The next day John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
I’m curious. Do we see any relevance to that time reference? Do we think there was something significant that happened the previous day? Answer: The Baptism of Jesus, which we read last week. Thus, the conversation we had last week about how John the Baptist supported the inclusion of Jesus in the community built through the baptism of John holds relevance to how we view the story today. We are seeing John the Baptist continuing to reveal Jesus to his followers.
Note, however, that, while we read from the Gospel of Matthew last week, today’s story comes from the Gospel of John, a different perspective. For John the Evangelist, importance is placed on understanding Jesus theologically. This is why instead of having a birth narrative, his Gospel begins: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John the Evangelist wants us to meet God in and through Jesus. So, what theological imagery does he use to do this in our story today?
The next day John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Lamb of God. What do we think that means? Why is this metaphor significant?
Lamb of God: this language was intentionally referenced in a community that regularly used lambs in ceremonial sacrifices as a way to atone for sins. Lambs were one of the animals purchased, given, and slaughtered to enable a penitent to be reconciled with God and the community. This was done as an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace – forgiveness and reconciliation.
Knowing how the early Christian community understood the role of lambs in this penitential rite, imagine the implications for how they saw Jesus when the association is made that he is the Lamb of God, he is the sacrificial offering whose life is offered to reconcile all people with God and the community. John the Evangelist is making a bold statement about who Jesus is through John the Baptist and, in doing so, inviting, encouraging, challenging, people to pay attention to who Jesus is and what he does.
Of course, hindsight is 20-20 vision, and referring to Jesus as the Lamb of God has a far deeper meaning after Jesus has gone through his arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. How we envision Jesus as the Lamb of God is not merely about slaughter for sins and reconciliation. We understand that there is transformation, hope, and love embedded in the sacrifice, embedded in that Good Friday story. To know Jesus as the Lamb of God, is to know God as a compassionate, loving God who transcends human weakness, sin, hate, and yes, even death across all generations. The Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world having mercy on us and granting us peace.
"Look, here is the Lamb of God!" As John the Baptist and John the Evangelist revealed Jesus to be a sign of hope and possibility to their communities so long ago, may we recognise God continuing to work in and through our community and world. Filled with hope, may we, like Andrew and Simon Peter, continually choose to follow Jesus in how we live our lives today. This we pray as we sing: 430 Will You Come and Follow Me