Behold, the Lamb of God: Atonement | Samuel Voo | February 22nd 2026

In other words, he's bracketing the whole of his gospel with his notion of sacrifice. It's not just an event at the end of the gospel. Beginning, ending, all throughout his gospel, it's what it's about. Every conversation, every discussion, every event, every sign is pointing to the cross and flows out from the cross. One of the most prominent scholars on the gospel of John, he calls this phrase, behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He says, this is the entry gate, the entryway into John's understanding of Jesus. If you get this, then you get his whole gospel. [00:08:39] (49 seconds)  #LambAtTheCenter

And we say, I don't wanna live as someone who's about myself anymore because Jesus has died for me. He's given his life for me. He loved me that much, the world that much. And guess what? I can therefore live in the same kind of way towards others. So we die to ourselves each day. It's this continual placing of ourselves under the cross, nailing our own old lives to the cross. [00:34:16] (29 seconds)  #TakeUpYourCross

I shouldn't have done that. It could have been maybe years ago even, or it could have been yesterday or even this morning. Or maybe there are things that have been done to you too. The effects of sin, we can bring those to the Lord too. We don't have to let sin overwhelm us. So things like anxiety and fear and loneliness and insecurity, we can bring those to the cross too. And then he can exchange that for real life. [00:35:10] (35 seconds)  #BringYourBurdens

See, sacrifice was not ever meant to replace the relationship, a proper relationship between creature and creator, between fellow creatures. It's meant to be an expression of it. It's meant to be the most natural outpouring of a life lived in relationship with God. And so there's this theme in the old testament, to obey is better than sacrifice. To obey is better than sacrifice. See, sacrifice was meant to be an outpouring of one's relationship with God already. [00:21:39] (39 seconds)  #ObedienceOverSacrifice

And then near the end of the gospel in chapter 19 at the crucifixion, John describes the very hour in which Jesus dies and that's important detail because it's different than in the synoptic gospels, Mark and Matthew and Luke. The way John tells the story, Jesus dies on the day of preparation before the Passover. And why that's important is because the very hour that Jesus was crucified was the hour that the Passover lambs were slaughtered at the temple. [00:07:45] (37 seconds)  #CrucifiedAtPassover

The sacrificial system was not meant to somehow substitute for relationship with God. It was not meant to somehow be an automatic ritual of relationship with God. It didn't work like that. The two were deeply, deeply interconnected. Sacrifice and life with God, relationship with God were to be wedded together in a very, very deep and powerful way and never to be separated. That was the the way that God had intended for it to be. [00:18:48] (36 seconds)  #SacrificeAndRelationship

But it's important that we take this cross story and bring it to ourselves because the cross is not just the end of the story. Right? The cross really is the beginning of another story, and that's the beginning of our story. And so it's important that that cross makes its way into our community, into our lives. Unless it makes its way into our lives, that story is still not finished. [00:05:30] (29 seconds)  #CrossIsOurBeginning

Well, that's kind of like how the sacrificial sacrificial system was in the old testament. It was the medicine that controlled the symptoms and didn't get rid of the disease. And it helped. It did help. It helped remind them of who they were and of their covenant relationship with God. At least it was supposed to until they forgot. But it never got deep enough to get at this the real cause of the symptoms in the first place. [00:24:11] (30 seconds)  #RitualsDontHeal