(Or The Sign of John the Baptist)

The Story:

John the Baptist was a great man who called people to repent and turn from their sinful ways because the kingdom of God is near. Many repented and John would immerse them in water symbolizing a new beginning. One day as John was baptizing people he looked up and saw Jesus coming to be baptized. John then said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

The Meaning:

Until now every message is about God’s plan coming in the future, but John is the one who essentially says, “Here he is!” Since John is clearly pointing to Jesus as the Lamb of God, we can pretty much let him say it and then move on to Jesus.

Note: It can be valuable to discuss why this is. The answer can be said as “The people of Jesus’ day were living under Roman oppression and wanted the Messiah to bring a physical kingdom through warfare as David did. However, Jesus’ message is about entering a spiritual kingdom, so the Lord sent an additional prophet to verify the truthfulness of what Jesus said.”

Main Point:

As said above, John simply pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Optional use of the Quran:

– There is not a lot about John in the Qur’an, but what is said is significant. John was devote, pure, and (like Abraham) born to parents who were very old (Mary 19:7-15). His only message in the Qur’an is to “confirm the truth of a Word from God” (The Family of Imran 3:39). We read a few verses down and find “Oh Mary! God gives you glad tidings of a Word from him: his name will be Christ Jesus.” Therefore, John’s mission was to confirm the truth of the Word of God who is clearly identified as Jesus. This is very uplifting to Jesus as the entire ministry of John can be summed up as confirming the ministry of Jesus.