DAY 5 WILD CLAIM?( News article at bottom)

John 1:19-29

Please fill in the blanks –

As American as ____________ and Apple pie? Americans claim that baseball is their invention. But according to the USSR magazine Izvestia baseball was developed from lapta by 18th century Russian Americans. 

Radio was invented by __________________.    Italians claim Marconi demonstrated the practicability of radio communication. However Eastern European countries claim that he Americans and Europeans stole the Russian invention and never gave credit to Alexander Popov.

Popovism is a word made-up by ______________.  It was the Americans (specifically Reader’s Digest) that came up with the word “Popovism”. Now what is Popovism? You see during the Stalinist Era of the Soviet Union, USSR made wild claims coming to some inventions. So the whenever someone makes a wild claim it is called a Popovism.

Now John the Baptist makes a claim in John  1:29 “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Wild Claim?

John’s claim is an amazing and unique identification! John is telling us that a man, his cousin, will take away the sin of the world.   Now people boast a lot coming to their relatives. But John's claim is extraordinary. 

In our churches we sing or say the phrase “Lamb of God”. The expression might be strange to us in a cultural sense.  But for the people around John - the first century Jews - it must have been an incredible statement because it invoked the idea of the Passover Lamb. God had directed the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb on the night God struck the firstborn sons of every household in Egypt. But God passed over wherever the blood of a Passover lamb had been put on the door frames of the Israelites homes. Now if you can’t picture this, rent and watch “The Ten Commandments”.    

But what did John mean by “Lamb of God”? First, he is stating that this Lamb i.e. Jesus is without blemish. Just as the lamb selected for the Passover meal was   without blemish, Jesus led a sinless life. Fully God and fully man he was not like the people around him or us– he had no sins to atone for.

Second, the lamb was offered as a sacrifice and substitute. Just as the Passover lamb was slaughtered and died in the place of the first born of the Israelites, Jesus the perfect Lamb died for your sins and mine. Also, the lamb/Jesus was sacrificed for guilt that wasn’t his own.

Third, just as the blood of the lamb offered protection from the 10^th plague, Jesus the Lamb of God shed his blood to offer us protection from the consequence of our sins that separate us from God. And it’s no coincidence that Jesus died at Passover.

But why should we believe John’s statements? Other people have claimed they were the Messiah but they all died and none rose from dead*. Only Jesus the Christ rose from the dead and one day you and I also will rise from the dead because of His Grace.

Thank you God for assuring my resurrection through the resurrection of your Son. In His name I thank and praise. Amen.

*http://articles.philly.com/1994-06-28/news/25832625_1_lubavitchers-rabbi-schneerson-messianic-age