When John saw Jesus coming, what did he say? He did not say, “Behold, Dr. Jesus Christ.” He said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” If I had been John the Baptist, I would have said, “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” How do you prefer to recommend Jesus—as the Lamb or as a strong lion? If you were to introduce Christ to me as a lion, I would flee, for I am afraid of lions. Jesus, however, was recommended as a Lamb. While the religionists were expecting a great leader, Jesus was recommended by John the Baptist as the little Lamb of God. Jesus did not come to be the great leader of a religious movement; He came to be the little Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It is not a matter of a movement; it is a matter of redemption, of solving the problem of the sin of mankind. For our sin to be taken away we do not need a doctor of theology or a religious leader—we need a little Lamb. We need Jesus as the Lamb of God to die for us and to shed His blood for our redemption. The situation today is the same as it was in the time of John the Baptist. Religion still awaits a great leader for a great movement. However, in God’s economy, Jesus is not such a leader. He is simply the Lamb of God. As you read this message you need to say, “Lord Jesus, to me You are not a great leader. You are the Lamb of God who died on the cross for my sins. Thank You for Your death, Lord. Thank You for Your blood. Thank You for Your redemption. I don’t care for a great leader. I only care for this little Lamb who has accomplished redemption for me.” The religious concept is that a great leader will come, but the divine economy is that a Lamb die to redeem man from sin. Since the problem of sin requires a solution, the need of redemption is imperative. We need the Lamb of God to take away our sins.
John not only recommended Christ as the Lamb of God, but also as the Lamb with the dove (1:32-33). The Lamb takes sin away from man, and the dove brings God as life to man. The Lamb is for redemption, to redeem fallen man back to God, and the dove is for life-giving, for anointing, to anoint man with what God is, to bring God into man and man into God, and for uniting the believers in God. Both are needed for man to participate in God. The dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit, whose work is to bring God and join God to man. The Lamb, on the negative side, solves the problem of man’s sin; the dove, on the positive side, brings God to man. The Lamb separates man from sin, and the dove joins God to man.
John recommended Jesus as the Lamb with a dove, not with an eagle. It seems that some Christians have an eagle instead of a dove. A dove is not large and wild. A dove is small and gentle. The dove here signifies the Holy Spirit and is for life-giving, regenerating, anointing, transforming, uniting, and building. The dove is not for power but for life. A dove has no power; it is full of life and insight. The Bible appreciates the dove’s eyes, for the most beautiful part of a dove is its eyes. In the Song of Songs, the Lord praises His seeker for her doves’ eyes (1:15). The dove is not a symbol of power, but of life. A dove is lovely, small, and full of life.
When we come to John 12, we shall see that the Lord Jesus likens Himself to something even smaller than a dove—a grain of wheat (12:24). A grain of wheat is neither for outward appearance nor for power. A grain of wheat, which is full of life, is for the reproduction and propagation of life, for the multiplication in life. Thus, the Gospel of John is a book of life, not of power. The Lamb is not for power, but for redemption. If Jesus had come as a lion, no one could have put Him on the cross. However, He came as a little Lamb who was led to the slaughter and killed for our redemption (Isa. 53:7). What a difference between life and religion! Religion is for power, for movements, and for great leaders. Life needs a Lamb for redemption to remove all sinful things and a dove full of life to impart life, regenerate, anoint, transform, unite, and build. Then God will have a house, a Bethel. We all must see this.
I hope that you have been impressed that we must absolutely abandon religion with all of its concepts. However, I am concerned that some readers of this message may still hold the concept that we need power to produce a great movement. God’s economy is not to send a powerful leader to start a movement. God’s economy is to send His Son to be the Lamb with His Spirit as the dove to accomplish redemption and to impart life to man. God’s economy is for one grain to fall into the ground and die that it might produce many grains which will be blended into one loaf, the Body, the church, to express Christ. In God’s economy it is not a question of a movement, power, or a great leader; it is a matter of the Lamb with the dove. Our need is redemption with life.