“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
Many these days claim to walk in the light of truth, the light shed by the latest scientific advancements, sophisticated computer technology, and advanced academic degrees. Despite this, many who trust in the light of such things dwell in spiritual darkness. Such men and women, for all their degrees, fame, and adulation, do not trust in the Lord, do not seek His word. Sin and wickedness dominate the entire world for the world promotes truth as relative, not absolute, just a matter of opinion or feelings.
John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God. In so doing, he announced an absolute truth, which those in darkness cannot see: the good news that Jesus is God’s one and only own sacrificial Lamb whose blood was shed to atone for the sins of every human being. His blood so offered takes away the eternal penalty for sin, which is death and separation from God for ever. This absolute truth we affirm in the creeds which are part of our divine service, a truth that is the cornerstone of the church, of our faith.
Not everyone agree, of course, in Jesus’ day or now. Living in darkness, many of our neighbors, friends, and relatives prefer to ignore the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin and leads men and women to faith. Those who heed that conviction and call be granted faith, that Jesus is their lamb. These know they are sinners who, contrary to the ideals of the world, can do nothing to help themselves. Such news is antithetical to our cultural principles of self-reliance and self-sufficiency. People think they can make it to heaven, or whatever facsimile of it they can imagine, by their own inherent goodness and by their fame and works. But no one can for all of us are sinners by nature and have no ability of our own to change our situation or make ourselves right with God.
The good news is that though we are sinners incapable of keeping the Law, Jesus kept it for us by becoming the Lamb of God. Because of Him, we no longer dwell in darkness, but in the light of God’s truth revealed in the Word. Our duty is to share that light with everyone else so they would not have to dwell in that unbearable darkness of an eternity apart from God. We can do so by the power and authority of Christ Jesus working in and through us.