阅读经文 

施洗约翰是被神呼召为弥赛亚预备道路的先知。他澄清说自己不是弥赛亚，甚至给弥赛亚解鞋带也不配。约翰说，弥赛亚比他更大，因为弥赛亚会用圣灵与火给人施洗。（参路 3:16）

但在约翰所有的讲话中，这是最直接的见证：“看哪，神的羔羊，除去（或作“背负”）世人罪孽的。”（参约 1:29）旧约中所有的仪式都指向弥赛亚，那要来的伟大的拯救者——现在约翰认出耶稣就是这位记载在《圣经》中的神所应许的受膏者。耶稣是无瑕疵的羔羊，除去世人所有的罪孽。

神舍了祂的爱子，使我们得生，是因为我们无法救自己。耶稣是神的羔羊，是神所预备的，祂被杀是为代替我们成全神的律法。

神把我们所有人的罪孽都加在祂身上。祂为我们的过犯受害，被罪压伤。（参赛 53:5-6）祂在十字架上担当了人类罪的重担。祂为救我们而死。祂偿还了我们所有的罪债，使我们与神和好，赦免我们的罪，赐给我们永生。

John the Baptist was the prophet whom God called to prepare the way for the Messiah. He explained that he was not the Messiah and was not even worthy to untie the straps of the Messiah's sandals. The Messiah was greater than he, said John, because the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (see Luke 3:16).

But of all John's statements, this was the most direct: "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" All the Old Testament rituals pointed to the Messiah, the great deliverer who was to come—and now John identified Jesus as this promised Anointed One. Jesus was the spotless Lamb who would take away all our sin.

God gave his own Son to die so that we can live, for there was no way for us to save ourselves. Jesus is the Lamb of God, provided by God, to be slain to fulfill the law of God himself for our sake.

God laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was wounded and pierced for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5-6). He bore the burden of our sins on the cross. He died for our sins. He paid the entire debt that we owed. And he reconciled us to God, giving us forgiveness and eternal life.