A Johannine Study (John 1:29-31)

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”

In the first two chapters of The Gospel According to Luke, an interesting contradistinction occurs. It begins with the foretelling of John the Baptist’s birth. Then, the narrative follows with the foretelling of Jesus’ birth. Next, there is an account of their mothers meeting each other in the town of Judah. After Mary’s song of praise, John the Baptist is born, followed by the birth of Jesus. Luke is making it a point to juxtapose John with Jesus. By doing so, he shows us how both people have extraordinary beginnings, but he also makes it abundantly clear that only one will reign over a kingdom that has no end (Luke 1:33).

This contrast between biblical characters also occurs in The Gospel According to John. In this narrative, however, the superior greatness of Jesus is made known without tarrying. From the mouth of John the Baptist is the proclamation: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” The question is: Who was this Jesus that John proclaimed about?

When John calls Jesus the Lamb, he is making a theological statement that harkens back to the words of Isaiah 53. More specifically, he is likely referring to verse seven: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” To the typical Jew at the time, the image of a lamb would have evoked thoughts about the Passover. This was a Jewish event commemorating the day when the wrath of God passed over the Israelites, as described in Exodus 12. In this story, God told Moses and Aaron to instruct the Israelites to slaughter an unblemished lamb. With the blood of the lamb, they were then told to stain the doorposts of their houses. That night, God killed every firstborn in Egypt, but he spared the lives of those who resided behind bloodstained doorposts. The lamb of the passover became a focal point in the traditions that followed. More importantly, Isaiah foretold of a greater lamb that would do more than save a people from one night of God’s wrath. This greater lamb would save people from their sins.

John goes a bit further by identifying Jesus as “Lamb of God.” So, not only is Jesus this prophesied lamb who will save people from their sins, he is also “of God.” In other words, Jesus is God’s own. This is reminiscent of the story of Abraham and Isaac. In Genesis 12, God made a promise to Abraham. Despite his wife’s barrenness, God would provide Abraham with a child named Isaac. Isaac was Abraham’s own son, whom he loved. But the plot takes a dramatic turn in Genesis 22 when God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son. Obediently, Abraham does what he is told; and as he is about to slaughter his son, an angel stops him saying, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Like Isaac, Jesus is God’s own Son, whom he loved. But unlike this story, God the Father does not withhold his Son from being sacrificed. Instead, Jesus willingly gave up his life; not for one man, but for many.

This Jesus is the ultimate sacrificial lamb. Compared to Isaac, he is the greater and truer sacrifice because only he is worthy enough to appease wrath of God. Compared to the passover lamb, he is the greater and truer lamb because only he can truly take on the sins of the world. John’s proclamation was about Jesus. And for those of us who are indebted to Jesus for our salvation, that is our proclamation too.