Listen here.

John 1:29-42a

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³² And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³ I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

³⁵ The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” ³⁹ He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. ⁴⁰ One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). ⁴² He brought him to Jesus.

Grace, mercy, peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Dear Eloise,

As you grow, your parents, your sponsors, and your church will teach you about a lot of lambs in the Bible.

You will learn about Abel and how he tended his flock of lambs and offered one of his flock as a sacrifice to God. You will learn that God accepted the blood of Abel’s lambs but had no regard for his brother’s offering of crops. Abel believed that God accepted the blood of another for his sin. But God did not accept Cain’s sacrifices of whatever he thought was best.

You will learn about when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. You will hear about how Abraham laid the wood for the sacrifice on Isaac’s shoulders. You will hear Isaac say to his father, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb?” And Abraham will respond, “God will provide Himself – a lamb.” And God does provide (Gen. 22:7-8).

You will learn about how God’s people sat in slavery in Egypt. God told His people that He will send one final plague where all the firstborn in the land will be killed. But you will hear God provide for His people. He instructs them to take a lamb a year old and kill it and take some of the blood of the lamb and smear it on their doorposts. This blood is a sign for when the angel of death passes through the land, he will pass over every house that is shielded by the blood of the lamb (Ex. 12:1-13).

You will learn about God telling His people to observe the Day of Atonement. Each year on that day, the priest is to set aside two lambs. One lamb, the priest laid his hand and confessed the sins of the people. That lamb is then taken and released into the wilderness bearing their sin. The other lamb is sacrificed. The blood of that lamb is used to make the people clean (Lev. 16:1-34).

Eloise, pay attention to all these stories about lambs because they all point to one Lamb – to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Like Abel’s lambs, God accepts the death of Lamb of God Jesus in your place. Like the lamb that God provided for Isaac, God provides Lamb of God Jesus for you. Like the blood of the lambs that covered the people’s door, the blood of Lamb of God Jesus marks your door and death passes over you. Like the lamb released in the wilderness, Lamb of God Jesus removes your sin from you. Like the lamb that cleansed the people on the Day of Atonement, Lamb of God Jesus cleanses you from all of your sins.

John says that he came baptizing for the purpose that Jesus would be revealed to Israel – God’s people. And at Jesus’ baptism, He is recognized. The heavens were opened, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove, and God the Father said, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.”

Eloise, today when you were baptized, the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon you. Today, when you were baptized, God placed His name on you. Today, Eloise you came to recognize Jesus who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That means that He takes away your sin, and the sin of all your brothers and sisters in Christ here today.

Eloise, your sins have been washed away today. Lamb of God Jesus has washed away the sin you were born with, the sins you have committed since you were born, and the sins you will commit throughout your life.

Satan will tempt you. The devil will try to point you to everything but Jesus. All of us, as your brothers and sisters in Christ, have experienced this too. But do not listen to the devil. Do not listen.

Instead, always look to Lamb of God Jesus. In your Baptism, you have been united with Jesus’ death which means that you are also united with Jesus’ resurrection. This same Lamb of God Jesus will come again to raise up you and all believers. Look only to Him. Let Lamb of God Jesus be the object of your faith. Let Him be your hope. Let Him, and Him alone, be your salvation.

All you believers, behold Jesus. Behold Him who was in the beginning before anything else, the One who was with God and was God. Behold Jesus who made all things, yet became flesh. Behold Jesus who is the light and life of all.

Behold the one in whom you believe, the one who gave you the right to be children of God not born of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. This Lamb, and this Lamb alone, has taken away the sin of the world. He has taken away your sin. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

(This sermon was preached on the occasion of the Baptism of Eloise Mae Frech.)