Do you believe that history is important? Well, do you believe that it is important that Jesus Christ REALLY died 2,000 years ago? that he REALLY rose from the grave three days later? that he rose again in HISTORY? PHYSICALLY? with the same body? And is YOUR body going to be raised from the dead? PHYSICALLY? Bodily? in history? Or is this something we just "believe"? Is it just an intellectual, philosophical belief? It doesn't make a difference whether it really happened or not...

Or does it really matter? As Paul says, if Christ is not raised from the dead, our faith is in vain.

On Monday we buried Karen Deavel. Was it really Karen Deavel that we buried? When I was growing up, I used to hear people say, "Oh, that's not really so-and-so, he's in heaven with Jesus." But that was really Karen that we buried. Karen's body is just as much a part of her, as her soul is. And Karen's body still belongs to Jesus. Even though it is now six feet under the earth, her body belongs to Jesus, and awaits the resurrection of the dead-in history.

Soon we will have a number of baptisms. Is baptism really important? Do you really need to have water poured on you?

It all depends on whether you believe that history is important! It depends on whether you believe that your BODY will be raised from the dead!

If you really believe that Jesus died and rose again BODILY in HISTORY, and that YOU will be raised BODILY in HISTORY , then you really need to be baptized BODILY in HISTORY!!!

You see, this is one place where rationalism threatens the church. Liberalism teaches that all that matters is what you believe. As long as you believe it, it doesn't matter whether it REALLY happened. A liberal would say that it doesn't make a difference whether Jesus was raised from the dead; and it doesn't matter whether YOU will rise from the dead, just so long as you believe it--it gives you comfort! And while evangelicals staunchly defend the importance of the resurrection, we have often bought in to the same rationalism with respect to baptism. All that matters is what you believe-it doesn't make a difference whether you are baptized.

But the Word of God says that history is important--the BODY is important.

Baptism happens in history. In baptism, YOUR BODY is washed with water. It is a moment in history where your body--your self--is identified with Christ.

Romans 6:3-11 says this: (read)

In baptism we are identified with Christ--in his (historical, bodily) death, so that we might also be identified with him in his (historical, bodily) resurrection.

Do you believe that YOUR BODY is going to rise one day? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the savior NOT ONLY of your soul, but also of your body? That's why baptism is important; because salvation not only affects your soul, but also your body!

Why did John come baptizing the people? Why did he come using such an outward, bodily, physical picture? He says that he came as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord!" But why, if his task was to preach, did he baptize? In v. 31 John says, "I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." John baptized with water--that physical, bodily sign-- to reveal the Lamb of God to Israel. How did water baptism reveal the Lamb of God to Israel? (v32-34) Many were baptized with water--with the baptism of repentance-- but only one received the Holy Spirit. As John baptized the multitudes, washing their bodies with water, he was reminding Israel of the promise in Ezekiel 36 that God would sprinkle them with clean water, and give them the Holy Spirit. But John's baptism did not give them the Holy Spirit. They simply got wet... But they received on their bodies, the baptism of repentance--the promise of salvation. In history, they were identified with the ONE who was to come. And indeed, in history, that ONE was among them! Because one day, Jesus himself came to John, and John declared: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" And as John baptized Jesus, Jesus received the gift of the Holy Spirit. (v33)

The baptism of John was a bodily, physical picture of Christ--in HISTORY. And when Jesus came to be baptized, he was revealed as the Lamb of God.

What does John mean when he calls Jesus, "The Lamb of God"

I'd like to look first at the words "lamb of God"--and understand what John means by that. Then let's look at what the Lamb DOES

1. What IS the Lamb of God? John says that this lamb "takes away the sin of the world" This has two OT roots: 1--The Passover The Passover lamb died so that the Israelites might live. This was an important historical event for Israel. God was about to set his people free from slavery in Egypt. He told them that he was going to kill the firstborn son of all Egyptians And he told them that the only way to avoid having your firstborn son killed, was to sacrifice a perfect lamb in its place. Then you must eat the lamb, and sprinkle its blood on your doorpost. What would have happened to an Israelite family who failed to do this? Let's say that you are a godly Israelite in Egypt. You believe that God is about to save his people. But you decide, "hey, I have faith--who needs to bother with the lamb!" What would have happened? If you don't actually kill the lamb, sprinkle the blood on the doorpost, and eat the meat of the lamb, then your firstborn son would die that night. Why? Why was it so important to God that the people do this? Because history is important to God. What you do bodily is important! Salvation is not merely a spiritual thing!! God saves not only souls, but also bodies!! I Cor 5.7 Paul says "For indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us." Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God! He is the Lamb who was sacrificed for us. And if we eat of that Lamb--as we do in the Lord's Supper, then we need not fear God's judgment. And if we are sprinkled with his blood, then we can have confidence that As we come to the Lord's Table today we are partaking of the Lamb of God. Just as the Passover Lamb received the judgment of God, and the Israelites partook of that death by eating the lamb's dead flesh, So also, Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and WE partake of his death by partaking of the bread and the cup. As Paul says, "for as often as you eat of this bread and drink of this cup, you PROCLAIM the Lord's Death until he comes" It is in the act of eating and drinking that you proclaim the death of Christ. As you physically take the elements in your hands, you are proclaiming the Lord's death. How? You're not talking!! You're not saying anything!! How are you PROCLAIMING when you eat and drink during the Lord's Supper? Once again we are reminded of the importance of history! Once again we are reminded of the importance of the body! Salvation is not merely a matter of the intellect. You do not merely proclaim Christ by thinking or talking about him. You also proclaim Christ in what you DO. And in the Lord's Supper, we partake of the Lamb who was slain. By eating the bread and drinking the cup, we partake of his body and blood. After all, Jesus said in John 6, "my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink" And so in our eating and drinking at the Lord's Table, we Proclaim Christ's death. In history, with our bodies, we identify with Christ as the Lamb of God who was slain as our Passover Lamb.

This is connected with a second picture from Isaiah 53

2--The Suffering Lamb of Is 53.4-7 Notice this--"all we like sheep have gone astray..." "He was led as a lamb to the slaughter..." We are sheep. Christ is also a sheep. He suffers as a lamb, so that he might bring more sheep into his fold. Connecting these two themes is a new idea. The Jews did not ordinarily connect the Passover lamb with the Suffering Servant

This brings us back to the marvelous doctrine that the Word became Flesh. The Mighty Word became weak! The Omnipotent Word become impotent! The Word became a Lamb. The Son of God became a man, so that we might become sons of God! But how does John show us this in John 1?

2. What does the Lamb of God DO? 1--he gets baptized with water so that he might baptize them with the Holy Spirit (v32-34) Why does Jesus get baptized? There's more than one reason. But what John shows us, is that Jesus identifies with us in his baptism. It is at his baptism that Jesus is first called "the Lamb of God" Here Jesus is becoming a sheep to be slaughtered. At his baptism he is marked out as the one who is going to take away the sin of the world. Why did Jesus need to get baptized? Why did he need to go through with this ritual? He was already the Son of God--why bother with baptism? Because once again, God wants to show us the importance of history. God wants us to see that what happens to us BODILY matters! It was only once he was baptized that he could be truly revealed to Israel: as John says in v33-34 But in his baptism, Jesus is revealed as the Lamb of God--who takes away the sins of the world. All we like sheep have gone astray, and HERE is the Lamb who will not stray. HERE is the Lamb who will suffer for us.

2--he calls disciples First, he is baptized to identify himself as the Lamb of God; NOW, he calls disciples--so that they might be identified with him. --so that they might suffer with him. Jesus has an odd way of calling disciples. First he simply walks along, and John says to his disciples, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" And what do they do? They leave him and follow Jesus. What does it mean to follow Jesus? Jewish disciples would physically walk behind their Rabbi But that is only a picture of what it means to follow Jesus. To follow the Lamb of God is to suffer with him. I Peter 2:21-25 The Lamb has become the shepherd! And now WE are to be identified with Christ--to suffer with him --so that we might be glorified with him. But look at how this spreads: Andrew goes and tells his brother Simon (Peter) that "we have found the Messiah!" The next day Philip finds Nathanael and tells him "we have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets wrote-- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" At first Nathanael is a bit skeptical: "can anything good come out of Nazareth?" But he comes with Philip to see this "Jesus" (read 47-51) Nathanael's skepticism vanishes when he is confronted by Jesus: his response? "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Look at what he is called: "Messiah" "Him of whom Moses in the Law, and also the prophets wrote" "Son of God and King of Israel" These disciples recognize who Jesus is. Jesus's response is interesting (v50-51) What does he mean? "angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man"? Gen 28:12--the stairway to heaven read v10-22 Jacob sees a ladder from earth to heaven, and the angels go up and down upon this ladder. What is this saying? Look at Jacob's response: (v17) "this is the house of God and the gate of heaven" This is place where earth and heaven meet!

So when Jesus says that "you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man" He is saying that HE is the place where earth and heaven meet. HE is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven. As he will say in John 2:19 "destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up" He IS the house of God--the temple where God dwells in human form. he IS the Word made flesh! And he IS the Gate of Heaven, "I am the door" Jesus says. He is the only way to the Father. He is the place where earth and heaven meet. And the Word WAS God. And the Word became Flesh. Those two key points that we've seen so far in John come up again.

What does it mean that Jesus is the Lamb of God? 1. It means that HE is our sacrifice --and if he is our sacrifice, then we must partake of him--like the Israelites partook of the Passover Lamb 2. It means that He has identified himself with us--we all are like sheep-- and if he who IS the lamb of God has suffered for us, then we too should suffer with him 3. It means that he has called his disciples, --and if we are his disciples, then we respond in faith. And this faith must not simply be an intellectual assent, it must include both our souls and our bodies. We must be washed in baptism--identifying with Christ's death so that we might also share in his resurrection We must partake of the Lord's Supper--partaking of Christ's death, because he has taken God's judgment upon himself.

But if our identification with Christ stops there, we have missed the whole point. Every day, we must live IN HISTORY as children of God and as imitators of Christ. Often we ask "how does Scripture apply to my life?" Wrong question. Let me ask another question: "how does your life apply to Scripture?"

What do I mean by that? What is central? Are YOU at the center of history? Is YOUR LIFE what gives meaning to the universe? Of course NOT!!!! Then why do you live that way?

May I suggest that Christ's life--his death and resurrection--is the center of history. That HE gives meaning to the universe!! And if THAT is the case, then your whole life should be seen in light of what Christ has done!

Are you suffering? See that in light of Christ's suffering. Are you rejoicing? See that in light of Christ's glory! Are you a parent? Ask how you can think of yourself in light of God's parenting of us. As a citizen or subject of this country, You dare not seek the glory of a political party, but must give glory to God as you vote. Paul says that Christ IS our life-- That we have been inserted into Christ. The challenge that we face is how to live this out--in HISTORY--bodily--as HIS people. Let us pray.

Copyright © 2003 Peter J. Wallace