“The Blood Atonement of Jesus”
John 1:29

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Second Sunday after the Epiphany—January 19, 202

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Today’s Gospel Reading reports, “[John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’”  We consider the meaning and significance for you of this declaration, under the theme: “The Blood Atonement of Jesus.”

The founder of our faith was much, much more than a great teacher or prophet.  As the Apostle John writes, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours, but for the sins of the whole world.” 

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”  What does it mean that Jesus is the “Lamb of God”?  How did Jesus take away the sin of the world?  What does the atoning sacrifice of Jesus mean for you?

We begin by asking, what does “atonement” mean?  Atonement refers to giving an offering or sacrifice in order to make up for some omission or transgression.  A husband forgets his wife’s birthday, so he attempts to atone for this omission by giving her a dozen roses.  The roses are a peace-offering, a sacrifice of atonement for his omission.  I remember when I was about 10 years old, I was throwing a beach ball in the house and broke a crystal dish.  Before mother got home from work, I raced down to the drugstore and bought a different dish as a peace-offering, a sacrifice of atonement for my transgression.

Why do we need a spiritual sacrifice of atonement before God?  Paul says in Romans, “There is no one righteous, not even one. . .  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  S-I-N; that is why we need a spiritual sacrifice of atonement before God, because of the sins we have committed, and because of what we have omitted from our lives, the good we have failed to do. 

A traditional confession of sins puts it this way: “We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. . . We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done. . . have mercy on us miserable offenders.”  So, the reason we need a spiritual sacrifice of atonement before God is S-I-N; to atone, make up for our sins our sins of omission, and our sins of commission.

But, why can’t we atone for our sins ourselves?  Isaiah says, “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”  We cannot atone for our sins ourselves because we are so stained with sin that all our doings, even what we consider to be “righteous acts” and good works, in God’s eyes even they are like ugly, filthy rags.  We cannot atone for our sins ourselves because we are so stained with sin that nothing we do could ever be an acceptable peace-offering for our sins, nothing we do could ever be a sacrifice of atonement worthy to make up for our omissions and transgressions.  As another confession of sins says, “We cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition.”

Why is Jesus called the “Lamb of God”?  In the Old Testament, the Lord commanded that lambs be sacrificed, and he stipulated that the lambs must be without blemish or defect.  Those sacrificial lambs were symbolic, pointing forward to the coming Messiah, the Lamb of God who according to God’s own plan would offer himself up as the perfect sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world.  As the Apostle John says, “He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Jesus is called the “Lamb of God” because he was an acceptable peace offering for our sins; he was a sacrifice of atonement worthy to make up for our omissions and transgressions.  As Peter says, “It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  With his sacrifice, by the shedding of his blood, Jesus Christ atoned, made up for, your sin; that is the doctrine of “The Blood Atonement of Jesus.”  As Paul says in Romans, “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood;” and in 1 Corinthians, “Christ, our Passover lamb, was sacrificed for us.”

What does the blood atonement of Jesus mean for you?  The blood atonement of Jesus means that all your sins, all your omissions and transgressions, are forgiven on account of Jesus Christ.  Paul says in Ephesians, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins . . .”  The book of Revelation says, “[He] has freed us from our sins by his blood.”

The blood atonement of Jesus also means that you are holy in God’s sight, because your sin is covered over, made up for by his sacrifice.  As the book of Hebrews says, “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” 

The blood atonement of Jesus also means that you are at peace with God, you are reconciled with God; God is not angry with you, God will not punish you, because Jesus made atonement for you.  As Paul says in Colossians, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”  The founder of our faith was much, much more than a great teacher or prophet.  “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours, but for the sins of the whole world.”  According to God’s own plan, Jesus Christ offered himself up as the perfect sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world.  He was an acceptable peace offering for your sins; he was a sacrifice of atonement worthy to make up for your omissions and transgressions.  You are forgiven, you are holy in God’s sight, you are at peace with God, because of “The Blood Atonement of Jesus.”