John the Baptizer is sometimes described as a "forerunner" for Jesus. He is the one called to "prepare the way" so that Jesus would be accepted by others once He started His mortal ministry. Indeed, John's ministry was never actually about John. As he himself stated, Jesus "must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30); meaning, John's mission was to bring others to Christ, not to convert them to John.

The "Baptizer's" declaration that Jesus was the "lamb of God" is significant in two ways. First, it is a reminder that the incomprehensibly high number of animals offered by God's people over hundreds of years-sacrifices which included lambs-was a typological (or symbolic) foreshadowing of the redemptive death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as those animal sacrifices were believed to remit the sins of those who offered them, believers today must rely upon the death of Jesus to do the same for them.

Second, lambs are themselves symbolic. They are a reminder of Jesus' purity (depicted in their white wool), and His gentleness (associated with the young lamb's gentle demeanor). Jesus, the "Lamb of God," came to teach us how to live a humble, loving, and pure life. John's use of a lamb to represent Christ's personality and approach to life was not coincidental, but intentionally instructive.

Our verse for today invites us to ask ourselves two questions. First, do you rely upon the "Lamb of God" for your salvation? Or do you look to other things (and to other people) for comfort, direction, guidance, and even help. Second, as Jesus is our exemplar, do you seek to live a life that imitates the "Lamb of God"? Do you strive to be pure, humble, gentle, and in all ways like Him? When John says "Behold," he invites us to look upon Jesus' life as the example we are to emulate, and the being we are to place our trust in.