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<DIV><FONT size=4>...the Savior of humanity doesn’t descend upon Rome, the world
capitol, and is unheralded in Jerusalem, his religion’s capitol. Instead,
a bony finger points out from the wasteland and says; “There stands the reason
for creation.”<BR>Are we adept enough to see the bony fingers in our
wastelands? Are our lives so attuned that we could recognize the salvation
of the world in the calloused hands of a backwoods carpenter? Would I
recognize the world’s Savior—and if I did—would I move aside for him? Or
is my life too fettered by comfort and sin to be attuned to the improbable or
influenced by the preposterous.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://onefamilyoutreach.com/bible/John/jn_01_29-42.htm">http://onefamilyoutreach.com/bible/John/jn_01_29-42.htm</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Jerry Goebel: 2005 © </FONT><A
href="http://onefamilyoutreach.com"><FONT
size=4>http://onefamilyoutreach.com</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>The messiah, as God's sacrificial lamb, will take away sin; he
will remove it by vicariously bearing it himself. The text is not quite clear as
to whether the messiah takes sin up and carries it, or carries it off. The
theologian J. Jeremias said the verb "takes away" can mean "take up and carry"
or "carry off." He says "in both cases it is a matter of setting aside the guilt
of others. In the former, however, the means of doing this is by a
substitutionary bearing of penalty; in the latter, sin is removed by means of
expiation."</FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.lectionarystudies.com/studyg/sunday2ag.html">http://www.lectionarystudies.com/studyg/sunday2ag.html</A></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Bryan Findlayson</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT
size=4></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>...we need to make a clear distinction between a God who
however 'lovingly' we may talk about it sacrifices his Son; & a Son who
lovingly offers himself as sacrifice <I>not to the Father's love, but to
exemplify it. </I>There's a world of difference. I can no longer live with the
former interpretation. The imagery & outworking of the old Hebrew
sacrificial system is not a useful tool in our armoury as we proclaim God in
Christ today. God is maligned when we turn <I>him</I> into a Son Sacrificer -
even for our sins!</FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT
size=4></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/matthew0/MIMJN12942EP2.html">http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/matthew0/MIMJN12942EP2.html</A></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT
size=4></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Brian McGowan</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>
<P class=style6>It is only in this passage in the New Testament that Jesus is
referred to as the Lamb of God (twice) and perhaps a sermon could focus on this
particular quality/characteristic of Jesus. </P></DIV>
<DIV class=style6><SPAN style="COLOR: black">It seems that when Jesus was
described as the Lamb of God, John the Baptist <U>may</U> have been thinking of
the scapegoat in the Old Testament who carried the sins of the world out into
the wilderness. On the annual Day of Atonement, the most sacred day for the Jews
of old, the high priest would dedicate a goat to symbolically carry out the sins
of the whole world from the camp into the desert. (</SPAN>Leviticus 16:8, 10,
26.) <SPAN style="COLOR: black">Nowadays, we continue to think of Jesus as
carrying away the sin of the whole world on his back, out into the wilderness.
</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=style6><SPAN style="COLOR: black"><></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="COLOR: black"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px" class=style6><U>Effective evangelists speak of
what we personally have seen or experienced with our own eyes, ears, and
heart.</U> That was true of the Apostle John; it was also true of John the
Baptist and Andrew in our gospel story for today. </DIV>
<DIV></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_a_two_witnesses_john_the_baptist_and_andrew_GA.htm">http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_a_two_witnesses_john_the_baptist_and_andrew_GA.htm</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Edward F. Markquart</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>...when John the Baptizer says, "Look -- the Lamb of God," he
is articulating a hope that spanned multiple cultures in the ancient
world. He was saying that in Jesus there was power, power that would rise
above the other powers in the sky, power present in the beginning, power to make
all things new. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.sarahlaughed.net/lectionary/2005/01/second_sunday_a.html">http://www.sarahlaughed.net/lectionary/2005/01/second_sunday_a.html</A></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Sarah Dylan Breuer</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>...forgiveness is accomplished through Jesus’ identity as the
Lamb of God. Forgiveness is no longer a means of preparation for the coming of
the Messiah; it is instead the Messiah’s chief work.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.goodpreacher.com/shareit/readreviews.php?cat=28">http://www.goodpreacher.com/shareit/readreviews.php?cat=28</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV align=justify><FONT size=4>Timothy B. Cargal</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>They followed Jesus. When he turns around and asks, "What are
you looking for?" he is asking them to identify themselves. To say something
like: "We are two people looking for meaning and purpose in our lives and we
think you may be it." I think the reason they don't say that is because they are
not sure who they are or even that they are looking for something. So instead of
answering, they counter Jesus' question with another question: "Where are you
staying?"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Introducing-Jesus-Reflections-on-John-Alyce-McKenzie-01-11-2011.html">http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Introducing-Jesus-Reflections-on-John-Alyce-McKenzie-01-11-2011.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Alyce McKenzie, 2011</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></FONT></DIV>
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