A Special Announcement

“Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

John 1:6-9 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The One who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

John 1:15 John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

John 1:29  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

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There is a special announcement to be made and God like he usually does sent a special messenger to give us the news. God sent John the Baptist to break the silence that has lasted for four hundred years. Nobody heard anything from God but now he is ready to reveal the Light of the world to us.

You may wonder why a dark world would have a problem seeing the Light. Even a small match would be obvious to somebody that was living in total darkness. It would be just like standing in a cave without any light at all. As soon as a source of light is turned on everybody knows it but that isn't true if you are a blind man. 

2 Corinthians 4:4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

You have to realize that a blind man is always in the dark, even if he is standing in the brightest light, that's how it is for those that need Jesus. We needed John to tell us about the Light because Satan has blinded our eyes.

John the Baptist had to do some searching to find out the truth about Jesus, God gave him proof, he made it clear that he didn't always know that Jesus is the Messiah. (John 1:31-34) The men that the religious leaders sent to question John and ask him who he is were not open to the truth that John shared with them.

Are you trying to decide about Jesus identity, is he really God in a body? John the Baptist says "Look at Jesus, he is the one." But what makes John a good witness and why should we listen to him?

Is John a credible witness?
John 5:31 “If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid.  32 But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true. 33 In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true.

Jesus confirmed that John was a credible witness that we should listen to. Everything from his special birth to his peculiar lifestyle is evidence that John's testimony should be admitted into the courtroom in our minds as we attempt to know who Jesus is.

✔  His birth and his ministry were a fulfillment of prophecy. (Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1)
✔  He is a good and holy man. (Mark 6:19-20)
✔  He didn't show any desire for power, for wealth or to exalt himself.
✔  He stood up to the powerful for what he believed. (Matthew 3:2-10)
✔   He died for his mission. (Matthew 14:1-12)
✔  He was an eyewitness to God's revelation. (Matthew 3:16,John 1:30-34)

When John says, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" we have plenty of reasons to believe him. John didn't have an agenda other than the one that God gave him, it was the reason that he was born, it was the reason that he lived, and it was the cause of his death.