Lamb of God

Reflecting on "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!":

We could begin with some biblical sources:
most obviously Psalms 22 and 23,
more salient:
1. the blood of the lambs on the lintels of the Hebrews doors on the night the firstborn of the Egyptians died.

2. The sacrificial animal slaughtered outside the camp to sacramentally propitiate the sins of the Israelites. Note that the gospel writers were careful to emphasize that Jesus was slaughtered outside Jerusalem.

3. Coming down to the present:
I believe in sin and redemption. The "Lamb of God" in us takes away the sins of our neighbors (wives, friends, enemies) by forgiving them. And works patiently with the hard of heart looking for the redemptive stream in their character.

You've heard (read) this many times before, nevertheless: The Quaker Sacrament

Throughout Eternity I forgive you, you forgive me.
As the dear Redeemer said, This the wine and this the bread.

John 1:19-34

1. MAIN POINT. I think the main point -- as mentioned elsewhere and before -- is John the Baptist is a witness to Christ and acknowledges Christ as one greater than he is. Likely the disciples of John and Jesus commingled and prayed together. Likely Jesus was originally a John follower. Somewhere along the line the question of whose they all were came up and this is a rhetorical move for the Jesus People over an against the John folks.

2. NEW LIGHT. I'm not sure about new light. Passages like this are so familiar its hard to read it again as for the first time. I do know the phrase here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! stands out for me here and I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe there is something here I need to meditate upon.

3. TRUTH. I am comfortable with categories like sin and reconciliation. So this passage is true to my understanding of faith. True to my experience? Hmm. C'est difficile. John points his finger towards Jesus. Jesus reveals God. It seems the path of the prophets is to empty oneself. I can do that -- but my ego keeps clawing it back again.

4. IMPLICATIONS. I think I will carry the notion of the Lamb of God around with me today and see where my meditations take me.

5. PROBLEMS Problems in application not in acceptance. Maybe also problems that this honoured passage from Christian tradition has its roots in a perhaps bitter conflict within a faith community -- and rather than witnessing to the reconciled position, only witnesses to the one side.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah."
21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No."
22 Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
23 He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said.
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
25 They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"
26 John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know,
27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal."
28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'
31 I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel."
32 And John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
33 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.'
34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God."

Crystal on the rest of the prologue

John testified to him and cried out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.'"
... more emphasis on John's subordinate place and Jesus' pre-existance.

From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
... to me this says that the news Jesus brings replaces that given by Moses ... grace and truth trump the law - I like that idea. I think this is partly why I tend to discount Old Tesyament info when it's not seconded in the gospels, though that may be my mistake.

No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father's side, has revealed him.
... if you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus :-)

The Rest of the Prologue

In keeping with the plan to post larger chunks (pericopes insteadf of paragraphs), here's the rest of the first section -- subtitled by the NRSV as The Word Become Flesh

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

--John 1:10-18 (NRSV)

The pericope in its entirety:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being

4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.

8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.

11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.

12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,

13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

15 (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'")

16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.