[Sunday, September 28, 2025] The Lamb of God | John 1:29-42
Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn (Hope of Heaven Baptist Chuch)
2025. 9. 28. 주일예배 설교- 요한복음 강해 4
본문: 요한복음 1:29-42
제목: 하나님의 어린 양
설교자: 손진국 목사 (하늘소망교회)
A person's life changes depending on what they look at.
Athletes train while looking at their goal, a World Cup trophy or an Olympic medal. Musicians practice while looking at the audience on stage. Students study while looking toward their target university or future career. So then, what should we, as believers, be looking at?
In today's passage, John the Baptist makes a cry that is more holy and magnificent than any other cry made by humanity. What did he cry out? [Verse 29] The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" Who is he referring to? It is Jesus. This confession tells us two things: Jesus's identity and Jesus's mission. It shows us who Jesus is and for what purpose He came.
It says Jesus is the Lamb of God. What does this mean? In Old Testament sacrifices, a young lamb was the offering given to God. But who prepares the lamb offered in the Old Testament sacrifice? A person prepares it. And what must be heeded? It must be without blemish. So when people came to offer a sacrifice, they had to carefully inspect the lambs they raised at home and bring one that was without blemish.
However, when the text says, "the Lamb of God," it means that this was not prepared by people, but that God Himself prepared it. What comes to mind? There is a name for God that we remember at this moment. Do you know what it is? "God has prepared/provided." What do we call "the God who provides"? Jehovah Jireh.
When Abraham, following God's command, went up Mount Moriah to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice and raised his knife to kill him, what did God do? He prepared a young lamb Himself. Because He prepared the lamb of God, we call Him "Jehovah Jireh." It means that God provides. Therefore, the identity of Jesus reveals that He is the one whom God Himself prepared and sent down from heaven.
Another image that comes to mind with the "Lamb of God" is the Passover lamb. During the Exodus, the homes that slaughtered a lamb and applied its blood to the sides and top of the doorframes were passed over by God's judgment and were saved. But the homes that did not, were met with God's judgment, and the firstborn died. Ultimately, the Lamb of God carries the meaning of redemption that forgives sin. This is the reason God sent the Lamb directly. He sent the Lamb of God to personally bear the sins of all humanity for our redemption, to die bearing all our sins, and thereby give us life and save us. This is the mission of the Lamb of God. And who is that? It is the Jesus that you and I believe in. Amen.
Shall we confess our faith together? "Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." "Jesus is my Savior, who atoned for my sins."
Today's passage teaches us how we should treat Jesus, the Lamb of God.
1. Look to Jesus.
[Verse 29] The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
[Verse 36] When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
Here, what does John the Baptist tell his disciples to do? He tells them to "Look," not at himself, but at Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Our life of faith is about looking to Jesus. When is it that our faith is shaken? It is when we look at something other than Jesus. That is why the writer of Hebrews tells believers in difficult and trying situations to look to Jesus if they want to keep their faith in all circumstances. [Hebrews 12:2] fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Why does it say we must look to Jesus? Because Jesus is the pioneer of faith. The word for "pioneer" here is "archegon" (ἀρχηγὸν) in Greek, a word translated as founder, pioneer, or author in English. In other words, the founder, the trailblazer, the author of faith is Jesus. It tells us that faith itself began with Jesus. Therefore, do you need faith? Then what is the very first thing you must do? It is to look to Jesus.
My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, where are your eyes fixed today? Is it on your problems? On the world? Or on your own pride? I pray that you will all now turn your gaze to Jesus, look to Him, and live by faith until the very end.
[Application] What is it that I look at most throughout my day? Have I ever experienced a change in my life's perspective by looking to Jesus?
2. Meet Jesus.
[Verse 37] When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. When John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, "Look, the Lamb of God" on two occasions, two of John's disciples follow Jesus. The name of one disciple appears in verse 40. [Verse 40] Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. Then who could the other one be? In the Gospel of John, there is a disciple whose name is not written. Do you know who it is? It is the author himself, the Apostle John. In the Gospel of John, the name of its writer, the Apostle John, does not appear. That is not to say the name John doesn't appear at all. It appears 25 times. Of those, 21 refer to John the Baptist. And who are the remaining four? They refer to Peter's father, John. When Jesus called Peter, He said, "Simon son of John."
Jesus asks the two men, "What do you want?" [Verse 38] Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
The question, "What do you want?" is His way of asking them, "What are you seeking to gain through me?" He is asking about the purpose of the disciples who intended to follow Him. The Lord asks us the same question today. "What do you want?" "What is your reason for following me?"
At this, the disciples ask Jesus a question in return. "Rabbi, where are you staying?" What does this mean? He is walking right in front of them, and they are following behind Him asking, "Teacher, where are you?" Isn't that strange? Isn't that a question you would ask over the phone? "Where are you right now?" What does it mean? They are asking, "Where is your lodging?" "Where do you live?" Why would they ask this? We can understand what this means if we know about the life of rabbis and their disciples at the time. Back then, a rabbi and his disciples (called 'talmidim') would live as a group, eating and lodging together, while the rabbi taught them about the religious life and the law. This was a characteristic of the rabbinic culture of the time.
This is also how Jesus trained His 12 disciples after He appointed them. [Mark 3:14-15] He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.
Therefore, when Andrew and John call Jesus "Rabbi" and ask "where are you staying," it signifies their intention to accept Jesus as their Rabbi (Teacher) and live together with Him as His disciples.
That's right. How is a disciple made? A disciple is made through a personal encounter and fellowship with Jesus in real life.
Faith is not simply knowing doctrine. There must be a personal encounter while being with Jesus. Jesus is not merely an object to look at; He is a person to be truly met.
What does Jesus say to these disciples who want to follow Him? [Verse 39] “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
Jesus tells them, "Come, and you will see." Jesus speaks to us today as well. "Come, and you will see." Even now, Jesus invites us into His life. He calls us to live with Him, to see and learn from His life, to fellowship deeply with Him, and to become like Him.
[Application] When did I have a personal encounter with Jesus? Is my faith today stuck in 'the knowledge of Jesus,' or is it a 'relationship of meeting Jesus' every day?
3. Share Jesus.
What happens when we personally meet Jesus, who came to this earth as the Lamb of God? Our thoughts and our values concerning life change. Our words change, and our actions change. Our lives are transformed.
In today's passage, we see the transformed Andrew after he met Jesus. [Verse 41] The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).
After meeting Jesus, Andrew could not remain still. He immediately went to his brother Simon and said, "We have found the Messiah!" This confession from Andrew is astounding. In verse 38, he had called Jesus "Rabbi," but now his confession has changed. It changed to Messiah. Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ) is a Hebrew word meaning "the anointed one," referring to the savior who would perform the duties of a king, priest, and prophet, who were anointed with oil in the Old Testament era. It is a term that referred to the future Savior whom God would send. The Greek translation of this is Christ (Χριστός).
Andrew met Jesus, but as who did he meet Him? He met Him as the Messiah. A right encounter with Jesus is to meet Him as the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior.
One who looks to Jesus and meets Jesus inevitably becomes one who shares Jesus. A person who has met Jesus as the Messiah/Christ will tell the people they love most and are closest to that Jesus is the Messiah/Christ. Andrew went to his brother Peter and told him, and after Philip met Jesus, he went to his closest friend Nathanael and shareed Jesus.
I too came to believe in Jesus in Christchurch in '97. Three months later, I moved to Wellington and started my life of faith at the first Korean church I found there. As I listened to the Word, I came to know Jesus, and two months later, I wrapped up my life in New Zealand and went to Korea. At that time, my heart was set on this thought: "I must share this Jesus I have met with my parents." I confess that this was a conviction given by the Holy Spirit who had come into me. But how could I, a believer of only five months, share the gospel? I went to Korea with just that desire in my heart and did what I could. The very first thing I did was to let my parents know that I believed in Jesus. The people my father hated most were Christians. He had always expressed his hostility by calling them "Yesu-jaengi" (a slightly derogatory term for Christians), and there I was, standing before him saying, "I am a Yesu-jaengi too." And I prayed before meals. The first time I prayed like that, I saw a flash of stars. I had been struck on the back of my head. "What is this unlucky nonsense at the dinner table!"
A short while later, I was contacted by the pastor who had led me in the sinner's prayer when I came to faith in Christchurch. He said he was coming to Korea for his brother's funeral. So, I invited him to my home. "When you come, please visit our house, lead a service, and share the gospel." We set a date and time.
Then I told my parents. All chaos broke loose. "Why is a pastor coming to our house?" "He has already promised to come, and he will lead a service." "You have completely lost your mind. Do whatever you want, whether the pastor comes or not. I'll be leaving early in the morning that day."
On the scheduled day, my sister, who was the first to believe in our family, was supposed to come over to prepare food. The night before, she had a dream. In her dream, she was sleeping when someone knocked on the door. She opened it to find a man and a woman standing there, shouting at her, "Hey, you're too loud!" She shouted back, "Hey, you're louder! Be quiet!" and suddenly the man and woman shrank to a very small size and began trembling in a corner. Then she woke up. She said this reminded her of how our father would always say, "Hey, that's enough noise. Go home quickly," whenever she came over and talked about church or Jesus, and she felt that God was about to do something.
And God really did do something. On the day the pastor was scheduled to come, I went to the dawn prayer service at a church in front of my house. I returned home around 7 a.m., and my father, who had said he would leave early, was sitting on the sofa in a suit. So I asked, "Are you about to leave?" And do you know what he said? "A guest is coming from far away, so I should at least be here." I found this strange, so I said, "The pastor is coming at 11 o'clock today." He replied, "I know."
The appointment was at 11 a.m., but he was already dressed in a suit and sitting there at 7 a.m. And when the pastor came, held a service, and preached the gospel, my father—the man who had so hated and cursed "Yesu-jaengis" and pastors—knelt down and accepted Jesus into his heart. To this day, I believe that what happened then was a miracle.
Of course, when I first came to faith, I was fishing with that pastor in Christchurch when my sister called from Korea. She asked what I was doing, and I said, "I'm fishing with the pastor right now." She was shocked and asked, "How can you be with a pastor?" I told her, "I believe in Jesus now and go to church." Upon hearing this, my sister started crying and said the same thing. "A miracle has happened."
My beloved brothers and sisters, miracles like this are always happening in our lives. Why is that? Because the Lord we believe in is alive and is still working today. He is still listening to our prayers and desires that are according to God's will. And He speaks to us. "You do what you can. Then I will accomplish the things you cannot do."
What is it that we can do? In today's passage, Andrew, who met Jesus, went to his brother Simon, told him he had met the Messiah, and brought him to Jesus. And Philip went to his friend and said, "Come and see."
Next Sunday, as we celebrate Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), let us also invite the unbelievers around us, those who are not attending church, and our lonely neighbors. I pray that you will believe that when we do what we can, the Lord will do the rest.
[Application] What is one thing I can do today to share Jesus? Who is the 'Simon' I need to meet?
My beloved brothers and sisters, I bless you in the name of the Lord, that your lives may be a gospel journey of looking to Jesus, meeting Jesus, and sharing Jesus.
하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.
Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.