Sermon Sandwich
Sermon Sandwich—John 1:29-42
Trinity Church, 1589 Hwy 174, Edisto Island, SC 29438
www.trinityedisto.com 843-869-3568
2nd Sunday of Epiphany, January 15, 2023
Holy Eucharist - Renewed Ancient Text; 2019 BCP, p.123
John 1:29-42 Sermon Notes
Intro - Lambs
John 1:29 - “Behold, the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world!
The Problem - the sin of the world!
Now this is a difficult passage for the World to hear.
Where did the Victim Game start? The Garden of Eden
Anglican Articles of Religion #9 -
Of Original or Birth Sin (2019 BCP, p.775)
The Answer - who takes away the sin of the world,
How does Jesus take away the sin of the world?
Only by His Substitutionary Sacrifice on His Cross.
The Gospel is the Good News of the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ by which we become the Righteousness of God.
The World looks at the Cross of Jesus Christ and asks why?
The Me Perspective - Why did Jesus have to die such a gruesome death? The Punishment outweighs the Sin.
The He Perspective. The perspective of Jesus and the astronomical price He paid. Not the gravity of the sin but the Value of the Gift.
The Lamb of God was “Without Blemish” -
Physically and Morally
Leviticus 22:18-20 - 19 if it is to be accepted for you it shall be a male without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats.
Not only is Jesus physically “without blemish” he is also morally without blemish. He has no sin. As the Lamb of God, the blood he will shed is pure, physically and morally without blemish, without sin.
Leviticus 17:11 - For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.
Our Growing Appropriation of His Gift - Behold,
So as Believers we join John the Baptist in his prophetic declaration in our worship service of Holy Communion with the Agnus Dei.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us. …
And in those moments and in our reception of the Sacrament we are re-uniting/re-connecting/re-joining the substitutionary sacrifice, the Cross of Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.