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The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."
Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).
- John 1:29-34,35-42
In yesterday's reading, we were given the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' as the prophet Isaiah said." Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose." These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." The Lamb of God is the image from Isaiah's "Servant of God" who dies for the transgressions of His people (see Isaiah 53:4-12, especially verse 7). My study bible says that Christ, the true Paschal (Passover) Lamb, offers Himself for our deliverance from darkness and death (1 Peter 1:18-19). Right from the beginning of this story, Jesus is revealed in His identity as the One who will suffer death for the redemption of the world, as liberator who takes away sin. We notice that John's Gospel begins by giving us successive "days." Just as it began with the phrase "in the beginning," echoing Genesis, so we are also given the successive days of this ministry just as Genesis gives us the successive days of Creation. On the first day, John the Baptist reveals the Light that has come into the world, paralleling the creation of light on the first day in Genesis 1:3-5.
And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." Here's John's witness to what he has seen, and yet another revelation. Jesus is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. My study bible teaches that this is the parallel of the second day of Creation in Genesis: John contrasts his baptism by water with the baptism of Christ, which is given with the Holy Spirit. It parallels the separation of water above from water below (Genesis 1:6-8). John testifies that the Spirit remained upon Christ, indicating that He possesses the Spirit in His fullness from all eternity. This is indication of identity, authority -- a revelation of Jesus' identity as Son. Jesus' baptism by John in the Jordan gives us this revelation.
Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone). Another day is given in this Gospel, showing us the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, the choosing of His disciples. They had been disciples first of John the Baptist, who leads them to Jesus, the Lamb of God. These identified are Andrew and Simon Peter; the unidentified disciple is considered to be John, the author of the Gospel. It was a common literary device for an author not to give his own name, a sign of humility. This is the "third day," which parallels in Genesis the gathering of the waters and the establishment and growth on the land (Genesis 1:9-13). John has revealed things about the true identity and authority of Jesus; here Jesus reveals something about Peter, naming him "Stone," whom He will declare to be the foundation of the Church.
In yesterday's commentary, we spoke about Scripture as apocalyptic; that is, that which reveals what is hidden. While there are certain parts of Scriptural literature having to do with "end times" that are formally labeled "apocalyptic," today's passage is no exception to the commentary that all Scripture is, in fact, apocalyptic. Things are revealed which are "hidden in plain sight," so to speak. Jesus is revealed as the Lamb of God, upon whom the Holy Spirit is not merely given, but rather rests, a sign of the fullness of the authority of the Son. In turn, Jesus reveals something about Peter, when He names him Cephas, or "Stone." It gives us a sense of what all revelation of the holy or the things of God is truly about: we live in a world in which the energies of Creator are present, hidden somehow in the things we see and know and experience. In this meaning and function of Scripture, the parallels with Genesis also come to the fore as indications of the presence of Creator in the world, hidden in things we take for granted every day. The mysteries of a true reality "hidden" in the things of our lives are always present, whether we know it or not, and the mystery indicates that there is also so much more. By the very definition of the divine, these mysteries are, in fact, inexhaustible. And that's the parallel to the journey of faith that is within each of us; salvation is like a key within, a kind of drive to unlock the process of learning who we are, uncovering (the true meaning of the word "apocalypse") what is within, revealing the potentials of our identity in Christ. The tradition of the Church teaches that Christ's baptism sanctifies all the waters of the world for holy baptism, but sanctification, too, can be thought of as that which reveals what was hidden, what was there all the time. Repentance, too, can be thought of as a process which "unlocks" and "uncovers" what is truly there, who we truly are in the true nature which Christ restores and with which we are created to begin with -- a way of eliminating the darkness that covers true light, the "stain" that hides who we really are. Repentance in that sense is truly about what we give up in order to reclaim identity; this is salvation, redemption. He is the One who takes away the sin of the world, and how great is that gift for us, to truly know who we are!
