The Lamb

John the Baptist broke 400 years of God's prophetic silence with the declaration, 'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)." Wow! Really?! The Lamb of God. The lamb was a familiar image to the Jewish mind and the sacrificial system. A lamb was one of the choice animals for sacrifice. Every day in the temple a morning and evening sacrifice was made, usually utilizing a lamb. Those lambs were a reminder of sin, incapable of cleansing the human heart from sin. This Lamb, deals radically with the sin of the world. Rebellion, unbelief, carnal selfishness are no match for the blood of this Lamb. John baptised with water, but the Lamb baptizes with the Holy Spirit. One baptism reminding man of his sinfulness, the new baptism transforming the human heart. This Spirit baptism is possible because the Lamb was slain. Christ became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. The promise of Ezekial 36, the promise of the new covenant involved a new heart! Our heart can be purified from the world's sin!. We can love God with all our heart! Our will can be in harmony with the Father's. We can know an intimacy, a fellowship, a closeness, as a branch abiding in the Vine. The world's sin put the Lamb on the cross. The Father's work through the Son's life and death, put the Lamb on the throne of the universe. Let's 'look' to the Lamb. Let's fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith with the expectation and faith that He is able to do something about the 'world's sin' in each of us...today is the day of salvation! As we begin this passion week, open your heart to the Spirit's baptism. The cleansing power of the blood of the Lamb is mankinds only hope.