“BEHOLD, THE LAMB OF GOD”
The Second Sunday after the Epiphany -- Isaiah 49: 1 – 7; Psalm 40: 1 – 10; I Corinthians 1: 1 – 9; John 1: 29 – 41
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, on January 20th, 2008
And, just in case we didn’t hear those words the first time, John the Baptist, the one would said them, wants us to hear them again: “Behold, the Lamb of God.” [2]
The “Lamb of God”, you say? Whatever could John mean by that title and those words?
That will be the focus of this sermon….We’ll try to unpack the meaning – the fullness of meaning – that is behind John the Baptis’s description of Jesus.
But before we investigate the matter before us today, let’s remind ourselves a little about John’s Gospel account….for the truth of the matter is that we do not get enough of John in our three year cycle of readings.[3] We get a smattering of John here and there, interspersed with our readings from Matthew (Year A), Mark (Year B) and Luke (Year C).
But we need to hear John’s Gospel….John’s Gospel witness is clear in proclaiming Jesus Christ as the great “I AM”,[4] one with the Father,[5] the great “I AM” in the same sense as the voice from the burning bush said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”[6]
The Fourth Gospel voice proclaims Jesus Christ’s divinity (theologians call the emphasis on His divinity High Christology[7]), His pre-existence before all time, His all-knowing wisdom, His power over all things, even the power of death.
John’s voice has a timeless quality to it (Biblical scholars have long noticed his “looping” writing style that seems to make chronological time disappear), and a forward-looking emphasis.
All of these qualities, Jesus Christ’s divinity, His oneness with God the Father, His pre-existence before all time, His all-knowing nature, His power over all things (especially the power of death), and the forward-looking, timeless nature of the Gospel, all are found in today’s passage from the end of chapter one of John’s account.
And so, it is to the passage before us that we now turn….
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”, John the Baptist says.
(Today’s account is obviously[8] another angle of understanding of the events surrounding Jesus’ baptism…Remember that we heard Matthew’s account last week. Now, this week, we hear John the Baptist’s recounting the divine revelation that disclosed to him just who Jesus is.)
We should remember that the Gospel writers are looking back into their Old Testament roots to place Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension into context. For it is in the ancient symbols which are inherited from God’s Chosen People, seen through the lens of Jesus Christ, that the Gospel writers appropriate to understand what God is doing in Jesus Christ.
So, when we turn to the word “lamb” in the Old Testament, two major themes are found there. They are:
- The Passover Lamb (Exodus 12: 1 – 30): The Feast of Passover occurred when the Israelites were told to slaughter a lamb, and put some of its blood on the top and sides of the doors. When the Angel of Death came to slaughter the first-born, and saw the blood, the house which had the blood on it would be spared. Specific instructions were that the Passover lamb was to be slaughtered without breaking its bones. Thus, the significance of Passover was the blood was a signal to God’s people that they were spared the reality of death, as God, as mighty warrior, delivered them from bondage in Egypt.[9]
- The Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52: 13 – 53: 12): Here, the mysterious “Suffering Servant” is led to the slaughter “like a lamb, who did not open his mouth”.[10] Furthermore, the Suffering Servant suffers on behalf of others’ sins and transgressions…His suffering is a vicarious[11] one.
- No breaking of bones –and-
- The silence of the Suffering Servant
And sees in them a pattern for Jesus Christ’s death, which occurred at the time of the slaughtering of the Passover Lambs in the year that He died. Jesus’ silence before Pilate (John 19: 8) and the fact that none of His bones were broken (in contrast to the other two who were crucified with Jesus) (John 19: 36) signifies that, in Jesus’ death:
- The powers of death have been defeated,
- Jesus’ blood is the signal to God, the mighty warrior, to begin the deliverance of His people
And so it is, in the Gospel writer’s portrayal of Our Lord’s passion, that he consistently describes Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, death, burial and ascension as Jesus “hour”. It’s a phrase we hear again and again in John.
For, in the Gospel according to John, Jesus’ Passion is the time when Jesus is most in charge, most in command, most clearly seen as victor, not victim. Jesus reigns from the cross as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
So, with these connections, we can see where the writer is leading us in our passage today….
All of it has a “forward-looking” aspect to it….Each of the titles which are applied to Jesus will be taken up as the Gospel account unfolds….Consider the ones we read today:
- Lamb of God (verses 29 & 36)
- Son of God (verse 34)
- Rabbi (verse 38)
- Messiah (verse 41)
All of these will be taken up as we turn the pages of John’s account.[12]
Now, as we close our consideration of the concept of “Lamb of God”, we should
return to John the Baptist for a moment….
Some important lessons can be drawn from John’s understanding of who Jesus Christ is, and the source of his understanding:
- Notice, first of all, that John the Baptist’s knowledge of Jesus is the result of divine revelation … John says, “I myself did not know Him” (verse 31), and again “I would not have known Him” (verse 33), and adds the second time, “Except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’”
- John the Baptist’s witness (which is the fulfillment of John 1: 6 – 8) leads to Jesus’ breaking onto the world scene. As a direct result of John’s witness, Andrew and Simon Peter become disciples. And, as they encounter Jesus, and then others encounter Him as a direct result of Andrew and Peter’s witness, the titles used to address Jesus begin to multiply: “Lamb of God” (John’s witness), “Son of God” (John), “Rabbi” (Andrew and another disciple of John’s), “Messiah” (Andrew and Peter).
- God’s revelation: Is necessary for us to understand who Jesus Christ is,
- No one title/understanding: Can possibly comprehend the richness and variety of Jesus Christ’s identity.
So, as we make our way through this season of Epiphany, and consider the Bright and Morning Star who is Jesus Christ, who shines into the darkness of the world, may we come to understand more and more that He is the “Lamb of God”, whose blood delivers us from the power of death and whose death is the signal that God acts to deliver His people from bondage.
Thanks be to God!
AMEN.
[1] John 1: 29
[2] Verse 36
[3] Truth be told…If I were in charge of the liturgical commission that designs the lectionary, I’d expand the cycle to a four year cycle, with a full year devoted in large measure to the Gospel according to John.
[4] The “I AM” sayings in John are very prominent, such as, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14: 6)
[5] John 10: 30
[6] Exodus 3: 14
[7] As opposed to Low Christology, which emphasizes Jesus Christ’s humanity, and is found in the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
[8] The connection is the descending of the dove upon Jesus….John does not actually narrate Jesus’ baptism. Instead, this Gospel writer’s concern is for John the Baptist’s witness to Jesus’ identity, and the fact that the revelation came from God to John the Baptist.
[9] I am indebted to the Anchor Bible Dictionary, (New York: Doubleday, 1992, Vol. IV, pp. 132 – 134) for the description of God as “Divine Warrior”.
[10] Isaiah 53: 7
[11] Meaning “in place of”
[12] Though we do not read them today, read on toward the remainder of chapter one (verses 42 – 51) to see other descriptions as well, including: “The one about whom Moses and the prophets wrote” (verse 45), “King of Israel” (verse 49) and “Son of Man” (verse 51).
