Behold the Lamb of God (John 1:29)
I want us to begin the year with this clear question, do you know Jesus? When you sing the song, But I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I‘ve committed; unto him against that day. Are you a witness? John introduced the man Je- sus to the Jews as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He himself was a witness, he had confidence talking about him despite the fact that he came to prepare the way for Jesus.
As we come to this day when all of us have crossed over from 2020 to 2021, do you know the one who walked with you last year? I do not know how old you are, count the years and look back how he has kept you, the challenges you have overcome. It is not about you but Jesus. I want to invite you to think with me about Jesus as written in John 1:29-34.
He is the Lamb of God. He is the Pascal lamb that became a substitute when Isaac was going to be offered as a sacrifice, he delivered the Israelites from Egypt, he saved their first born and beyond him there is no sacrifice. He is the precious gift to us as in John 3:16. The book of Hebrews talks deeply about his sacrificial obligation in Hebrews 9 and 10.
Jesus is the eternal God; he existed in creation as a creator. Many of us want to challenge him because we think about the knowledge we have acquired. We tell the author of life about life as if we know it better. To our shame he takes life back when he wants because he is the giver.
He is the spirit of God; Jesus did not get filled with the Holy Spirit because he needed him, it was for us. We cannot claim to be filled with the Spirit of God without Jesus. People who are filled with the spirit of God manifest the glory of God in their way of life. The Uganda we see today is a true manifestation of the evil Spirit that attacked King Saul. Every time he looked at David, he was filled with anger, he threw the spear at him. Can we embrace Jesus and be filled with the Holy Spirit to help us bear fruit as in Galatians 5:22. Those who live in the spirit crucify the flesh, they also live and keep in step with the Spirit. Isaiah writes in 11:2 that “the spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and fear of God. Many of us have understanding and knowledge but it has not been helpful because we do not have Jesus. There is no Justice in the nation and all sectors of life because we take it as an intellectual idea forgetting Jesus the author of Justice.
John states that Jesus is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and he is the eternal Son of God. Dear friends we have crossed many years and the Lord has been faithfully, he is aware of your life, he understands our hearts, he cares about our detail, he also knows where we have mocked him, he knows that you have never confessed him as Lord and savior, he is watching. Will you choose to crossover today from hell to heaven or you are going to maintain the status of last year? Behold the Lamb of God! He is waiting, he is calling, he loves you, he cares about you, He wants you to give all of us eternal life.
I wish you all a blessed New Year!
The Very Rev. Canon Dr. Rebecca Nyegenye
PROVOST
