BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD!

JOHN 1:29-34

In the gospel we heard on Christmas day we were introduced to John the Baptist as a man sent from God to bear witness of the Light. And this light is the Word made flesh; this light is Christ. In today’s gospel John presents Jesus as the Lamb of God; he presents to us this light as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Let us pause think about the testimony of the prophet John. Did you hear how he referred to the Messiah? He says: 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!' We know that the prophets of God called the Messiah by many names such as the Redeemer, the Savior, the King, the Lord, the Word of God or the Son of God. Now we hear that He is also "the Lamb of God." This is a very important title which deserves meditation. Jesus He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Why did John call Jesus the Lamb of God? Why did John point to Jesus, and say to his disciples, "Look! Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"?

            The first point is that when John calls Jesus the Lamb of God he is referring to Him as the perfect and ultimate sacrifice. In order to understand who Christ was, what He did, and why he was called so, we must begin with the Old Testament, which contains prophecies concerning the coming of Christ as a “guilt offering”. We know that the sacrifice of lambs played a very important role in the Jewish religious life and sacrificial system. When John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the “Lamb of God”, the Jews who heard him immediately thought of any one of several important sacrifices they have. With the Passover feast being very near, the first thought might be the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. But the statement of John is more than that: In the sacrificial system of the people of God, Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrifice God would provide as atonement for the sins of His people.

The second point is that this Lamb of God is to take away the sin of the world. While the idea of a sacrificial system might seem strange to us today, the concept of payment or restitution is still one we can easily understand. We know that the wages of sin is death and that our sin separates us from God. We also know, as the Bible teaches that we are all sinners and none of us is righteous before God. Because of our sin, we are separated from God, and we stand guilty before Him. Therefore, the only hope we can have is if He provides a way for us to be reconciled to Himself, and that is what He did in sending His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross. Christ died to make atonement for sin and to pay the penalty of the sins of all who believe in Him. God found that the blood of a lamb is no longer sufficient for payment of sins and willed to give his only begotten son as a sacrificial Lamb for the sins of the whole world. The lamb as an animal was only a shadow of the holy Redeemer who was to come into the world and shed His blood to deliver sinners from death.

            That is why when the prophet John saw Jesus coming toward him, he pointed to Him and said to his disciples, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" Jesus is the holy sacrifice who came into the world to die in the place of the children of Adam so that God can forgive us of our sins forever!

 It is a well-fitting gospel just after Christmas time to invite us to contemplate Jesus, once again as the Holy Sacrifice for our sins. Also in this gospel John the Baptist teaches us that true personal fulfilment and greatness lies not in how we may compare ourselves with others but in how faithful we are to our God-given roles in life; in how faithful we are to our mission. John knew that he was a pointer to the Lamb; he knew his mission and he was faithful to it. It is an opportunity to ask ourselves: Why did I come into the world? What is God’s plan for my life? How do I use my talents as gifts from God? If we do not have a personal answer to these questions, chances are that we will spend we life in envy and jealousy because we don’t know who we are; we don’t know our mission. Let us praise the Lord for his infinite love and ask him to reveal to us the reason of our existence.