"Jesus, the Lamb of God"

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, 'A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.' I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel." Then John testified, "I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. I didn't know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, 'The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God."" (John 1:29-34 NLT) 

  "And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together." (Genesis 22:7-8 KJV)

  Just in case you might not know, this encounter has taken place after Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days; as Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted, after He was baptized by John. John's Gospel does not contain this information, but it is only obvious; that because His being baptized is mentioned, then it has already happen; so at least forty days has passed from the time when John saw the Spirit descend upon Him. No doubt, John had been telling everyone all about Him for the last forty days; and now, he sees Jesus coming towards him; no doubt, inspired and empowered by His victory over being tempted! 

  Matthew Henry gives us a few little points about why Jesus needed to be tempted. Not that we are in the dark about temptations, because they are pretty much an every day event in almost everyone's life. But the main reason we must understand temptations, is not to withstand testing, but to stay connected to the Word of God! Being focused upon the ability to withstand the test, is like trying not to think about Pink Elephants! We overcome temptations by smashing the threat with the Word of God! 

  Even in His weakened state, having been without food and water for 40 days, Jesus was victorious over the Devil by declaring God's Word, with authority! Maybe the one little thing that makes the biggest difference in how we manage our own affairs, is that it must be TRUE! If you doubt that it is the finality of the matter, then you are most likely going to move beyond being tempted, and into the act of committing a sin. There must be a firm and absolute wall between being tempted and sin! 

  I really do not have any right to talk about how this works, seeing how I fail so much at getting it right. But the one thing that I know, more than most anything else, is the God loves mercy! He is so quick to forgive, we just need to ask Him, sometimes maybe even several times in a single day, and He is so faithful to forgive us, again and again! 

  As we try and walk through these half-dozen verses, I would like to see God strengthen my focus upon Him, "The Lamb of God," the One that takes away my sin! Seriously, if He can take away the sin of the entire world, then my sin can be easily dealt with as well! How hard it is to forgive myself! Those stupid moments when I might have stretched way beyond being tempted; forget temptation, it wasn't even thought about; not in the heat of the moments...

"Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant - I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. Yet I still belong to you; you hold me in your right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever." (Psalm 73:21-26 NLT)