Sermon for January 18, 2026, Second Sunday after the Epiphany

John 1:29-34 (Second Sunday after the Epiphany—Series A)

“How We Know the Lamb of God”

Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, Enfield, CT

January 18, 2026

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

Our text is from today’s Gospel Reading from John 1:

²⁹On the next day [John] saw Jesus coming toward him and he said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. ³⁰He is the One of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because He existed before me.’ ³¹And I did not know Him, but so that He might be revealed to Israel, I came baptizing with water.” ³²And John bore witness saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven and He remained upon Him. ³³And I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water, He said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descend and remain upon Him, He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴And I have seen and I have borne witness that this One is the Son of God.”

          “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

          In the Christian Church, these are very familiar words. I’ve never seen a survey, but among Christians, I would think that these words rank right up there with the words of John 3:16 as some of the most familiar among God’s people. In the church’s liturgy, as the people of God in Christ prepare to receive the Savior’s Body and Blood, given and shed for them in the Lord’s Supper, they sing the “Lamb of God,” the Agnus Dei, “Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us. Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; grant us peace.”

          In our text, John the Baptist sees Jesus coming toward him. I envision John pointing at Jesus, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Those who heard John and turned and looked at Jesus might have wondered if John was off his rocker. Unlike you and me who are very familiar with the phrase, those who heard John were hearing “Lamb of God” for the first time. Not once in the Old Testament do we find the phrase, “Lamb of God.” No where else in the New Testament do we find the phrase, “Lamb of God.” It comes solely from the mouth of John the Baptist here in John the Evangelist’s Gospel, verses 29 and 36, “Look! The Lamb of God!”

          So, what does it mean that Jesus is the Lamb of God, and how does John the Baptist know this, and how do we know it? And once we know, what do we do with that knowledge?

          The image of a lamb invokes the thought and picture of sacrifice. Perhaps with think of the Passover lamb at the time of the Exodus. All of the congregation of Israel chose a lamb without blemish. Four days later, all the families of Israel killed their lambs at twilight. Then, they took some of the blood and put it on the doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they would eat the lamb along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. We then read what God says in Exodus 12, “It is the Lord’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt” (Ex. 12:11b-13 ESV).

          The lamb of the Passover was killed so that the lives of the people of Israel would be spared when God passed over the places in which His people, by faith, ate the meal God prescribed for them. By grace, through faith, the Israelites were rescued from death.

          Lambs were also offered by the Israelites in worship each morning and evening in the burnt offering, on the first day of each month, on all seven days of Passover, at the Feast of Weeks, on the Day of Atonement, and at the Feast of Tabernacles. The main purpose of these burnt offerings and sacrifices was to make atonement for and cleanse either an individual or the people as a whole.^[1] According to John, Jesus is THE Lamb of God who comes to the world in order to take away its sin and to cleanse it from all disobedience, enabling it to live the life of righteousness that this Lamb bestows upon it.

          Before God, all people are unclean, tainted, and polluted. We are flawed with sinfulness and unrighteousness. God is holy and He demands (yes, a strong word), He demands holiness from all His creatures. But by nature, we are not holy. We are unclean. We are not perfect. You and I are flawed in our relationships with others and in our relationship with God. Sin formed a dividing wall between us and our Creator. And there is nothing that you and I could do to remedy the situation. Sin is a permeating uncleanness that cannot be simply washed off with soap and water. No amount of “spiritual scrubbing” could make us right before God.

          John the Baptist said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is the One of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because He existed before me.’ I did not know Him, but so that He might be revealed to Israel, I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven and He remained upon Him. And I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water, He said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descend and remain upon Him, He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and I have borne witness that this One is the Son of God.”

          The Lord revealed to John the identity of Jesus as the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God is the very Son of God in human flesh, the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, the One who cleanses the world from its sin and uncleanness. And Jesus is a lamb like no other because He chose to lay down His life for the sins of the world. He chose to be led to the slaughter to cleanse the world from sin and make all people right with God through the forgiveness of their sins.

          Jesus, the Lamb without blemish, became “like one from whom men hide their faces” (Is. 53:3). He took upon Himself our imperfection, our uncleanness, our sins. He was “led like a lamb to the slaughter. . . . He was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of My people He was stricken” (Is. 53:7-8). Jesus hung on the cross, giving up His life into death as the once-for-all sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. “The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 ESV).

          The cleansing blood of Jesus shed on the cross is applied to you personally in the purifying effects of Holy Baptism. Holy Baptism is “water included in God’s command and combined with [His Gospel] Word.” By the power of the Holy Spirit, Baptism “works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare” (Small Catechism). We often say that Baptism washes away our sins. It does because Jesus shed His blood and won our forgiveness. Titus 3:5, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5 ESV). Instead of the blood of a Passover lamb or a sacrificial lamb, Jesus’ blood cleanses us from our sins and makes us right with our Father in heaven.

          God the Father revealed His Son Jesus to John as the Lamb of God. Our heavenly Father has also revealed Jesus to us as the Lamb of God, our Savior, in His holy Word. In the Gospel Word, God says to us, “See the Lamb of God bleeding and dying on the cross to purchase your forgiveness with His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. See the Lamb of God rising from the dead on the third day so that you might receive everlasting, resurrection life.”

Look also at the great comfort of your Baptism into Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of your sins (Rom. 6). Your Baptism reminds you that God has come near to you as Christ has washed you with water and the Word by the Holy Spirit. He has spoken to you by name, claimed you as His son or daughter, cleansing you and putting the saving mark of the cross on your head and heart.

          The Word of the Gospel and Holy Baptism are the means of bestowing salvation upon us and all people through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is the Word of Christ and Baptism that allow us to know Jesus, the Lamb of God, by faith created in us by the Holy Spirit. And it is to Christ that you and I are indeed called to bear witness. You and I are like St. John the Baptist in that we who know Jesus through the Gospel and Baptism are able to bring the Good News of Jesus life, death, and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins to other people. John bore witness to Jesus and baptized people in order to point them to Jesus who would take away their sins, saving them from sin and death. John then pointed out Jesus to two of his disciples. And Andrew pointed out Jesus to Simon Peter.

          Think of a New England lighthouse guiding ships safely to shore during stormy weather. John the Baptist was like that lighthouse, pointing to Jesus as the safe harbor for lost souls in need of forgiveness and eternal life. In our daily lives, we can serve as lighthouses for those around us, illuminating the path to hope and salvation through the Gospel. Whether it’s through conversation, acts of kindness, or sharing our stories, we guide others toward Christ’s Epiphany light. We can share our testimony, ignite curiosity about Jesus, and encourage our friends to seek Him in His Word, creating a ripple effect of faith in our communities according to the power and grace of the Spirit.

          Dear friends, we have come to know by faith through the Gospel Word and Baptism that Jesus is the Lamb of God who went to the cross and grave to save us from our sins. He won our forgiveness and eternal life. Now, He entrusts us with the message of the Gospel to share with others. Through the Good News of Jesus, we pray that many will hear and, by the Spirit’s power, will come to faith in the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who takes away the sin of the world. Amen.

     ^[1] P. D. Woodbridge, “Lamb,” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner, electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2000), 620–621.