He is Here! The Lamb of God – Week of January 20, 2020

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

John 1:29-31

Our preschool class started the year with the stories of Creation and heard about Jesus every day. In every Bible lesson that we teach, we point to Jesus, the cross, and Jesus’ resurrection. So when we finally began reading the New Testament stories about baby Jesus, they had been waiting, and waiting a long time for this baby Jesus. Finally, the day came. One child stood up and said, “Wait a minute, is this the same Jesus as the one on the cross? It’s about time!”

God’s people had been waiting for Jesus to come for a long, long time. Many people-prophets, kings, priests-were sent before Jesus to prepare the way for him, teaching repentance and God’s grace. John, the servant in our Bible verse today, was born before Jesus. John was a messenger sent by God to point everyone to Jesus. God intentionally revealed Jesus as the Savior to John so that John could preach repentance and baptism to the people of his day. He said, “Look, there he is, the one we have been waiting for!”

Jesus is the Lamb of God because, in the times of the Old Testament, God’s people would sacrifice a lamb to show sorrow and repentance for their sins. The sacrificed lamb was killed for the people’s sins. This lamb was a symbol of Jesus Christ, who would sacrifice himself on the cross for all sins of the whole world, sins of the past, present, and future.

John tells God’s people that Jesus, the Lamb, is the reason for his work. It was time for everyone to see Jesus for who he was, the Lamb of God and Savior of all people in the whole world. We, too, want to share this message with all people. Every believer shares the messenger role that John did. We want to use the rest of our time on earth to share that message with children, their families, and all people that God places in our lives. We don’t have to wait! Our Savior has come; he is here!

Prayer:
Lamb of God, we fall before you, humbly trusting in your cross.
Our great joy is to adore you; All things else are only dross.
Jesus gives us true repentance by his Spirit sent from heav’n,
Whispers this assuring sentence, “All your sins are now forgiv’n”.
Christian Worship 354: 1, 3

A Question to Consider:
Do you have a friend, co-worker or family member that does not know about Jesus? Perhaps they are “still waiting” to reach a worldly goal as the answer to their problems or they think worldly treasures will remove sorrow. Think about how you might show them that Jesus, the Lamb of God, is the answer to every need.

Early Childhood Ministry Educator’s (ECME) Devotions are brought to you by WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
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