Sunday John the Baptist pointed at Jesus and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

To understand why he called Jesus a lamb, you have to go back to the beginning. All the way back to the Garden.

This week, every morning, read John 1:29 and pray: "Jesus, I'm not trusting in what I've done. I'm trusting in what You've already done for me."

God has always been the One who covers.

Before God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden, He made a promise and He made them clothes.

But before God sent them out of the Garden, He did two things. He made a promise: one day a child of the woman would crush the serpent's head. And He made them clothes from animal skins.

Think about what that cost. For Adam and Eve to be covered, something innocent had to die. The guilty were clothed by a life that wasn't theirs. That was the first picture of what God would one day do through His Son.

The first sacrifice wasn't Adam's idea. It was God's. Rescue has always started with Him.

Don't rush these. Give yourself a few minutes with each one before moving on.

Write your answers down. By Friday you will see how this first covering points all the way to the cross.

Come back tomorrow - tomorrow you'll stand inside a house in Egypt on the most important night in Israel's history.

• Exodus 12:1-13 - the first Passover

Read Exodus 12:1-13. On the night God brought Israel out of Egypt, every family was to choose a lamb without blemish. The lamb was killed at twilight. Its blood was painted on the doorposts and the lintel. Then the family stayed inside and trusted.

Notice what God did not say. He didn't say, "When I see how good you've been." He didn't say, "When I see how hard you prayed." He said, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you."

The safest family in Egypt that night wasn't the most religious one. It was the one with blood on the door. Their safety rested completely on the lamb.

Rescue didn't come by being good enough. It came by a life given on behalf of others.

• John 1:29 - the Lamb of God
• Isaiah 53:6-7 - like a lamb

Read John 1:29. John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

The words "takes away" mean to lift up and carry off. Jesus doesn't only cover sin. He removes it. Seven hundred years earlier Isaiah saw it coming: the Lord would lay our sin on Him, and He would go like a lamb led to the slaughter.

And notice the size of the claim: the sin of the world. Not the sin of good people, or of Israel only. No one is outside the reach of this Lamb, including you, and including the person you think is too far gone.

Whatever Jesus carries away, you don't have to carry anymore.

• John 1:32-33 - the sign
• Ezekiel 36:26-27 - a new heart

Read John 1:32-33. John admits, "I myself did not know him." He didn't recognize Jesus as the Messiah on his own. God gave him a sign: watch for the One the Spirit comes down on and stays. When John baptized Jesus, the Spirit came down like a dove, and it remained.

That word matters. In the Old Testament the Spirit came on prophets, judges, and kings for a task, and could leave. On Jesus, the Spirit rested for good. And Jesus would do what John never could: baptize people with the Holy Spirit.

John's baptism was an outward sign of repentance. Jesus gives the inward reality: a new heart and God's own Spirit living inside you. That is the promise of Ezekiel 36.

The Lamb takes away your sin. The Spirit gives you new life.

• John 1:34 - the Son of God
• Hebrews 10:11-14 - a single sacrifice

Read John 1:34. John said, "I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." In the Bible, "son of" means "shares the nature of." Jesus is not a lesser God. He is fully God, the same nature as the Father.

Now read Hebrews 10:11-14. The priests stood every day offering the same sacrifices, over and over, because those sacrifices could never take away sin. Then Christ offered one sacrifice, for all time, and sat down. You only sit down when the work is done.

Why was once enough? Because of who He is. A lamb could save a family for a night. Only the Son of God could save the world forever.

Your goodness doesn't have to be enough. His sacrifice already is.