Eyes on Eternity: Devotions for a Heaven-Focused Life

SUNDAY, 3 AUGUST 2025

TEXT: JOHN 1:29-34

29: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

30: This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’

31: I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32: Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.

33: And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

34: I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

(New International Version Holy Bible)

TOPIC: JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD (I)

If you give some preachers 40 minutes to preach, they will use the first 20 minutes talking about themselves: their educational qualifications, their family successes, their oversea travels, etc. For John, the focus of his ministry has always been Jesus and not himself.

In our reading today, we can see John the Baptist kick-start his message with "Jesus as the Lamb of God" - no self-introduction, no protocol, no team of guards and no estacode. His message was too important and too urgent that he did not see the need to waste his time on inconsequential things like protocol of introduction, citations, etc.

John the Baptist was so aware of the contrast between himself and Jesus that he repeatedly says, "He has surpassed me because He was before me."

In many African societies, we spend a considerable amount of time on the introduction of crème de la crème of the church, hierarchical leaders and politicians, giving little time for the preaching of the Word of God.

Sometimes, right in the middle of the sermon, high-profile personalities will zoom in with their bulletproof limousines, thereby interrupting the message. God is not pleased with such ugly developments.

QUESTION: Are you comfortable with the lengthy ecclesiastical protocols?

PRAYER: Please Lord, bring us back to the simplicity that characterized the lifestyles of the early church leaders, in Jesus' name. Amen.