Isaiah 49: 1–7; Psalm 40: 1–12;I Corinthians 1: 1–9 John
1: 29–42
This is a homily by
Fr. Gene Tucker, given at St. John’s Church, in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on Sunday,
January 15, 2017.
‘BEHOLD, THE LAMB OF GOD”
(Homily
text: John 1: 29 – 42)
An introductory note seems appropriate as
we make our way through this Epiphany season: This season focuses on the ways
in which the Lord is made known to the world (and particularly, to the Gentiles).
Last week, for example, we set our attention on Jesus’ baptism, which is always
the theme for the First Sunday After the Epiphany. This week, we continue that
theme. Sunday after Sunday as the season unfolds, a different theme will be
featured.
John the Baptist figures prominently
throughout the Advent season. He continues to be featured in the readings that
are before us in this Epiphany season, as well. Last week, we read and heard
Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan River.
This week, we hear John’s (the Gospel
writer) account of this same event, though – as is sometimes the case with the
Fourth Gospel – the specific events are not narrated for us. It is left to us
to see connections to Matthew’s account (and the accounts of the other Synoptic
Gospels: Mark and Luke) to see that it is the Lord’s baptism that John is
telling us about. Two of these connections deserve mention: John’s statement that Jesus is the “one who
comes after me, who ranks before me” and the Spirit’s descent in the form of a
dove.
As
is typical of the various Gospel accounts, John also tells us something else we
do not read elsewhere about the Lord’s baptism. John the Baptist declares:
“Behold, the Lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
For Christians who maintain liturgical
worship patterns, John’s statement will be quite familiar, for it has entered
our liturgical life in this form (in Latin):
“Agnus
Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi.
-or, in English-
“Lamb of God, who
takest away the sins of the world.”
Let’s try to set aside our familiarity with
this phrase, in order that we might see at least a little of the impact of
John’s statement. It’s quite possible that those standing by did not see the significance
of what John said. But perhaps some of them may have made a connection to other
ways in which lambs that their inheritance in Judaism would have brought to
mind: The first connection would have to do with the sacrificial lambs who were
offered in Temple sacrifices in Jerusalem (as sacrifices for the forgiveness of
sins), and the second connection would have had to do with the Passover lamb.
Perhaps both connections are in the
Baptist’s mind and heart. However, as the Fourth Gospel unfolds, both
connections seem to be connected to John’s remark.. Let’s set aside our
consideration of a connection to the sacrificial lambs who were offered up in
the Temple in order that we may concentrate on the connection to the Passover
lamb. We must do some digging into the Bible to see the connections.
We should begin by looking at the Passover
itself. We find the first Passover narrated for us in Exodus 12: 1 – 28.
Reviewing what happened there, we find the following:
- God’s people are instructed to kill a lamb, and to sprinkle its blood on the lintel (top bar) and the doorposts of their homes with a branch of hyssop,
- When the angel of death passed through their camps, those who had sprinkled the blood in accordance with Moses’ instructions were spared the deaths of their firstborn. Here we come to the essential meaning of the word “Passover”, for the angel of death “passed over” the homes of those that were protected.
- This event marks the beginning of God’s deliverance of His people, for shortly thereafter, Pharoah allows the Israelites to leave Egypt. God’s people are free from the bondage of slavery.
Now, let’s move forward in John’s gospel
account to Jesus’ trial and death.
In John 13: 1, John tells us that Jesus’
suffering and death take place at the time of the Feast of the Passover. John
repeats this connection to the timing with the Passover observance in 18:28,
and again in 19:14. John seems to suggest that Jesus’ death occurs at the very
time that the Passover lambs were being sacrificed.[1]
But John has some more specific connections
to the Passover event in his text:
- “Not one of his bones shall be broken.”[2] (John 19:36) The instructions given for the observance of the Passover are that none of the lamb’s bones are to be broken in the sacrificing of the lamb.
- Notice also the mention of the use of hyssop which is used to administer some sour wine to the Lord in John 19:29.
So John seems to trying to tell us that
Jesus’ death is the beginning of God’s deliverance from the threat of death. If
so (and I believe that is, indeed, John’s intent), then John is appropriating
the meaning of the original Passover event to understand more fully what
importance Jesus’ death has for Christians in all ages and places. The key
difference is that the Passover event has to do with deliverance from the threat
of death, but it was not for the forgiveness of sin, or for the carrying away
of sin.
Writing some decades after Jesus’ death and
resurrection, St. Paul affirms that Jesus is the Passover Lamb. We find this
statement in I Corinthians 5:7.
So we return to John’s statement about
Jesus, who is – as John states – the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world. Jesus’ ability to do away with sin has to do with His obedience to God
the Father’s will, by allowing Himself to be sacrificed at the time of the
slaughter of the Passover lambs. The early Church connects Jesus’ sacrifice
with the deliverance of God’s people from bondage in Egypt. For the early
Christians, Jesus brings God’s New Israel, the Church, out of the bondage of
sin into a new and promised relationship of true freedom in Christ.
AMEN.
[1] Scholars have wondered about John’s
chronology, for John seems to suggest that Jesus was crucified on Thursday. His
understanding, then, differs from the accounts of the Synoptic Gospel accounts
(Matthew, Mark and Luke), who make it clear that Jesus was crucified on a
Friday in advance of the Passover. But I think it’s important to remember that
– of all the Gospel accounts – John seems to be the least concerned with the
chronology of the events of Jesus’ life.
[2] An allusion to Exodus 12:46 and to Psalm
34:20b.
