John 1:29-37 ... We have seen that John the Baptiser was very unselfish about his task. He was clear that he was here to point to another person who would be much more important than him. Note in this section we are talking most of the time about John as in John the one who Baptised, not John our writer.
Now for the first time in the introductory stories, Jesus appears. In this incident, Jesus doesn't even say or do anything, it is all about John recognising Jesus for who he really is.
John tells the people around him how he knows who Jesus is. First, he had known that he must look out for this person. He had been given a way to recognise him: he would see a manifestation of the Holy Spirit come down on him. He also knew that the whole point of his baptising people with water was to prepare people for this person who would invite people to be baptised with the Holy Spirit. John clearly sees this as a big step up from what he is able to offer people. In this passage (covering two days) John deliberately seems to invite people who are listening to him to go to Jesus instead, and even seems to hand over two of his own followers to become followers of Jesus.
Note: Baptising is a sort of ceremonial or ritual washing which is done as a symbol of something happening inside a person.
So on this day as Jesus comes towards him, John knows who he is. He does what he has been saying he will do: He tells everyone who is there that Jesus is the one he has been telling them to expect. But he does more. Before his whole explanation, he says:
"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
This is a remarkable statement. He uses it again the next day when he encourages two of his disciples to go with Jesus. But what does it mean?
In helping people to understand sin and holiness God had given some instructions for how people could relate to him without forgetting his perfection and purity. This always involved sacrificing a lamb; this was a sign that sin is such a serious matter with respect to God's holiness that only death can touch it. For sacrifice the lamb chosen had to be perfect, the best. A lamb was sacrificed when an individual committed some obvious sin. But once a year, everyone came together and each family sacrificed a lamb. Then, at another time in the year, the priests sacrificed a special lamb to take away the sin of the whole nation.
So, when John said that Jesus was the 'Lamb of God', people would have known that he was talking about sacrifice and sin and holiness. But in designating this Lamb as 'taking away the sin of the world'. a big jump is being made indicating some kind of super-sacrifice. Obviously the full meaning is hidden. It is like a conundrum waiting to tease our minds, a puzzle inviting us to explore.
And now we come to John the writer and why he used this story. But that needs another post!
