The Lamb Comes


[Song] “Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life.  Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life.”

Hello, my name is Miss Barb!  Welcome to Lifeline English, the podcast that helps you know God and know English.

You can read the written script for today’s lesson on lifelineenglish.com.

Today I want to teach you four words.

The first word is baptize.  Repeat after me: baptize.  Good!  To baptize means to dip a person under water and then lift them back out of the water immediately.  Baptism has symbolic meaning, like wearing a wedding ring on your finger.  If you are baptized, you are telling everyone, “I want to live in a new way.  The way I used to live was evil.  Now I want to do what is good.”
  
Our next word is sandal.  A sandal is a special kind of shoe.  The top of a sandal is very open.  Your foot can breathe.  The sandal uses straps, often made of leather, to hold your foot.  

Word three is “untie”.  You probably can guess that “untie” is the opposite of “tie”.  To untie means to loosen the rope or strap that is holding two things together.  For example, I untied my horse from the post.  He untied the boat from the dock.

And the last word is “better”.  Better is the word we use when we compare how good two things are.  The thing that is more good is “better” than the other thing.  Which is better: chocolate or peanut butter?  I like tea better than coffee.  

Okay, ready for the story?  It’s called, “The Lamb comes”

They asked John, “If you’re not the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet, why are you baptizing?”
Who was John not?  John was not the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet.
What was John doing?  John was baptizing.

John answered, “I baptize with water.”  
Who baptized?  John baptized.
Did John baptize with milk?  No, John baptized with water.  

“But someone you don’t know is with you.  He is the One who comes after me.”  
Who was with them?  Someone they didn’t know was with them.
Someone who didn’t know?  The Jews didn’t know him.
Was he John?  No, he came after John.  
Who came before this One?  John came before this One.  John told people that Someone was coming after him. 

“I’m not good enough to untie his sandals!”
Who wasn’t good enough?  John wasn’t good enough.
What was John not good enough to do?  John wasn’t good enough to untie his sandals.
Whose sandals?   The sandals of the man who was coming after John.
Who was better: John, or the man coming after John?  The man coming after John was much better than John.  John wasn’t good enough to do a very low job for the man.

This happened at Bethany on the east side of the Jordan River.
What happened?  John answered the people’s questions.
Where did this happen?  This happened at Bethany.  Bethany is the name of a small town.
What river was Bethany near?  Bethany was near the Jordan River.  
Which side of the river was Bethany on?  Bethany was on the east side of the river.
  
John was baptizing there.
What did John do there?  John baptized there.  
Why did John baptize in a river?  John baptized in a river so that there was enough water.  

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him.  
Who did John see?  John saw Jesus.
Did John come to Jesus?  No, Jesus came to John.
When did Jesus come?  Jesus came the next day.  

John said, “Look!  The Lamb of God!”
What did John call Jesus?  John called Jesus, “the Lamb of God”.  
What did John tell the people to do?  John told the people to look.  
Who did John tell the people to look at?  John told the people to look at Jesus.  
Whose Lamb is Jesus? Jesus is God’s Lamb.  Lambs are innocent; they do not sin.  In the Old Testament, God told people to kill lambs to protect the people from God’s punishment for their sins.  

“He takes the sin of the world away!”
Who takes away?  Jesus takes away.
What does Jesus take away?  Jesus takes away sin.
Does John take away sin?  No, Jesus takes away sin.
Does Jesus hide sin?  No, Jesus takes away sin.
Whose sin does Jesus take away?  Jesus takes away the sin of the world.
Does Jesus only take away the sins of good people?  No, Jesus takes away the sin of the world.
Can Jesus take away the sin of men and women?  Yes, Jesus takes away the sin of the world.
Can Jesus take away the sin of criminals?  Yes, Jesus takes away the sin of the world.  
Can Jesus take away the sin of drug dealers, and murderers, and prostitutes?  Yes, Jesus takes away the sin of the world.
Did lambs take away sin?  No, lambs only covered sin.  Jesus takes away sin.  Like the lambs, Jesus died to protect people from God’s punishment for their sins.  Jesus experienced God’s punishment instead of the people.  
Today, should we kill lambs to protect us from God’s punishment?  No, Jesus is the perfect Lamb.  If we trust in Jesus, God will not punish us.  Jesus took our punishment.  

“This is the One I was talking about!”
Who was talking?  John was talking.
Who was John talking about? John was talking about the One the people didn’t know, the One who was coming after John, the One whose sandals John was not good enough to untie.  
Who was the One?  This One was Jesus.  

Let’s listen to the whole story together.

They asked John, “If you’re not the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet, why are you baptizing?”
John answered, “I baptize with water.  But someone you don’t know is with you.  He is the One who comes after me.  I’m not good enough to untie his sandals!”  This happened at Bethany on the east side of the Jordan River.  John was baptizing there.  
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him.  John said, “Look!  The Lamb of God!  He takes the sin of the world away!  This is the One I was talking about!”
  
Different languages have different rules about the sequence that words must be arranged in.  English is pretty flexible.  I’m going to tell you the same story again.  The meaning is the same, but the words are in a different order. Listen for the changes!

They asked John, “Why are you baptizing, if you’re not the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet?”
John answered, “I baptize with water.  But with you is someone you don’t know.  He’s the One who comes after me.  I’m not good enough to untie his sandals!”  This happened on the east side of the Jordan River at Bethany.  There, John was baptizing.  
John saw Jesus coming toward him the next day.  John said, “Look!  God’s Lamb!  He takes away the world’s sin!  This is the One about whom I was talking!”  
 
What religious leader do you follow?  There is only one person who can take away your sin.  He is Jesus.  Jesus was killed, like a lamb, to take away the sins of bad people.  If you trust in Jesus, he will take away your sin.  

Let’s sing a short song about this story.  Ready?

O Lamb of God, sweet Lamb of God; 
I love the holy Lamb of God.
O wash me in His precious blood,
My Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.  

Do you have questions?  You can write me.  Go to our website, lifelineenglish.com.  

Until next time, may Jesus help you know Him and know English.  Good bye!

[Song] “Jesus only savior, sanctify forever, beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.  Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.” 

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