INTRODUCTION

Throughout this Advent season, we have focused our attention on the first chapter of the gospel of John. Reading these verses which are familiar to most of us, it would appear that there is no Christmas story here about the birth of Jesus – no angels or shepherds, no mention of Joseph and Mary and the Baby born in Bethlehem, all of which were recorded by Luke. And you won’t find the Wise Men or King Herod or the star in the sky as was reported by Matthew. None of those Christmas characters are to be found in John’s gospel.

But that is so, because he chose to tell the story in a different way, from a theological point of view. John wrote about Light shining in the darkness, about the Word becoming flesh to dwell among us, and about how John the Baptist announced that the long awaited Messiah would soon arrive.

That is where we enter into the story tonight, as Jesus came to John by the River Jordan to be baptized. John saw Him face to face, and exclaimed Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

What John recognized with his own eyes was that the ancient prophecy about the Messiah, the Christ, had finally come true. It was the prophet Isaiah who envisioned, in the 8^th century B.C., that the lamb would lie down with the lion and a little child would lead them (Isaiah 11). It was hard to imagine, back then, that the lamb would ever get much sleep, because the roar of the lion, embodied in the enemies of Israel, threatened to destroy them.

And when that Little Child was born in Bethlehem, the lion roared all the louder. Herod was King of Judea, and he didn’t want the Lamb of God to rise up and take his throne. So Herod tried to get rid of Him.

But the Holy Child survived and grew to become a man. John baptized Him in the River Jordan, and declared Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world! And as those words reverberated throughout the countryside, the lion marshaled the forces of evil, stalked its prey and had the Lamb crucified. In that hour of darkness, it appeared that the lion had won.

II.

Yet all these years later, we Christians believe that Lamb of God is still alive and at work in this world, and He will have the final word.

He speaks the word of peace in a world that is weary of war. He offers the word of love in a world that is tired of hatred. He brings the word of joy to a world full of suffering and sadness. He promises the word of hope to a world surrounded by fear and despair. He delivers the word of healing to a world which is broken and torn. And He declares the word of salvation to a world which needs to be freed from sin.

You see, no matter how loud the lion roars, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, He alone will have the final word. And all that we need to do tonight is open our ears and eyes and hearts and homes to receive that word, the Word made flesh who has come to dwell among us. He is the Lamb of God and His name is Jesus.

CONCLUSION

In December of 1988, something happened on an airplane bound from Tel-Aviv to London. It wasn’t hijacked by terrorists, neither was it threatened by storms or mechanical failure. But what did happen on that jetliner captured the attention of the entire world as nightly news broadcasts and the daily papers carried the story. This is how it was reported in the Toronto Star:

“Four year old Miriam Kadosh, who suffers from a serious liver condition, was flying from Tel-Aviv to Great Britain for tests in a London hospital. She will probably need a liver transplant.

The pretty, dark-haired Jewish child and her mother Tova burst out crying when they were told that the 450 passengers and crew who had heard about her plight had decided to take up a collection. Everyone on board, people of different races, colors and creeds, emptied their pockets, wrote checks and promissory notes to help pay for some of the anticipated medical expenses.

As the plane flew over the Mediterranean Sea toward Heathrow Airport, an open suitcase was passed around once, and when it was full, they passed it a second time.

When the total amount was announced as they began to descend, the passengers and crew cheered and clapped their hands in astonishment, for in more than a dozen different currencies, they had raised $97,000.” (A sequel to the story reported that the surgery went well and little Miriam Kadosh returned to Israel with a new lease on life – From the Toronto Star, December 1988)

Now, I ask you: what do you think prompted, motivated those people from different nations, races and religions to do that, to help that little child in need? I think, in fact I believe, that it was the Spirit of good will and peace on earth, which God brought into this world once and for all through the birth of a baby named Jesus.

He is the greatest gift God has ever given – the Lamb of God who takes away our sin. He has the power to restore us to a right relationship to God and with one another, over and over and over again. And no matter how loud the lion roars, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, will have the final word.

O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,

Have mercy on us.

O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,

Grant us Thy peace.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.