Thursday after Gaudete, the Third Sunday in Advent
Posted on December 17, 2020 by under
Scripture: St. John 1:24-34 (NKJV)
1:24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
Devotion
Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is Christ’s continuous and enduring work. How does He do this? First, by making full atonement for our sins. Christ pays the full price for all of our sins of deed, word, and thought. Since sin is the work of sinners and the devil, it is finite. Christ’s death is an infinite sacrifice for sin because Christ is fully God as well as fully man. Christ’s atonement is for the sins of the world, so there is no sin or sinner who falls outside of the power of Christ’s atonement.
Second, He takes away our sin whenever we believe the Gospel. When we believe the Gospel of Christ God applies Christ’s atonement to us individually. He does this through the Word and Sacraments. Sinners are justified by faith, so whenever a sinner repents of his sins, seeks to amend his ways, and believes that Christ’s atonement covers his sins, Christ is taking away sins.
Finally, Christ takes away sins in each one of us each day in sanctification. Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, so it is no longer we that live, but Christ who lives in us. By the power of the Holy Spirit we put to death the sinful flesh each day, crucifying it with its passions and desires. This, too, is Christ taking away our sin so that we grow in holiness and righteousness. This will never be complete in this life because we live in the sinful flesh. But Christ wants to take away our sins like this each day and conform us more and more to His image.
Prayer: Lord, we beseech Thee, give ear to our prayers and lighten the darkness of our hearts by Thy gracious visitation. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
