John 1:29-34

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel.”
John testified further, saying,
“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven
and remain upon him.
I did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,
he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

BACKGROUNDER

Lambs come in at key moments all throughout the Bible. The most important event in the Old Testament is the Passover, a special meal with many elements, centred on eating a roast lamb. The blood of the lamb was put on the doorposts and lintel of the house to protect people from the angel of death (Exodus 12). This Passover meal was eaten just before the chosen people, Israel, were set free from slavery to Egypt, led out by Moses through the Red Sea. The people of Israel continued to offer sacrifices of lambs to God every year to remember the first Passover. The Book of Revelation, at the end of the Bible, gives us a glimpse of heaven, and often tells of the Lamb, who is Jesus. We see that Jesus is the one who has been sacrificed for us.

Lambs represent innocence and purity. The lambs that were sacrificed by the Israelites were carefully inspected by the priests to make sure that they had no visible blemish.

Jesus, whom John calls the Lamb of God, is sent to set all people free from slavery to sin and death. But though He is God in the flesh, Jesus does not set us free by using his divine power. Rather, Jesus gives up his life itself, sacrificing all of himself for us, unworthy though we are. Nothing we could do could ever earn us the sacrifice of Jesus’s life. It is a pure gift, God’s love freely poured out an infinite cost.

John the Baptist points out the coming of Jesus to some of his own disciples, who will now begin to follow Jesus instead of John. These disciples include John, James, Andrew and Peter. They need to remember that just as they have been set free by the supreme sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, they too must be prepared to give up everything for the sake of others.

Christians today, and the whole Church, are being reminded to live a life of gratitude and generosity. But these are not just human attitudes. Just as Jesus receives the Holy Spirit, he will also give that same Holy Spirit to us, when we ask. The power of the Holy Spirit allows us to be so transformed that as individuals and communities, we can be prepared to sacrifice all of who we are so that others may also know Jesus, and receive his saving love.

John the Baptist shows us that following Jesus means letting Jesus take charge of who and what we are: his priorities and his agenda need to take control. How amazing that all of us, unworthy and impure, can join with the Lamb of God, sacrificed to take away the sin of the world.