Gospel Notes by Michael Whelan SM
The next day (John) saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is 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 ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 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.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God (John 1:29-34 – NRSV).
Introductory notes
General
For similar texts, see Matthew 3:13–17, Mark:1.9–11 and Luke 3:21–22.
In John’s account, there are four “days” distinguished at the beginning of the Gospel. Hence the repeated use of the expression, “the next day”:
“Day One (Vv. 19–28): The Baptist points away from himself to another whom those who have been sent from Jerusalem do not know.
“Day Two (Vv. 29–34): The Baptist witnesses to Jesus as the Lamb of God and Son of God. (This is today’s text.)
“Day Three (Vv. 35–42): Some disciples of the Baptist “follow” Jesus, and Simon is told that he will become Cephas.
“Day Four (Vv. 43–51): This final day of general preparation has a different character. Jesus takes the initiative in calling a disciple and revealing himself. He calls Philip and reveals himself to Nathanael and the other disciples” (Francis J Moloney, The Gospel of John, Collegeville, MINN: The Liturgical Press, 1998, 51).
Exodus 19 gives us the background to these “days” and their import in John’s Gospel:
After the people’s confession of their preparedness to do all that Yhwh commanded (cf. Exod 19:7–9), Yhwh tells Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow … and prepare for the third day, because on the third day (lxx: tę̄ tritę̄ hēmerą) Yhwh will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people” (19:10–11). Moses obediently tells the people, “Prepare for the third day” (v. 15). The description of the gift of the Law then begins: “On the morning of the third day (lxx: tę̄ tritę̄ hēmerą) there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud (mt: kābēd) on the mountain.” The glory of God is revealed “on the third day.” This biblical account was the basis for the Jewish liturgical celebration of Pentecost, described in the targums, rabbinic literature, and especially in the Mekilta on Exodus (see Note). In the ancient celebration of Pentecost, commemorating the gift of the Law on Sinai, the three days of Exodus 19 remain but they are prefaced by four days of more remote preparation. These four extra days of preparation for the revelation of God and the gift of the Law culminate in the fourth day, which is both the final day of remote preparation and the first of the three days that come to the celebration from the biblical account of Exodus 19. On the third day the doxa of God is revealed. (On the link between Sinai, the Hebrew kābōd, and the Johannine use of doxa, see Moloney, Belief in the Word 57–59). This time-scheme shapes the order of the events reported in John 1:19–2:12 (Francis J Moloney, op cit, 50).
Specific
He saw Jesus: The idea of seeing – and, indeed, not seeing – is central to John’s Gospel. Different Greek words are used – blepei, Tetheamai, eidon etc – but, the idea of “recognition-that-brings-about-knowledge-that-transforms” seems to be present throughout. The experience of “recognition” is confirmed by the use of the verbs “know” and “reveal”. The metaphors of “light” and “darkness” fill out the picture. All of which points to “believing”. The verb pisteuō, in various forms, appears more than 100 times in John’s Gospel. It is always as a verb. The Gospel’s description of John the Baptist’s role is revealing: “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:6-9). John “sees”, is transformed by his “seeing” and bears witness. This becomes a pattern for discipleship in John’s Gospel.
The lamb of God: “The title ‘Lamb of God’ combines several biblical allusions. First, the lamb is central in the Passover liturgy, which celebrates the exodus, God’s mighty act to save the Israelites from slavery in Egypt (Exod 12:1–13). New Testament writers depict Jesus as the new Passover Lamb, whose sacrificial death brings about deliverance from sin and reconciliation with God (John 19:14, 36; 1 Cor 5:7; 1 Pet 1:19; Rev 5:9). Second, the title ‘Lamb’ resonates with the temple’s sacrificial system in which lambs, as well as other animals and items of value, were offered to God in worship as sacrifices. Thus ‘Lamb’ alludes to the animal sacrifices by which the people’s sins were ceremonially purged and reconciliation with God was attained (Lev 1:1–13). Jesus, however, is not just one more liturgical sacrifice: he is the Lamb, who definitively lifts off the whole mass of sin and evil that presses upon the whole human race, and he brings about complete reconciliation with God. Third, the book of Isaiah describes a Suffering Servant of the Lord, who goes to his death to obtain forgiveness for others’ sins as ‘a lamb led to slaughter’ (Isa 53:7). Since Jesus talks about his death with reference to the Suffering Servant (John 3:14–15; 8:28; 12:32; see Isa 52:13), we can see in the title ‘Lamb’ an allusion to the Suffering Servant” (F Martin & W M Wright, W. M., The Gospel of John (P. S. Williamson & M. Healy, Eds, Baker Academic, 2015, 45-46).
Exodus
In today’s Gospel – John 1:29-34 – John the Baptist sees Jesus and declares: “‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” Scholars continue to debate the precise meaning of that reference to Jesus as “the Lamb of God.” One interpretation, however, that has solid support from many of the Fathers of the Church as well as a good number of modern scholars, is that it is a reference to the lamb offered at Passover, when the Jews remember the Exodus – see Exodus 12:1-14.
A helpful way to approach John’s Gospel – indeed, the entire Good News of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection – is through the story of the Exodus. One commentator describes the significance of the Exodus well: “The Exodus of Israel from the bondage of Egyptian oppression was the central event of the entire Old Testament. It was here that a dispirited and unorganized band of slaves met God and became a chosen people. Everything written in the Old Testament presupposed the Exodus, was written in the light of Exodus and would not have been written had there been no Exodus. Even the story of creation and the patriarchal sagas reflected the light of Exodus. This was in fact Israel’s own creation story because it was here that she left the darkness and the emptiness and the void to find meaning and purpose in life. It was here that she first heard the creative call of the Lord” (Demetrius Dumm OSB, Flowers in the Desert: A Spirituality of the Bible, Sacred Winds Press. Kindle Edition. Location 49.).
There are three dynamic and enduring moments in the Exodus story, moments that ensure the Exodus story never ends. There is, first of all, the experience of bondage. Most immediately it is the bondage of slavery in Egypt. But a deeper and more enduring bondage emerges in the wilderness: “O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work” (Psalm 95:7-9). This deep human bondage calls for liberation, the second moment of the Exodus. The liberation opens into covenant. Those three moments, bondage, liberation and covenant, are interdependent.
At the heart of the Exodus is God. God acts on behalf of the people and God’s action is love. Yes, the people must acknowledge their bondage. Yes, the people must open themselves to God’s love. But it is God who liberates and God who draws the people into a covenant. The journey in the wilderness is crucial to those three moments of the Exodus story. There is no liberation or covenant without the wilderness
Bondage, liberation and covenant are crucial themes at the heart of the Good News. The human experience of bondage of any kind is potentially a moment of freedom and covenant in Jesus Christ.