Bible Study Verse
John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world! (NKJV)
Thoughts
Given the fact that John the Baptist had been studying for about 3 years in the wilderness, poring over Old Testament Messianic prophecies, you'd think that his first introduction of Jesus would be from those. But, no, the first words out of his mouth about his cousin, are the names of two animal sacrifices from the Temple.
The lamb of God that he mentions is the pesah, Passover lamb, the only lamb of Israel call lamb of God.
His reference to the one who takes away the sin of the world is a description of the azazel, or scapegoat of Yom Kippur, that carried away the guilt of the people.
These are two prominent and well-known animals of the whole Old Testament sacrificial system.
(Fred B)
Action Point
The new-born brown goat in my picture became my namesake. When we walked up on the 4 little Filipinos in the foothills of NW Philippines during my recent missions trip, I saw that twin kids, one brown and one black, had just been born to their nanny.
They reminded me of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in Israel. Two goats were brought to the Priest. Lots were cast on the two to see which one would die, and which would live. The one that lived was called the scapegoat.
Jesus came to be both. He died for my sins as my lamb of God, and carried away my guilt, as my scapegoat.
I need to thank Him each day for both:
- For dying because of my sins, to pay my penalty.
- For taking the blame for all my sins, though He never sinned.
(Fred B)
Sportsmen's Tip of the Day
When looking or glassing for game, look carefully for two, where you think you only see one. In the picture above, the black kid is hard to see, unless you look closely. He's under the nanny's chin. Don't miss having a choice of which animal to take, and of learning some valuable lessons by watching them interact.
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