PeteD

I agree with Pastor Ralph that the "Lamb of God" phase has to do with the perfect and complete sacrifice for our sins. The recognition by John the Baptist of Jesus as this Lamb is significant. When he said "Behold" he was pointing out the one who would be slain. And whose Lamb was it? It was God's lamb - his dear Son which says something about the infinite cost for God that he would give his one and only Son. Wow!, Thank You Lord. This Lamb is said to take away the sins of the world. I believe this indicates that the adequacy of the sacrifice is sufficient for all,, that is all who believe on him and receive him. (John 1: 12) Jesus is the Lamb so poignantly described in Isaiah 53. Thank you all who eloquently pointed this out.

John indeed demonstrated his humility by stating he was a servant of the coming Christ by comparing himself to a lowly slave as to the duties of a slave he considered himself unworthy to do. We too are called to be a servant of the King. It gives true meaning to the phrase: "I'm truly humbled to serve." He chose John and us and enables us to serve. There is no room for pride -only praise and thanksgiving. One, I think, cannot really be a strong preacher without a strong sense of God's working in our lives. And it is His work and grace. All we can do is receive it. A strong preacher has been given a gift. There can be a humble confidence in the giver of the gift.

Possible reasons why the establishment hassled John the B: They on some level had to have been just curious. But I agree they had to have felt threatened since John was obviously implying in his message that things were amiss and repentance was needed and that they as leaders they had failed or in some sense were responsible. John understood his ministry to be a voice preparing the way for a greater one to follow. It involved a call to repentance (baptism by water) in the tradition of Elijah, but more the pointing to the one who would baptize with the Spirit of God. This conflict should not be unexpected. Anytime truth confronts lies there will be persecution.

Hi everyone, I live in Michigan. I've taught the beginning Jesus Walks discipleship class to a small group at our recent church plant in Kalamazoo. I learned much more than I taught. This is the first time I've participated in a forum and am excited about starting the study of John. PeteD