Behold the Lamb of God...

John 1:29 says
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

Here John is calling Jesus as the Lamb of God. In one sense, the message of the Bible can be summed up in this verse. The question in the Old Testament is “Where is the Lamb?”(Gen 22:7). In the four gospels the emphasis is “Behold the Lamb of God. Here He is!” The lamb here, beyond all doubt, points to the death of Jesus Christ, and the sacrificial character of that death.


A "lamb," among the Jews, was killed and eaten at the Passover to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt. A lamb was offered in the tabernacle, and afterward in the temple, every morning and evening, as a part of the daily worship. The Messiah was predicted as a lamb led to the slaughter, to show his patience in his sufferings, and readiness to die for man. A lamb, among the Jews, was also an emblem of patience, meekness, gentleness. On "all" these accounts, Jesus was called "the Lamb."


This lamb differed in three ways from those by which it was represented.


1. It was the lamp of God.
          In Old Testament times, lambs were brought by men, but here is God's Lamb, given by God to men.


2. It was made an atonement of sin.
          It carried away sin in reality where as other lambs did not atone for sin, they only covered the sin.That is those lambs could not take away sin, but the Lamb of God can take away sin.


3. It carried away the sin of the world.
          Sacrifice of the lamb was a Jewish custom. It was only confined to the Jews whereas this lamb was slaughtered not only to the Jews but also to the gentiles.


Under the Jewish law, those who had offended brought sacrifices, and offered them to the Lord. As God is just, it is inevitable that sin should be punished. If he could pardon us, how can this be righteously accomplished? 

Jesus Christ, His Son, came to earth and stood in the room, and place, instead of all those who believe on him; and God accepted him as the substitutionary sacrifice for all those who put their trust in him. Under the Jewish law, the lamb was put to death that the man might not be put to death; and, in like manner, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior suffered the pangs of death by crucifixion and the greater agony of the wrath of God that we might not suffer the pangs of hell due to sin. 


So Christ was sacrificed and then the main question that remains is 


What should we do? How can we be a part of this great sacrifice which Christ offered on Calvary?


John the Baptist is shouting the answer to this question which is "Behold" that is, look to "the Lamb of God."


"There is life in a look at the Crucified One."


"Behold the Lamb of God" means believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, trust in him as your Savior, accept God's revelation concerning him, and rely upon him to save you. This is the way of salvation. There is no other way of salvation under heaven but this.


So let us all lead a life looking at the crucified one. God Bless You!!

Are we prepared for the Second coming of Jesus Christ?

I would like to share a small thought that came to my mind...

1 Thessalonians 4:16,17

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

     The above verse describes the wonderful hope that we are having, the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But many of the Christians are ignorant of the fact that Jesus is coming to take us to be with Him forever more. But will we be taken with Him when He comes?

Nobody except the Father knows the hour he is going to come. If we are not ready when he is coming, then what is the point in saying that we are Christians? Do we have a confidence that we are going to be taken up with Him? If we are not having this confidence, let us strive forward in building this.

Who is going to be taken with Him?

     The answer is clearly mentioned in the above scripture, First the dead in Christ and then those who are alive in Christ.

How can we be dead or alive in Christ? The answer is simple. Make sure that we are born in Christ and are living in Christ. And if we are dead before his second coming, we will die in Christ.

John 3:5 says “Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.””

     Born again experience is one of the foundations of Christian Life; and in the above verse Jesus himself is telling that we cannot see the kingdom of God of if we are not born of water and the Spirit.

1 Thess 4:7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

     Living in Christ means to have a holy life led by Holy Spirit. As Ephesians 5:8 says we have to live as the children of Light (Jesus is the light of the world. John 8:12), for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth; and find out what pleases God. If we are led by Holy Spirit, we can successfully lead a Christian life giving the fruit of Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.Gal 5:22,23)

So let’s ask ourselves these two questions 

1. Am I born of water and Spirit?
2. Am I living in Christ?

         If we are born in Christ and are living in Christ, then we can confidently wait for our Lord because that’s what Bible tells us to do.

I heard this interesting and inspiring story in an ICPF meeting held at Kesavadasapuram.

The story goes like this...
Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, “Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.”


Then the second tree said, “Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take Kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.”


Finally the third tree said, “I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest.I want to give shade and comfort to everyone who is coming towards me. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.”
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said,”This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a Carpenter”, and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree the woodsman said, “This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.” The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the Woodsmen said, “I don’t need anything special from my
tree, I’ll take this one”, and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.
The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark..


The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.
Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.





Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn’t think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said “Peace” and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. The tree realized that the savior of mankind was crucified on it. And as its dream, the cross had become the greatest comfort to humanity and is remembered by all.


Friends,true happiness is only available when we submit to the will of God. Things may not work according our plan but remember that God is having a perfect plan for us. God will make a way where there seems to be no way.


If we are submitting ourselves unto Him, then that is the best step a man can take in his life.
Let His will be done in our life....