John 1:29-34

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/John_Identifies_Jesus_as_the_Messiah.htm

Identity is something with which many people struggle.  When someone has a hard time understanding who they are we call this an identity crisis.  Many times this crisis in identity stems from a much more serious problem.  The most serious identity crisis is failing to correctly understand who Jesus is.  In fact most of the problems we face in life do not stem from our lack of understanding of self; they stem from a lack of understanding of God.  It is common for people to start thinking about themselves as gods.  We start thinking that we deserve certain pleasures or possess certain rights.  We question God and doubt Him when He doesn’t do what we think He should.  We treat God as if He were our servant and not the other way around.  The nation of Israel was waiting for a Messiah that would make them more comfortable and powerful through political liberation.  They did not see their need of repentance or holiness and thought they were ready to reign now.  This failure to understand their own spiritual need lead to their failure to recognize Jesus as their Messiah and resulted in eternal condemnation before God.  This is the true “identity crisis.”  Today’s passage is a sort of turning point in Scripture.  All of the Old Testament and the New Testament up until this point has been preparing us for the coming of Messiah.  There have been many hints and clues along the way but in today’s text we have a very clear declaration that identifies Jesus as Messiah.

JOHN IDENTIFIES JESUS AS THE SAVIOR FROM SIN: As John sees Jesus approaching he calls the people’s attention to Jesus and identifies Him as the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world.  The entire sacrificial system that was originally started in the Garden of Eden after the fall of man and then expanded upon in the days of Moses was designed to prepare the world for this declaration about Jesus.  Through the centuries millions of lambs had been offered as a means of atoning for the sins of men.  These were meant to be reminders that our sin leads to death and that God had promised to send the Messiah to suffer and die in order to make a permanent payment for all of man’s sin.  John points to Jesus and proclaims that He is the Lamb.  Jesus was the sacrifice that God was offering to pay the price for the sin that had led men to death since the time of Adam.  Jesus had come to atone for the sins of man and to liberate men from their captivity to sin.  The problem was and continues to be that men are far more interested in being liberated from any form of suffering that they might face than they are about being freed from sin.  In fact we love our sin and enjoy it because it brings us temporary comfort and pleasure that satisfies our flesh.  What we don’t realize is that sin actually enslaves us and never truly satisfies us but most importantly sin condemns us before God.  Jesus came to free us from Sin.  John had repeatedly stated that he had come to prepare the way for someone much greater than he.  Now John clearly makes known to all who were present that Jesus is that person for whom he had made there preparations.  John and Jesus were cousins so they probably knew each other as children however John had failed to recognize Jesus as Messiah until he baptized Him.  But now John was clearly identifying Jesus as the Messiah who had come to take away our sins.

JOHN IDENTIFIES JESUS AS THE SON OF GOD: When Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit came down upon Him and at that time John had made know to the people the Jesus was the Messiah.  However, immediately following that event Jesus had gone into the wilderness for over a month.  Jesus did not immediately launch His public ministry so John continued to do his work of baptizing people with water.  There was still a great deal of confusion as to John’s identity as we saw in yesterday’s text.  At this encounter with Jesus John wants to make the identity of Jesus even clearer.  John states that his baptism was one of repentance as a means of preparing people for the coming of Jesus who would baptize people with the Holy Spirit.  Jesus came to take away our sins but He also came to give us a completely new nature through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  This baptism with the Holy Spirit would take place after Jesus had ascended back into heaven on the day of Pentecost.  Jesus was preparing His disciples for this reality while He was still with them on the earth.  He made it clear to them that the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives would be even more powerful than His presence with them.  Messiah’s sacrifice for sin makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts and empower us for holiness and service to the glory of God.  Without the Holy Spirit we struggle with our “identity crisis” thinking that we are gods and we live for our own comfort and glory in a practice we call self-idolatry.  The Holy Spirit changes all of that when we trust Jesus as the Lamb of God to save us from sin and recognize Jesus as the Son of God.  He transforms us from worshipers of self to worshipers of God.  John leaves no room for doubt as to the identity of Jesus.  He is God the Son.  He was sent by God the Father.  He would pay the price of sin and send God the Holy Spirit to transform the lives and eternal destinies of men in all the nations of the world.  Anyone who fails to recognize this about Jesus is suffering the most serious form of “identity crisis.”

APPLICATION: Trust in Jesus as God’s sacrifice for sin in order to find forgiveness and freedom from our slavery to sin.  Repent of our desire to live as gods unto ourselves.  Long for holiness not comfort, significance or power.  Follow the example of John the Baptist and make it our purpose in life to help others correctly identify Jesus as Messiah and place their faith in Him.  Submit to the work of the Holy Spirit that is transforming us by giving us a new nature that delights in worshiping God.