Behold the Lamb of God!

 

 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, 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 

 

Yesterday we read the beginning of Christ's public ministry, which begins with the testimony of John the Baptist.  Now this is 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."   My study Bible comments that John's declaring Jesus as the Lamb of God recalls Isaiah's "Servant of God" who dies for the transgressions of His people (Isaiah 53:4-12).  Christ is the true Paschal (Passover) Lamb, and He offers Himself for our deliverance from darkness and death (1 Peter 1:18-19).  According to my study Bible, St. John Chrysostom teaches that Jesus came to John this second time in order for John to make this declaration, and thereby stop anyone from thinking that Jesus needed baptism to wash away sins. 

 

 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."  That the Spirit remained upon Him, my study Bible says, was a sign that Christ possesses the Spirit in His fullness from all eternity.  Christ did not receive the Holy Spirit at His Baptism; this vision which John saw was a revelation of the truth that the Holy Spirit has always rested on Christ.  This completes the second day given in St. John's Gospel; as John the Baptist declares that Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit, which is greater than John's own baptism of repentance, which was performed with water on earth.  This is a parallel to the separation of water above from water below on the second day of creation in Genesis 1:6-8.

 

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, 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).  Here we are given the third day in St. John's Gospel, in which John the Baptist sends two disciples to Christ whom Christ gathers to be His own, one of whom Jesus declares to be the foundation of the Church (see Matthew 16:18).  This parallels the gathering of the waters and the establishment of growth on the land on the third day in Genesis 1:9-13.  These first disciples now called by Christ had been followers of John.  They are Andrew and Simon (also known as Peter, or Cephas).  On the following day (in our next reading), there will be two more disciples called by Jesus.  There is yet another disciple who is unnamed here; according to some patristic commentary he is John the Evangelist himself, author of this Gospel.  My study Bible explains that it was a common literary device for a writer not to give his own name (see Luke 24:13).  

 

St. John the Evangelist begins his Gospel with the words "In the beginning," paralleling Genesis and the creation story. What follows his Prologue, so far in this first chapter of his Gospel, is a day by day account of Christ's public ministry.  In so doing, St. John gives us a glimpse into the building of this ministry, and what we notice, just as the Gospel builds this story by approaching it day by day, is that nothing happens simply by fiat.  That is, Christ starts small, and goes step by step.  He doesn't immediately declare the establishment of His Church, although one would consider that Christ, as Second Person of the Trinity and Son, can do anything He wants to.  Instead, just as the story of the Incarnation is essential to our understanding of Christ, Jesus' building of His Church and His public ministry is part of the Incarnation, and, we can extrapolate, the "work" of the Incarnation.  In understanding the purpose of Christ, as God, becoming a human being, the theology of the Church teaches us (notably according to St. Athanasius of Alexandria) that Christ was meant to assume all aspects of humanity in order to bring healing to all aspects of our lives.  This would include the things by which all human endeavors are bound, such as time and space, the communication necessary between people, and perhaps most notably the interpersonal connections shaped in the reality of Creator to creature as manifested through the Incarnation.  Christ, as the Good Shepherd (as He will call Himself) calls to His sheep, and knows them all by name, as they know Him.  See John 10:1-6.  Ironically, when Jesus makes this statement about Himself in chapter 10 of this Gospel, the religious leadership has no idea what He is talking about, but their expectations of the Messiah are all to be confounded in those who lack faith.  But we, through the benefit of the understanding in the mind of the Church, can appreciate that Christ's work in this world is, in particular, the specific work of the Incarnation, meant to take on all aspects of humanity even as Christ remains fully divine, in order to heal the world and fulfill all righteousness.  So, as we readers seek our own understanding of our faith, let us take heart that for our Creator, all aspects of the human experience and the building of His Church are crucially important to assume, and so this teaches us as well that our perfectly human endeavors also may shine with the light of Christ, even as we build what is good in our lives, bit by bit, person by person, drop by drop (so to speak).  Let us hastily admit here that it remains to be seen throughout the reading of this Gospel just how imperfect even these chosen disciples can be in their understanding and reception of His teachings.  When we question our own capacities to build up something in our lives, let us not be impatient with ourselves and with the reality of the nature of life in this world, for even our Lord has done the same, started small, and through His grace and presence enshrined and made holy even the smallest of endeavors.  Let us continue in all ways in our lives to seek to embody the things which Christ teaches us, acting and calling upon His name, His light, to guide us and help us.  Let us remain in His peace, and grow in patience and strength, as we are able (see also Galatians 5:22-23).  May the grace of our Lord inform all our endeavors, even those which don't always work the ways we wanted them to (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).