Day 3 - March 2nd 2022
READ: John 1: 29-51
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! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
Think about 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!
Sin has become a mostly theological word. You don’t call your employees into your office and say “I’d like to talk about some of your sins”. It’s a heavy word, right? To say “I sinned” sounds like “I’m doomed!”. But it’s a word that comes up a lot in relation to Jesus so it’s worth thinking about.
Jesus taught that sin breaks relationships. If you’ve ever broken a relationship, it’s because you did something that you shouldn’t have done, or somebody else did something they shouldn’t have done or both of you did something you shouldn’t do. And then that relationship broke. This is a big deal because it gives us a really powerful perspective of why God doesn’t like sin. God loves relationship and sin breaks relationship.
Admitting we’ve sinned helps us see that there has been a break in our relationship with God and paves the way to reconciliation. You’ve been separated from a God who loves you and Jesus is the way back. It’s hard to admit we’re sinners, but when we do, we are prime candidates for Jesus’ saving grace and restored relationship with our heavenly father. Jesus came to take away the sin of the world!
Pray this prayer:
Heavenly father, thank you for preserving this text for me to read. Thank you for loving me in spite my sin. Rather than condemning me you gave Jesus for me. Give me wisdom to know what to do with what I just read. In Jesus name, Amen.