough to come into this world and be born lowly.

We thank You that You were found worthy when no one else was. And Lord God, we pray that if there is anyone here who does not know You, that they will make a decision for You today.

In Jesus’ name, amen.