What Makes Jesus the Lamb of God?

2nd Sunday after Epiphany, 1/15/23 Colossians 2:6-15 What Makes Jesus the Lamb of God? I. He is the sacrifice for sin. II. He is the victor over death and the devil. To an outsider, the name is probably mysterious, even confusing. But to us who know him as our Savior, it’s a name that conveys comfort and joy. To what am I referring? To one of the names for Jesus that’s at the center of our worship this morning. Jesus is the Lamb of God. Again, to an outsider, that name is probably mysterious and even confusing. So now, transport yourself mentally to the banks of the Jordan River and imagine standing there in the event described in today’s Gospel. It’s the day after Jesus had been baptized. John the Baptist is there with his disciples and Jesus walks by and John points to Jesus and declares, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29). If John had pointed to Jesus and said, “Look, Immanuel,” or, “Look, the Messiah,” or, “Look, the Son of David,” they might have displayed an enlightened look on their faces as the made the connection between Jesus and these names for the Savior which they knew from the Old Testament prophecies about him. But I doubt they were familiar with the name “Lamb of God.” So, no doubt John spent time in the following days and weeks explaining the saving significance of that name. Perhaps he reminded them of the countless sacrificial lambs that had been offered by the Jews on the altar of the temple for nearly 1,500 years. And, no doubt, he took them back to the very first Passover in Egypt when the Lord instructed his people to paint the blood of a lamb on the doorposts of their houses so that the angel of death would pass over them. We’re certain his disciples celebrated that Passover yearly. That’s the picture of our Savior that we know and love. We sing about that name during our communion liturgies. We enjoy Christian art that depicts Jesus as the Lamb of God because we know and believe what the Lamb of God has done for us. And because that name is so beautiful and meaningful to us, who of us would object to reviewing why Jesus is the Lamb of God? None of us would! It’s at the heart and core of our Christian faith! Paul’s words to us this morning in this text from Colossians 2 give us the blessed opportunity to do just that. What makes Jesus the Lamb of God? Let’s see what Paul has to say to us, and may Jesus, the Lamb of God, bring us all his comfort and strength as we do so. Part I. What’s the number one false teaching among Christians today? In other words, what is the most prevalent false teaching that too many Christians believe? If you think about it a little bit, I’m sure you know or at least can make a good guess. The number one false teaching among Christians is that they can do something to contribute to their salvation. It might be the false teaching that their good works earn them God’s favor or it might be that they think they can do something to come to faith and make Jesus their Savior. And that’s nothing new. In fact, the Christian church on earth has been battling that false teaching every day of its existence. That false teaching was deeply imbedded among the Jews among whom the apostles did their work. And Paul faced it among the Christians in Colosse. We’re not sure exactly what the false teachers in Colosse were teaching, because Paul doesn’t spend any time in his letter to then addressing it point by point, but we get a hint of it in this chapter of that letter. There were false teachers who were calling on people to believe that Jesus is their Savior, but also telling them that they needed to observe Old Testament Jewish laws, such as worship on the Sabbath, observing special Jewish religious celebrations such as the Passover, and eating kosher. In other words, they were teaching that Jesus is great, but he’s not enough. You have to do your part, too. Paul meets that false teaching head-on with these words, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.” Jesus wasn’t just a prophet. He wasn’t a man who was infused with God for a while during his life on earth. He wasn’t a man who became a god. He is fully God. His miracles—chiefly his resurrection from the dead—assure us of it. And because he is true God, he is the Lamb of God. He’s also the Lamb of God by virtue of what he did. Listen to the unique way Paul describes that work, “He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” Paul views our sins as printed out on a financial ledger. Here are those sins listed one by one and, to the right of each one, is the amount each sin costs. And at the bottom of the sheet is the grand total and it’s far more than anyone can pay. Jesus took that sheet for every sinner and nailed it to the cross. Well, we know that Jesus didn’t actually do that. Paul is speaking figuratively. He didn’t nail pieces of paper to the cross. He nailed himself. Sins don’t require money to be paid in order to be erased or forgiven. The payment for sin is blood, the blood of a human who is also fully God. That’s what Jesus paid. That’s what the Lamb of God paid. He sacrificed himself for the sins of the world. What is it that keeps you awake in the middle of the night? It might be worry or, more likely, it’s guilt. Why is it that, when you recall a relationship in your life that means something to you, you’re not feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, instead you feel this numbing pain right below your heart? It’s guilt. Not convinced? Then consider how often guilt has motivated you to do something—anything—to lift that guilt from your life. But it doesn’t work. None of our efforts to remove guilt work. They only mask the guilt for a short time and then it’s back with a vengeance. Your Lamb of God wants you to know that there is only one solution to guilt that works—it’s what he did for you on the cross. Paul reminds us that he nailed your debt of sin to the cross. And then he buried it on beneath that cross. Your guilt is gone. It’s as if you had never sinned. You stand before the Lamb of God fully forgiven, dressed in the robe of his holiness. So now, instead of being motivated to do something out of guilt, you are motivated by love—the highest motivator—love for the Lamb of God and eternal thanks to him for his sacrifice for you. Part II. We recalled the connection between the lambs used at the first Passover and Jesus, the Lamb of God. Both were sacrificed—killed—to save lives. But there’s a huge difference between those lambs and the Lamb of God. The lambs were sacrificed and then used for the Passover meal. They stayed dead. Not the Lamb of God. He rose again. And that truth is critical for him to be the Lamb of God, because a dead lamb means nothing for us; but a risen and living Lamb means everything for us. Listen to Paul explain that point, “[You have] been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ.” The resurrection of the Lamb of God means God is working his almighty power in you as well. When you came to faith—likely at your baptism—God put to death your sinful nature, a nature that is directly opposed to God and his will. At the same time, the resurrection of Jesus brought you to life, spiritual life. You have life with God now. You have life with God eternally, and, because of the resurrection of Jesus, you will rise too. What power—the power over death! And that’s not all. There’s more, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Paul is speaking about what we confess in the creed when we state, “Jesus descended into hell.” There’s some confusion about that doctrine. The spirit of Jesus didn’t descend into hell while his body was dead in the tomb. He descended into hell after he rose from the dead. It was the first thing he did. He went to hell and proclaimed his victory over Satan. He accomplished what God promised in the garden of Eden—a Savior who would crush Satan’s head. Satan has no power over those who belong to Jesus. He can’t force us to do his will and he can’t accuse us of sin. And it’s all because of the work of the Lamb of God. What makes Jesus the Lamb of God? He is the victor over death and the devil. Are you winning in life? I’m guessing you probably don’t feel like it. Neither do I. Every day I face chronic problems for which there are no solutions. Relationships that are never quite what I want them to be. Outcomes and goals that I never seem to get any closer to attaining. People who seem to be working at odds with me. Increasing frequency of doctor appointments coupled with a decreasing will and energy to schedule the next one. And my investments took quite a hit in 2022. Winning? I’m too busy losing. How about you? And that’s because we’re looking at life from the wrong perspective. We’re looking at it from what I want and think I should have and enjoy, instead of looking at it from the perspective of the Lamb of God. His focus is on our spiritual lives, and all he sees is victory, a victory he won for us. His perspective on our lives is focused on the life after this one, the one in which we enjoy his endless presence and glory. The Lamb of God won, and we win with him. That’s why the name “Lamb of God” is so precious to us. Keep it that way, as you focus on him and what he has done and still does for you every day. Amen.