Behold! the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Story of John the Baptist
The Gospel of John adds to what we already know about John the Baptist from the Synoptic Gospels. We all remember the stories of a man preaching in the wilderness of Judea (Mt 3:1), clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. (Mt 3:4) Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. (Mt 3:5-6)
All of the gospel writers point to something more that Jesus was to bring and John the Baptist could not. In all three synoptic Gospels we discover I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Mt 3:11, cf. Mk 1:11 and Lk 3:16) John came as a messenger, pointing the way to the one who was to come, as Isaiah had predicted, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way. (Mk 1:2, cf. Mt 3:3 and Lk 3:4) The promise of Isaiah went further, saying that through the One to come all flesh shall see the salvation of God. (Lk :6)
The day after the Pharisees came to see John the Baptist, the prophet saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn 1:29). The Gospel of John does not mention the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness, so it is vain speculation (by many commentators) to say that this proclamation was after that. The argument is that Jesus called his disciples and began his public ministry directly after John the Baptist’s testimony. Thus, the forty days in the wilderness must have come beforehand.
The Passover lamb was sacrificed in remembrance of the exodus of Israel from Egypt. Each family sacrificed an unblemished lamb and spread its blood on the doorposts of their dwelling. When God saw the blood, he would pass over that house to strike down the first-born of the Egyptians who had enslaved them. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.(Ex 12:13) In the time of Jesus some two million pilgrims would flock to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast. Each family brought an unblemished lamb to be sacrificed by the priests in memory of God passing over his people and setting them free.
The Passover lamb marked the favor God bestowed on His people. The daily sacrifice of two lambs by the priests in the Jerusalem temple represented God’s unbroken covenant with his people and served as a daily reminder of our need for atonement. Now this is what you are to offer regularly on the altar: two lambs a year old, day by day continually. Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight. (Exodus 29:38-39 and in Numbers 28:3-4) “The purpose of these sacrifices was to maintain a continual act of worship and atonement before God, symbolizing the constant need for reconciliation and communion with the Divine.” (Topical Bible: Daily Sacrifice) The sacrifice is necessary to allow man to commune with God. I will dwell among the Israelites, and I will be their God. (Exodus 29:45)
Often, we tie the expression Lamb of God to the Passover lamb. Certainly, there is a resemblance in the shedding of blood and the remembrance of God preserving His people. But the Passover lamb was never sacrificed as an atonement for the sins of the people. Another Old Testament representation is the lamb God promises to Moses as a substitute for the sacrifice of his son, Isaac. In this story, the sacrifice is made possible by a ram that substitutes for Isaac. But God promised a lamb. Jesus is this lamb, without blemish, promised as a substitute. Isaiah describes the coming Messiah as like a lamb that is led to the slaughter (Is 53:7). In the story of the Ethiopian eunuch, who was reading this passage in his chariot, Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. (Acts 8:35)
John brings together all these images. Lamb of God is an expression used only by the Apostle John. Jesus is not a lamb brought by the people. He is the Lamb brought by God. Because He is the Lamb of God, his sacrifice atones for the sin of all the world, not just for the family God passed over or those who maintained the temple sacrifices. No longer are we separated from God by our sin. “The legal sacrifices had reference only to the sins of Israel, to make atonement for them; but the Lamb of God was offered to be a propitiation for the sin of the whole world.” (Matthew Henry) By this, we can be confident that He has taken away our sin, “if Christ takes away the sin of the world, then why not my sin?” (Matthew Henry)
Peter alludes to this in his first letter, You know that you were ransomed from the futile conduct inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. (1 Peter 1:18-19) The angels before the throne proclaim, Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! (Rev 5:12) This is He to whom the Baptist points.
And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ (John 1:32-33) Here we have the predictions of the Synoptics fulfilled.
Making a Difference in the World 