1Start
John the Baptist saw Jesus walking toward him and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
2Read Together
Everyone in Israel knew what a lamb meant. Lambs were offered at the temple, and each Passover a lamb without blemish was killed and eaten, as on the night Israel left Egypt (Exodus 12:5–7).
John 1:29 · King James Version
29The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John 1:35–37 · King James Version
35Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 36And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! 37And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
3What It Teaches
Isaiah had described the Messiah as one who “is brought as a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7). John was saying that Jesus would be the sacrifice every other lamb had pointed to.
The next day John said it again to two of his own disciples, and they left John to follow Jesus (John 1:35–37). John was glad to lose followers to the Savior. Later he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
Elder Gerrit W. Gong taught about two of the Savior’s titles, the Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God.
“Because He has laid down His life for us and is now gloriously resurrected, Jesus Christ is also the perfect Lamb of God.”
Peter wrote that we are redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19). Each week the sacrament helps us remember the Lamb who takes away our sins.
4Talk About It
John the Baptist pointed his own followers to Jesus. How can we point people to the Savior instead of to ourselves?