when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ. They asked him, what then? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you the prophet? And he answered, no. Then they said to him, who are you? So that we might give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? And he said, I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees, and they asked him and said to him, why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you do not know. It is he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. These things took place in Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is he on behalf of whom I said, after me comes a man of higher rank than I, for he existed before me. I did not recognize him, but so that he might be manifest to Israel, I came baptizing in water. John testified, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and he remained upon him. I did not recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God." Wow. Our text in verse 29 includes one of the greatest, you know preachers are famous for saying the greatest or the most important, or the most profound, but I'm telling you without any ambiguity and without any over-exaggeration, one of the greatest statements ever made by a human being in the history of the world is John lifted his finger and pointed to Jesus Christ and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. At the conclusion of John's gospel, he gives us the purpose for which he wrote his gospel. Chapter 20, verse 31, the writer John says, These things I have written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. That's the purpose of his gospel. We're in the first chapter as we read John's proclamation of Jesus as the Lamb of God. The Apostle John writes about John the Baptist's ministry early on. But it's interesting that as we see John's profession of Christ, that the entire first chapter is John the writer, John the Apostle's attempt to reveal who Jesus Christ is. He is committed to things concerning Christ that leads people to know Jesus as the Christ, as the Son of God, which gives them life. You'll notice in John's Gospel, this first chapter, we're just looking at this first chapter for right now, that John is really committed to the titles of Jesus. In this first chapter, there is an outpouring of identifying titles as to the person and work of Christ. For instance, in v. 1 of chapter 1, Jesus is referred to as the Word. In v. 4, He is referred to as the Light of Men. In our verse, v. 29, He is referred to as the Lamb of God. In v. 34, He is referred to as the Son of God. In v. 36, again, Jesus is called the Lamb of God. Verse 38, He is called the Teacher. In verse 41, He is called the Messiah, which means the Christ. In verse 49, He is called the Son of God. In verse 49, again, He is called the King of Israel. In the last verse of the chapter, The last few words of that last verse, he is called the Son of Man, referring back to Jesus as a fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy. The Word, the Light of Men, the Lamb, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, the Messiah, the Christ, the Teacher, the King of Israel, the Son of Man. I want this morning for us as we approach this Lord's table on this Christmas season to focus on one of those titles, and it is the title, the Lamb of God. Where did this phrase come from? How is it that we call Jesus and refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God? Who created that title? Did John create that title? I'm going to suggest to you that this is the Father's title for the Son. It's clear as you read through John 1 on into the Gospel that these men who called Jesus and assigned Jesus these titles really didn't even understand the implications that were contained in them. The Lamb of God is God's title for the Son. He is God's Lamb, identified by God as the God of Lamb, transferred to John's mind, and then it is that which comes off John's lips, the Lamb of God. There is no title of the many titles that the Scriptures assign to Jesus as specific, as clear, concerning the reason that Jesus came into the world. He is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. He came as God's Lamb. And as God's Lamb, his mission would be to take away the sins of the world. Jesus, as the Lamb of God, is a common figure, a common idea. Think about how many pieces of art portray Jesus as the Lamb of God in a shepherd setting and so forth, or how many hymns we sing that refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God, how many messages you've heard that refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God. But what you might find interesting is this, that in all 66 books of Scripture, There are only two of them that specifically refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God. Both books are written by the same author, John. The Apostle John refers to Jesus in his Gospel as the Lamb of God. He refers to Jesus in the book of Revelation, the Apocalypse, as the Lamb of God, the only two books in 66 books of the canon of Scripture that refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God. Though John is the only author that identifies Christ as the Lamb of God, I want you to know that the idea of the Lamb of God is critical to the entire story of Scripture. The Lamb motif appears early in Scripture The lamb motif appears often in scripture. The lamb motif appears at critical moments in the history of redemption. The lamb motif really is a motif that causes the Old Testament to anticipate the coming and saving work of God. No other animal including the Lion of the tribe of Judah, is so pregnant with messianic implications, as is the title, the Lamb of God. This morning in our time, I want to encourage you and ask you to allow me to lead us all in a Bible study about the Lamb of God. This is critical to the Lord's table because Jesus said that when we participate in these elements, we are to do so in remembrance of me. And because it is the Christmas Advent season, the Lamb of God is critical to the story of Jesus' birth. He was born, after all, in a stable. And his birth was attended by what? By shepherds. He's the Lamb of God. So first of all, if you'll keep your finger in John 1, we'll get back there eventually, I promise. But look with me, if you would, to Genesis chapter 3. God had created an arboreal sanctuary, a garden-like sanctuary on earth. had created Adam and Eve in his image. They were to extend the sanctuary by the multiplication of the image of God. There was laws of God that established the person of God. And, of course, the law was not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And in Genesis 3, verse 6, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to her eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise. She took from its fruit and ate. She gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. And the eyes of both were opened. They knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, made covering loins for themselves. Then they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And the man and his wife hid themselves in the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Verse nine, then the Lord God called out to man and said to him, where are you? And he said, I have heard the sound of you in the garden. And I was afraid because I was naked. So I hid myself. And then verse 21, the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife. And he, emphatic in the Hebrew, he, God, clothed them. What's this have to do with the lamb? It has everything to do with the lamb. Genesis 2.17, God had told Adam, in the day that you eat, you shall surely, what? Now certainly Adam's sin that day brought spiritual death to Adam, to Eve, and to the human strain. But Adam and Eve did not die physically that day. They did not die. Even though God had said, in the day that you eat you shall surely die, they didn't die physically. Listen to me. But an animal did. The text doesn't tell us what kind of animal it is. or what kind of skins they were covered in, but I think you'll see as we go on in the text that a safe bet would be that they were covered in lamb skin. Rabbinic traditions, traditions from the Jewish midrash, all speak of Adam and Eve being clothed in lambskin. Matthew Henry writes, these coats of skin had significance, the beast whose skins they must have slain, slain before their eyes to show them what death was. It is supposed that they were slain not for food, but for a sacrifice, to typify the great sacrifice, which in the later end of the world should be once offered for all. Thus, the first thing that dies was a sacrifice or Christ in figure. who was therefore said to be the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The skins were given to man as clothing, signifying that Jesus Christ, having offered himself to God as a sacrifice, a sweet smelling savor, we are to clothe ourselves with his righteousness as with a garment that the shame of our nakedness may not appear. Such is the righteousness of Christ. Matthew Henry ends with an admonishment to all who read His commentary on this passage, he says, therefore put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Adam and Eve had never seen death. They should have seen their own death. But God in his grace and mercy offers the first substitute, a lamb. I believe the animal was a lamb. What a picture we have in this passage. Here Adam and Eve in disobedience sin and are covered with the skin of a lamb. We go thousands of years later to the cross and here is Jesus who in obedience is stripped naked as the Lamb of God dies on the cross. I also find it interesting that to the best of my knowledge in all the scriptures there are only two people who are clothed in skin, the fallen Adam and Eve, and John the Baptist who lifts his fingers to say, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." The Lamb of God was used for covering. Secondly, if you look at Genesis chapter 4, notice verses 1 through 8, not only was the Lamb used for covering, but I want to suggest to you that the Lamb was acceptable to God. Verse 1, now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. And she said, I have gotten a man-child with the help of the Lord. Actually, the Hebrew says, Eve actually says, behold the man-child. What is the significance of that? Well, God had told her in the curse that he would raise up a man-child who would crush the serpent's head. She has her first son and she says in unbelief or at least in biblical ignorance, behold the man-child. Of course, Cain would not be the fulfillment of God's promise. It wouldn't be fulfilled until the coming of Christ. The two brothers offer offerings. You'll notice verse 4, Abel on his part also brought the firstlings of his flock and other fat portions. And the Lord had, listen to this, had regard for Abel and for his offering. But for Cain and for his offering, which was the fruit of the ground, he had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. And the Lord said to Cain, why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? Verse 8, Cain told Abel his brother and it came about when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Amazing picture. What's this that takes place? How are we to understand this? God accepts Abel's offering from his flock, and I'll have you notice carefully verse 4, You'll notice that Abel, on his part, brought, notice the phrase of the word, he brought of the firstlings. The Hebrew is Beqorah and it literally means the firstborn. The word is later used of human beings and translated as primogenitor. This is the firstlings. He brought the firstborn of the flock to offer to God. Is that significant? We know that this anticipates Christ, who is called the firstborn of God, or the only begotten of God. John 1.18, no man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the Father's bosom, has explained Him. John writes further in John 3.18, That he that does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten, the primogenitor, the firstborn son of God. I could go on and on. Abel offered his firstborn and it says that the firstborn came from the flock. The Hebrew is Tisan and it usually refers to a flock of lambs or a flock of goats. I believe that Abel offered God a lamb. I do. And of course, for Cain's offering, the fruit of the ground, God had no regard for it. The indication is this, that here we are in the fourth chapter of Genesis, and what is God doing? God is affirming to this second generation, the children of Adam and Eve, exiled because of their parents' sin from the presence of God, the offspring of the fallen man and the fallen woman, that God's acceptance of the sacrificial lamb was regarded by God as it anticipated the death of the Lamb of God. Remember something, that with Adam and Eve, when they sinned, they had never seen death. But now death for Cain and Abel was no longer novel. And like it was with Adam and Eve, after their sin, death became a reality, a part of the fallen experience. And this tragic story ends with Abel killing a sacrifice to offer to God, and in a jealous rage, his brother Cain kills him. Amazing picture. From there, look with me, if you would, at Genesis Chapter 8. Of course, this is the story of Noah and the ark. We said that the lamb was used for covering, the lamb was acceptable to God. Thirdly, the lamb and the preservation of sinners. I draw your attention, this is at the end of the flood narrative, verse 20. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took every clean animal and of the clean birds and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And listen to this statement in verse 21, the Lord smelled the soothing aroma and the Lord said to himself, I will never again curse the ground on account of man. For the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth. And I will never again destroy every living thing as I have done." Wow. It's amazing that when Noah was instructed to fill the ark with animals, the Lord had brought to him animals two by two with the exception of the sacrificial animals which he brought to Noah by sevens. That means to say that when God was instructing Noah to build the ark, and to fill the ark, that God had already anticipated offerings at the conclusion of the flood narrative. And the text here indicates, in Genesis 8, that when God, or upon God, smelling the soothing aroma, that God then, at that point, in light, in the sight of man's sin, determined that he would not destroy the entire human race. Think about that. And I know that one of those animals was a lamb. That because of the soothing aroma of a sacrificial lamb, God at that point in human history not only vowed not to flood the earth, but not to destroy the entire human race. The lamb. The lamb. The sacrifice of an animal to God. Lambs were involved. The lamb was used for a covering. The lamb was acceptable to God. Provided for the preservation of sinners, look at Genesis chapter 22. God says to Abraham, verse 2, Genesis 22, take now your son, your only son. Does that sound a little bit like John 3.16? Your only son. whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah or offer him there as burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you.' So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son. And he split wood for the burnt offering and rose and went to the place that God had told him. And on the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance." Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey and I and the lad will go over there and we will worship and we'll return to you. Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife and so the two of them walked together. And Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, father, he said, here I am, my son. And Isaac said to Abraham, behold, the fire and the wood But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. So the two of them walked together. And when they came to the place which God had told him, and Abraham built the altar, and there arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood, Abraham stretched out his hand, took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am. Verse 12, he said, Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. Then Abraham raised his eyes, and behold, caught in the thicket was a ram, by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up on the burnt offering in the place of his son. And, listen to this, Abraham called the name of the place, the Lord will provide. As it is said this day, in the mount of the Lord it will be provided." The literal Hebrew is Elohim Rahaseh. Can you say those three Hebrew words after me? Elohim rahaseh. The Lord will provide a lamb. Elohim rahaseh. The Lord will provide a lamb. Think of the motif. Here we are at Mount Moriah, which is one of the mountains that defied the city of Jerusalem, described the city of Jerusalem, the very place Jesus would die. Here we have the relationship between the Father and the only Son. Here we have the provision of God, the Lamb as a substitute. Elohim rah say, the Lord will provide a Lamb. Look at Exodus chapter 12. Verse one, here we are, Israel is in Egypt, they're in bondage. God moves to deliver Israel. Verse one, now the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron, in the land of Egypt this month shall be the beginning of months for you. It is to be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel saying on the 10th month that each of them are to take a lamb for themselves. according to their father's household, a lamb for each household. The household is to take a small lamb. If the household is too small for lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest the house are to take one according to the number of persons in them. According to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. And the lamb shall be an unblemished, an unblemished, again, an unblemished male, a year old. You will take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the 14th day of the same month. You're to take it on the 10th. You're to keep it on the 14th. The idea is that the lamb becomes familial, becomes the house pet. If you don't think that works, you got little kids, bring in a little baby lamb. Keep it a few days. Then try to get rid of it. familial, Jesus came from among his own. The whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will kill it at twilight. Moreover, they shall take the blood and put it on the two doorposts on the lintel of the house in which they eat it. Verse 11, And you shall eat it in this manner, with your loins girded, sandals on your feet, a staff in your hand. You shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Pesach, it is the Lord's Passover. For I will go throughout the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, against all the gods of Egypt. I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the house where you live. And when I see the blood, I will pass over, and no plague will befall you or destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt." Well, the 10th plague is unique amongst all the plagues of Egypt. It's the only plague that Israel is not necessarily secure from the dangers that the plague poses. It is the only plague in which God instructs Israel, his people, to take special steps in order to secure their safety and preservation. They're to take a lamb. They're to slay it. that has spread his blood upon the doorposts and the lentil. And as the Lord, Pesach, passed over, and by the way, the word Pesach comes from a root word which means to hop or to skip. The idea of pretermission. God's going to strike this house, but not this house, this house, but not this house. And the idea is that houses he skips are the ones in which the lamb has died. You'll notice carefully verse 12 to understand the importance of this last and 10th plague. It is in this 10th plague that specifically God says that he is judging the idolatry of Egypt. That this plague is against, verse 12, against all the gods of Egypt. In Ezekiel 20 verse 7 and 8, God says, I said to them, cast away the detestable things of your eyes and do not defile yourself with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. And then God's tragically says this, but they, they would not. And they rebelled against me and were not willing to cast away the detestable things, nor did they forsake the gods of Egypt." The idea is this, when the 10th plague fell on Egypt, it was because of idolatry. The Egyptians were guilty of idolatry, but so were the Jews. And if the plague and the angel of death were to rightly fall, it would have annihilated everybody in the land because everybody in the land was idolatrous. And so the 10th plague is only spared to those who vicariously allow the lamb's blood to die in the place of the child's blood. The idea is that every house in Egypt experienced death, either by human hands or angelic agency. either a lamb or a child, because everyone was guilty. The exception was the vicarious substitutionary death of a lamb in the place of an idolatrous people." The lamb. The motif that's given to us that anticipates Christ is amazing in these stories. The lamb is to be spotless. No bone of the lamb is to be what? Broken. The Lamb is familial, He must come from among you. The Lamb is covenantal, it's for the household. The Lamb is vicarious and the blood of the Lamb is a sign between you and God. Look at Exodus chapter 29. In Exodus 29 we're introduced to worshipers who for the first time since Adam and Eve will approach the presence of God. And these worshipers are priests, are priests. And how is it that they will approach this God, Almighty God, in His newly erected tabernacle? How can they do this if they're sinners? Verse 21, we're in Exodus 29. God says, then you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron, there's the priest, and his sons, there's priests, and on his sons and on his son's garments with him so that he and his garments will be consecrated as well as his sons and his son's garments with him. Get the picture? The picture? Notice verse 37, for seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar shall be holy and whatever touches the altar shall be holy. Now this is what you shall offer on the altar. Listen, verse 38, don't miss this, two one-year-old lambs each day continuously. The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, the other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and there shall be one-tenth of an ephah, a fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hen of beaten oil and one-fourth of a hen of wine for a drink offering with one lamb. Verse 41, the other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and shall offer with the same grain offering and the same drink offering as in the morning. Verse 42, and it shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generation at the doorway of the tent of the meeting before your God, where I will meet with you to speak to you there. And I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by my glory. Notice verse 45. I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. They shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God. The theme of this is dwelling with God, access with God, worshiping God, the priests of God. Scripture calls us as Christians, a kingdom of priests. God establishes worship. The lambs are to sanctify the worshiper. The lambs are to provide access to the worshiper. The lamb is necessary for worship. Day and night, day and night, day and night, day and night, day and night, day and night. Lamb after lamb after lamb after lamb. I have a question for you. Do you think God was making a point? What was his point? Do not attempt to approach me without the blood of the lamb. Do not approach me without the Lamb." Quickly, and we don't have a lot of time, and I ask just for a little grace on your part. Look at Leviticus chapter 1. I'll be brief. Leviticus 1 through 5, we have all the offerings of Israel. Each of the first five chapters is dedicated to one of five offerings. Leviticus 1 is given to the burnt offering. We talked about the burnt offering as representing the wrath of God. The animal was thrown upon this giant altar that was heated to the point that it consumed the entire animal, and it represented God's wrath. The idea is that primarily we believe in a penal substitutionary death. The idea was that the death of Christ primarily satisfied the justice of God against sin. The first Offering mentioned in two occasions. Literary repetition in the book of Leviticus is the burnt offering. The second chapter of Leviticus, the grain offering. The third chapter of Leviticus, the peace offering. The breach between God and man. The fourth chapter of Leviticus, the sin offering. And the fifth chapter deals with the fifth and final, the guilt offering. In each of these, with the exception of the grain offering, required life. The blood of a sacrificial animal used over and over. And this was the nature of worship. I want you to think for a minute, folks. Look at me. Here we are this morning. We haven't had to kill anything. There's no blood let. There's a little drywall dust, but there's no blood. There's no blood. And yet that was the nature of worship. We wouldn't dress the way we dress now if we were in ancient Israel. We'd be dressing in one-piece vinyl suits that we could hose off when we got home. The bloodlet, the carnage, the screams, the baying of animals. I've told you before that historians tell us on the Passover that Jesus died during, that there were over 100,000 lambs slain on the temple ground in Jerusalem. You try to picture it. Flocks, herds, lamb after lamb, the screams. It's all ended. Day and night, day and night, day and night, lamb after lamb after lamb, God was making a point. Now with all that having been said, look back with me at John chapter 1. Before I direct you at verse 29 again, can I suggest to you something maybe you've never thought? If somebody asks you, what is the message of the Old Testament? I'm going to suggest to you that it could well be said, easily be said, most appropriately said, that the message of the entire Old Testament is the answer that Abraham gave his son Isaac, the Lord will provide a lamb. Say it with me again, Elohim rahaseh, the message of the entire Old Testament. the Lord will provide a lamb. Having said that, again verse 29, think of the implications. The next day he, John the Baptist, saw Jesus coming to him and said, behold, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And you get it? For thousands of years, hundreds and thousands of offerings, Israel was suspended in anticipation that God would provide a Lamb. Even on this very day, when John identifies Christ as the Lamb of God, that very day, the morning ceremonies in the temple in Jerusalem had begun with the slaughter of the Lamb, that very night, another lamb would be slain. For millennia the people of God had anticipated, had hoped, had sought the Lord's provided lamb. John the Baptist, who was called and referred to as the forerunner, announces his arrival. I told you earlier that there's only two books in the entire Bible, 66 books of the canon, that actually refer to Jesus as the as the Lamb of God, the first being the Gospel of John that we're looking at right now. Anybody want to take a guess how many times John's Gospel refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God? You don't have to guess. Ready? Two. Two. There's another book written by John where Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God. That is the Apocalypse of the book of Revelation. Anybody want to take guess how many times he's referred to as the Lamb in that book? Ready? Thirty. What are we to make of this? How are we to understand this? How is it that the last book of the Bible repeatedly, 30 times, refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God. I want to suggest to you that what we have here is as the scriptures reach their galvanization, as they come to its final conclusion, that by and large the gospel is a message, and it is the declaration and the final analysis of all things that means something to you and me, to a fallen human race, that Jesus is to be understood by us, his people, as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is the Lamb. Let me close with one passage from that book, Revelation chapter 5. This passage is the summit of scripture in terms of worship. Everything moves to this moment, and I pray that you get the picture, because the picture is graphic. I can't wait to be there one day, participate. In the right hand of God, chapter 5, is the scroll, the title to the earth, the conclusion of all that God has anticipated. No one in heaven is worthy to take the scroll and break its seals, and John begins to weep. In verse 4, I'll pick it up, the Apostle John, who is in heaven, ported there by vision, says he begins to weep greatly, profoundly, because no one's found worthy to open the book and to look into scrolls. And one of the elders that's there says to John, stop weeping, for behold, the lion, the lion that's from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, he's overcome, that's Jesus, so as to open the book and its seven seals. So John turns, of course, here's the worthy one, verse six, and I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and the elders, a lion. Is that what it says? a lamb standing as if he were slain." You know what that means? That means resurrection. "...having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the world. And he, the lamb, came and took out of the right hand of him who sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book," listen to what begins to happen. This is like the biggest buildup of worship. You talk about bringing somebody to their knees. And when he took the book, verse 8, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. each one with holding a harp and a golden bowl full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people. And here they are, the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures, which are angels, and they begin to sing a song. Worthy are you to take the book and break its seals, for you were slain, and it purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe, every tongue, every people and nation. And you have made them to be a kingdom, a priesthood of God, and they will reign upon the earth.' And then," John says, verse 11, "'I heard and looked, Not only are the elders and the beasts singing, but I heard the voices of many angels." How many angels? All of them. What does that constitute? Ready? At the end of verse 11, "...myriads of myriads, and ten thousands of ten thousands, which is the largest numbers in the Greek." In other words, they are innumerable. And they also begin to join in the new song. Verse 12, saying, "...worthy is the," what? the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing but that's not enough verse 13 then every created thing which constitutes everything other than the Godhead every created thing on heaven on earth under the earth and the sea and all things in them, they join in the antiphonal worship to him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb. Be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.' And the four living creatures kept saying, Amen, and all I got to say is all God's people said, and the elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb." Revelation 7.14 says, as Christians, we have washed our robes white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 12.11, as Christians, we are overcomers by the blood of the Lamb. This morning, as we approach this table, we celebrate the Lamb, the Lamb. I'd like to read the words of institution as we approach this passage, and I'd like you to take a minute and bow your heads and hearts with me in a word of prayer.