Animal sacrifice seems so foreign, maybe even cruel, in our day. Yet it was God's way of helping people know that their sin was costly, injurious, and serious. Their sin didn't impact just them, but it touched all they influenced and damaged their relationship with God. Taking a lamb from their own flock — something precious and of great value to them — cost them, hurt them, and opened their eyes to the seriousness of their rebellion and failure. However, when it came time for God to redeem us, to deal with our sin once and for all, he didn't ask us to offer something that cost us greatly. No, he furnished the sacrifice at great cost to himself. That Lamb of God, that sacrifice for our sins, is Jesus. John's words remind us that from the beginning of Jesus' ministry, he was God's Lamb. He came to save, redeem, and ransom us from sin. He is the Lamb of God. So at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, John the Baptizer's words invite us to "Look!" and see the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" If we watch, and listen, and open our hearts, we will see the Lamb.