John 1:29 29On the next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
The reader is finally given the identity and name of the Word from verse 1. This verse gives the first mention of Jesus’ name in John’s Gospel. We have already been told that believing in this name leads to eternal life (verse 12). Believing in the name of Jesus becomes significant throughout John’s Gospel. The name represents the person. To believe in the name is to believe in the person of Jesus and all he came to do. Believing unleashes God’s power to work more deeply in our lives, resulting in new birth by the Holy Spirit.
There is no indication that John knew Jesus before this point. The four Gospels are silent about this. Even though John and Jesus were cousins, it is impossible to know if they grew up knowing one another or hung out as boys. Jesus’ early life was not the focus of any of the writers. More to the point is that once Jesus appeared on the scene, John knew him and knew his purpose. John’s response to those gathered around has significant theology. Jesus came walking towards John. All attention shifted from what John was doing to who was arriving. Behold or look! grabbed people’s attention. Something new was about to happen.
The author John records another significant description of Jesus as The Lamb of God. Ever since Genesis 4 and Abel’s offering, animal sacrifices had a significant role in the Bible. The first mention of a lamb offering is found in Genesis when Abraham was about to offer Isaac on the altar. Lambs were part of the Passover meal in remembrance of God’s saving grace in freeing the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. In Leviticus 14, lambs were used as part of the guild offering. The sins of the people were symbolically placed on the sacrificial lamb. Paul calls Jesus our Passover Lamb in 1 Corinthians 5:7. John later writes in Revelation about Jesus as the Lamb on the throne. John the Baptist calls Jesus the Lamb of God a second time on the next day recorded in verse 36.
The sacrificial lamb was innocent of the sins of the people but was killed as a substitute and means of atonement for their sins. John’s next phrase highlights atoning power of the sacrifice of Jesus as the Lamb. The cross lay several years ahead, long after John’s beheading by Herod. Yet John had keen insight into why Jesus came. Jesus was the Savior of the world who would provide the way to eternal life. Isaiah 53:1-5 provides significant background theology for this statement. John likely knew this passage well and connected it with the person of Jesus. This one short statement contains the answer for sin in the Bible. The Old Testament is a prelude and preparation for what Jesus brought. As the Lamb of God, he fulfilled Israel’s sacrificial system. No more sacrifice was needed after him. He provides once and for all the answer to our deepest need.
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