Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 1:29
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
29 34. The Testimony of the Baptist to the people
29. The next day ] These words prevent us from inserting the Temptation between Joh 1:28-29. The fact of the Baptist knowing who Jesus is shews that the Baptism, and therefore the Temptation, must have preceded the deputation from Jerusalem. The Evangelist assumes that his readers are well acquainted with the history of the Baptism and Temptation.
the Lamb of God ] Evidently some Lamb well known to John’s hearers is meant, viz. the Lamb of Isaiah 53 (comp. Act 8:32); but there may be an indirect allusion to the Paschal Lamb. With ‘Behold’ comp. Joh 19:5; Joh 19:14: with ‘of God’ comp. Gen 22:8.
which taketh away, &c.] These words seem to make the reference to Isaiah 53, esp. Joh 1:4-5 ; Joh 1:10, clear. The marginal reading, beareth, is not right here (1Jn 3:5).
the sin ] Regarding it as one great burden or plague.
of the world ] Isaiah (Isa 53:8) seems to see no further than the redemption of the Jews: ‘for the transgression of my people was he stricken.’ The Baptist knows that the Messiah comes to save the whole human race, even those hostile to Him.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The next day – The day after the Jews made inquiry whether he was the Christ.
Behold the Lamb of God – A lamb, among the Jews, was killed and eaten at the Passover to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt, Exo 12:3-11. A lamb was offered in the tabernacle, and afterward in the temple, every morning and evening, as a part of the daily worship, Exo 29:38-39. The Messiah was predicted as a lamb led to the slaughter, to show his patience in his sufferings, and readiness to die for man, Isa 53:7. A lamb, among the Jews, was also an emblem of patience, meekness, gentleness. On all these accounts, rather than on any one of them alone, Jesus was called the Lamb. He was innocent 1Pe 2:23-25; he was a sacrifice for sin the substance represented by the daily offering of the lamb, and slain at the usual time of the evening sacrifice Luk 23:44-46; and he was what was represented by the Passover, turning away the anger of God, and saving sinners by his blood from vengeance and eternal death, 1Co 5:7.
Of God – Appointed by God, approved by God, and most dear to him; the sacrifice which he chose, and which he approves to save people from death.
Which taketh away – This denotes his bearing the sins of the world, or the sufferings which made an atonement for sin. Compare Isa 53:4; 1Jo 3:5; 1Pe 2:24. He takes away sin by bearing in his own body the sufferings which God appointed to show his sense of the evil of sin, thus magnifying the law, and rendering it consistent for him to pardon. See the notes at Rom 3:24-25.
Of the world – Of all mankind, Jew and Gentile. His work was not to be confined to the Jew, but was also to benefit the Gentile; it was not confined to any one part of the world, but was designed to open the way of pardon to all men. He was the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, 1Jo 2:2. See the notes at 2Co 5:15.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 1:29
Behold the Lamb of God!
The work of Christ, and of His disciples
I.THE SAVIOURS WORK IN THE SALVATION OF MEN.
1. He taketh away the sin of the world. The father says, Save the family; the citizen, Save the town; the patriot, Save the country; Christ, Save the world –and not merely says, but accomplishes.
2. His qualification for the work; the Lamb of God, innocent, pure, spotless; the Son of Man; the Son of God. The head of humanity and the heart of God were in the great sacrifice.
3. His constant watching. Christ asks men to follow what they seek. Not one follower is unnoticed.
4. His ready welcome. The noble gathering up of the Gospel is in the golden word Come. It is not the mere sentimental emotion roused by a Sunday service that He seeks, but the coming and believing in Him.
5. His intimate knowledge of the character of any that may come. Christ reveals to men their ideals. Peter. Nathaniel.
II. THE DISCIPLES WORK IN THE SALVATION OF MEN.
1. Manifestation of humility in the presence of Christ. I am not worthy.
2. Manifest perseverance. Men scarcely listen; but John repeats his direction. The humble man is not changeful, not persistent.
3. Exquisite naturalness. Andrew thought of his brother: a rather obscure man brings Peter to Christ. (U. R. Thomas.)
The Baptists message
I. THE TRUE MESSENGER.
1. One who sees Jesus for himself (Joh 1:33), The true herald of Jesus is like John.
(1) He is on the look-out for is Lord s appearing.
(2) He rejoices to preach Jesus, as One whom he has seen and known, and still hopes to see.
(3) He preaches Him as come, and as coming.
2. He calls upon men to see Jesus.
(1) Plainly and confidently.
(2) Continually and solely (Joh 1:35).
(3) Earnestly and emphatically.
3. He leads his own followers to Jesus (Joh 1:37).
(1) He had enough force to induce men to be his followers.
(2) Enough humility to induce his followers to leave him for Jesus.
(3) Enough grace to make him rejoice that it was so (2Co 4:5).
4. He loses himself in Jesus.
(1) He sees the necessity of this (Joh 3:43).
(2) The propriety of this (Joh 3:29).
II. THE TRUE MESSAGE. Johns word was brief, but emphatic. He declared Jesus to be
1. Sent and ordained of God.
2. The one real, Divinely appointed sacrifice for sin–the Lamb of God.
3. The only remover of human guilt– which taketh away the sin of the world.
4. Set forth as the object of faiths Behold the Lamb. He exhorted his hearers to look at him with that look which saves. The end of all ministries and ordinances is to bring men to look to Jesus. Both John, who ran before, and we, who run after, must point in the same direction.
III. THE TRUE RECEPTION OF THAT MESSAGE. The conduct of Johns disciples shows that our true wisdom concerning gospel testimony is
1. To believe it, and so to acknowledge Jesus as our sin-removing sacrifice.
2. To follow Jesus (Joh 1:37).
3. To follow Jesus, even if we be alone. These were the vanguard of the vast hosts who have since followed Jesus. They knew not what suffering it might involve, but went first and foremost.
4. To abide with Jesus (Joh 1:39).
5. To go forth and tell others of Jesus (Joh 1:40-41).
Conclusion: Here is
1. A lesson for those who preach. Johns sermon was short, but full of Jesus, and effectual for soul-winning. Imitate him.
2. An example for those who have believed.
3. A gospel for those who hitherto have not known the Saviour. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
The great message
Johns prior life was Divinely ordered for this evangelical apprehension of Jesus. Born of the lineage of Levi, he renounced all priestly heritage and claim, and even attendance at the Temple; and thus was lifted above the class interests and sordid motives which might have swayed him toward the worldly and temporal expectations of the Messiah, and disentangled himself from the meshes of rabbinical tradition. By his seclusion, the direct reading of the Old Testament, and his communion with God, his perception would be farther cleared to discern the spiritual nature of the kingdom of Christ and the innermost case and necessity of that kingdom–redemption by sacrifice. Notice
I. The TENDERNESS of the message.
1. A Lamb–symbol of sweetness, innocence, harmlessness, patience; an idea peculiarly grateful to hearts pierced with sin and worn weak by the anguish of self-accusation.
2. An idea the opposite of the wolf element in man–oppres-sion, injustice, self-seeking, revenge.
3. The first death was a murder. Lamb-like virtues have never been admired.
II. The PREPARATION of the message. The all but universal hope of the Jews was of a warring, conquering King. How fitting that the disappointment should be broken by the proclamation of a Lamb! By His very peacefulness and harmlessness many would be prepared to surrender their misconceptions.
III. The SIGNIFICANCE Of the message.
1. The Divine appointment of the Lamb.
2. His atoning character, as foreshadowed by the prophets.
3. The redemption through His blood.
IV. The DEFINITENESS of the message. The sin of the world taken away from every one who will accept Him for a Saviour.
V. The PECULIARITY of the message. What an antithesis to other kings, whose path has been reddened with blood, and who have come and gone without the slightest benefit to the race. Christ comes to deliver and bless.
VI. The BREADTH of the message. The world. not Jews merely. (A. B.Groshart, D. D.)
I. THE PECULIAR NAME WHICH THE BAPTIST GIVES TO CHRIST. The Lamb of God. Let us serve Him faithfully as our Master. Let us obey Him loyally as our King. Let us study His teaching as our Prophet. Let us walk diligently after Him as our Example. Let us look anxiously for Him as our coming Redeemer of body as well as soul. But above all, let us prize Him as our Sacrifice, and rest our whole weight on His death as an atonement for sin. Let His blood be more precious in our eyes every year we live.
II. THE PECULIAR WORK WHICH THE BAPTIST DESCRIBES JESUS AS DOING.
1. Christ is a Saviour; not a conqueror, a philosopher, a moralist.
2. A complete Saviour; not merely makes vague proclamations of pardon and mercy, but takes away sin.
3. An almighty and universal Saviour. He died not for Jews only, or a few persons, but all mankind.
(1) His work on the cross was more than enough to make satisfaction for the sins of all.
(2) His blood was precious enough to wash away all guilt.
(3) But the efficiency of Christs atonement is for those only who believe.
4. A perpetual and unwearied Saviour taketh. He is daily doing this.
III. THE PECULIAR OFFICE WHICH THE BAPTIST ATTRIBUTES TO CHRIST.
1. This baptism is not the baptism of water.
(1) It does not consist either of dipping or sprinkling.
(2) It does not belong exclusively to infants or adults.
(3) It cannot be given to any minister or layman of whatever church.
(4) It is a baptism which the Head of the Church keeps wholly in His own hands.
It consists of the implanting of grace into the inward man. It is the same thing with the new birth. It is a baptism, not of the body, but of the heart. It is a baptism which the penitent thief received, though neither dipped nor sprinkled by the hand of man. It is a baptism which Ananias and Sapphira did not receive, though admitted into church-communion by apostolic men. (Bishop Ryle.)
Israels Messiah
I. JOHNS PROCLAMATION OF THE MESSIAH.
1. His person identified (Joh 1:30).
2. His calling declared (Joh 1:20).
(1) Divine in its appointment. The Lamb chosen, provided, sent by, and consecrated and belonging to God.
(2) Saving in its character: to realize and fulfil all that had been foreshadowed by the paschal lamb, the lamb for burnt-offering, and the suffering Servant of Jehovah.
(3) World-wide in its destination: not for Israel alone, or believers simply, but for humanity at large (Joh 3:16; Joh 12:32; 1Jn 2:2; 1Ti 2:6; 1Ti 4:10). Upon the ground of Christs expiation, a bona fide offer of forgiveness is made to the world (Eph 1:7).
3. His dignity announced.
(1) His higher being (Joh 1:15).
(2) His loftier calling.
(3) His nobler name.
II. JOHNS KNOWLEDGE OF MESSIAH.
1. When it originated. At the Baptism (Joh 1:33). Prior to this John may have had surmises, hopes, expectations, but not certain knowledge; neither have we without the Fathers testimony, to which also Christ (Joh 5:37), John (1Jn 5:9; 1Jn 5:11), and Peter (2Jn 1:16) appeal.
2. Whence it proceeded. From the Spirit. It was no deduction or conclusion of His own. From the same source proceeds all spiritual understanding of Christ or His truth (Joh 14:26; Joh 16:13-15; 1Jn 2:20; 1Jn 2:27; 1Jn 5:20; cf. 1Co 2:14).
3. On what it rested.
(1) An open heaven. As in ancient times, to Jacob (Gen 28:12), Isaiah (Isa 6:1), Ezekiel (Eze 1:1), Daniel (Dan 10:5-6), and afterwards to Stephen (Act 7:5-6), Paul (2Co 12:4), Rev 4:1). This a symbolic representation. The heavens had opened, that Gods Son might come forth, and that Christs brethren might enter in: for the outflow of grace to men, and for the entrance of men to glory.
(2) A descended Spirit. Of this the dove an emblem. The permanent endowment of Jesus with the fulness of the Spirit convinced the Baptist.
Lessons:
1. The twofold character of Christs salvation.
(1) The removal of sin.
(2) The implantation of a new life by the Spirit.
2. The twofold condition of receiving Christs salvation.
(1) Repentance, symbolized by baptism.
(2) Faith upheld in beholding the Lamb of God.
3. The twofold qualification for preaching Christs salvation.
(1) A knowledge of Christ.
(2) An acquaintance with self.
4. The twofold evidence that Christ is the Son of God.
(1) He can open heaven by removing sin.
(2) He can qualify for heaven by imparting the Spirit. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)
The Lamb of God
I. THE OBJECT OF SAVING FAITH. The Lamb of God was the original and universal sacrifice. The early worshippers were instructed to offer a lamb. A lamb was the morning and evening sacrifice. Isaiah lift has reference to it. John pointed to the substance, of which these were shadows: Jesus in all His humiliation, down to the moment of His expiring cry. To this believers of previous dispensations looked forward. John would hays the faith of his hearers to coincide with that of Abel, Abraham, and the Old Testament saints. The way of life has never varied. Never has a soul been saved, never will a soul be saved, but by the Lamb of God.
II. THE DUTY TO WHICH JOHN SUMMONED HIS HEARERS.
1. To receive the tidings he conveyed to them. No event had ever occurred like this. Mans attention in every age is imperatively called to this. It is the great central truth on which all history hangs. If rightly received, the message must tell on the entire character.
2. To banish from them whatever might oppose the reception of the message. The Jews had much to do in this way. The natural operation of the heart is to establish a righteousness of its own. Men depend on good character, station in the Church, the use of means. But we must be made to lose confidence in any such hope.
3. To rest positively on Christ.
III. THE PARTIES CALLED TO THIS DUTY.
1. Generally all men, in every condition, of every character.
2. Those who thirst, and are conscious that they need a resting place, an object on which to bestow their affections, to satisfy their hearts.
3. Those who are pierced by Gods arrows of conviction. (J. Beith, D. D.)
The Lamb of God
I. THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE VICTIM. Gentleness and innocence are suggested by lambs generally. Besides this, the lamb selected for sacrifice was to be without blemish. And Jesus was gentle. He did not cry, etc. This was not the gentleness of weakness, for He calmed the storm and raised the dead. He was without spot–holy, harmless, undefiled.
II. THE DEATH OF THE VICTIM. The lamb was slain in sacrifice. So the death of Christ was the chief feature of His life–predicted, prominent in His own mind, the chief feature of the gospels and epistles.
III. SALVATION IS CONNECTED WITH THE DEATH OF THE VICTIM. Ancient prophecy spoke of Him as wounded for our transgressions. He Himself said, As Moses lifted up, etc. The apostles proclaimed salvation through His death.
IV. CONSIDER WHAT, AS SAVIOUR, HE DOES.
1. He takes away the guilt and penalty of sin. It was not the guilt of separate sins that the Lamb of God expiated. It was sin itself.
2. He takes away the power of sin. He destroys sin itself.
V. THIS HE DOES FOR ALL MANKIND. The whole world needed salvation, and we may infer that the supply is co-extensive with the want. As He commands the gospel to be preached to every creature, there must be a gospel for every creature; and those who do not actually obtain salvation fail only because of unbelief. (Newman Hall, LL. B.)
The Lamb of God
I. THE SAVIOUR DESIGNATED The Lamb of God.
II. HIS WORK DESCRIBED, Taketh away the sin of the world.
III. FAITH ENJOINED. Behold the Lamb of God.
IV. DUTY URGED.
1. Let the careless and impenitent behold Him.
2. Let those who are trusting in their own merits behold Him.
3. Let penitent sinners behold Him.
4. Let Christians, for their habitual comfort and strength, behold Him. (Newman Hall, LL. B.)
The Lamb of God
We must admit two postulates.
1. That the world and all its inhabitants are sinners.
2. That there is a Saviour who takes away the sin of the world. Let me direct your attention to
I. THE BEING HERE MENTIONED. The Israelites found that the forgiveness of their sins was connected in some way with the sacrificial offerings, and therefore came too generally to suppose that there was some inherent virtue in the victims. They were pleased with the shadow instead of looking to the substance. The Baptist broke in upon this lifeless form of things, and, pointing to Christ, said, Behold, etc. All types are now to merge in the Antitype. The communion bears something of the same relation as the morning and evening and passover lambs bore to Christ. Beware, then, of the mistake of the Jews.
1. In pointing to the Lamb of God, John conveys an important lesson to us. Men expect forgiveness either from the goodness of God or their own good works. Look not on these refuges of lies. Behold the only Being who taketh away sins.
2. Christ is called the Lamb.of God, because appointed by God and accepted by God.
II. THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF HIS FUNCTIONS.
1. He endured the Cross, not to raise the Jewish nation to a temporal sovereignty, nor to enrich mankind with wealth and pleasure, nor to acquaint the minds of the inquisitive with philosophy and science. Had that been so, He had been acceptable to Jews, politicians, and philosophers. But by taking away sin, the very ends sought for are most thoroughly achieved. Take away that, and you take away the worlds darkness and the worlds misery.
2. There are two great evils which sin has entailed.
(1) It has brought us under condemnation, taken away our title to heaven, and left us outcasts.
(2) It has subjected us so to its ascendency and power, that every affection and appetite is the minister of sin, and we are disqualified for the joys of heaven. To save us, therefore, Christ takes away the guilt and condemnation, and also the power and pollution of sin.
3. The salvation is universally offered, on the condition of faith.
III. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORDS BEHOLD, etc. We may suppose the Baptist addressing himself to
1. Angels. As ye wing your flight on errands of mercy, ye do behold Him; for into these things the angels desire to look.
2. Fallen angels. Beheld the issue of your evil efforts, the promised bruiser of the serpents head!
3. Sinners. Turn from trusting in your useless efforts. Why will ye die!
4. Ye people of God, behold the author of that joy and peace with which your hearts are filled. (J. Cumming, D. D.)
The Lamb of God
I. A POINTING TO CHRIST. We can imagine these words spoken in heaven, and angels desiring to look into them. We can imagine them spoken in hell and devils beholding Him, but not nigh. But, alas! on earth how few point or look. The rich man points to his wealth, the young man to his pleasures, the Pharisee to himself; but those who belong to Christ point to Him.
II. A NAME OF CHRIST.
1. Open your Bibles, and you will see this name above every other. View Him
(1) In the patriarchal days; in the sacrifice of Abel.
(2) Under the law, as the Paschal Lamb.
(3) In Psa 23:1-6.
(4) In Isa 53:1-12.
(5) In the gospels.
(6) In the epistles (1Pe 1:19).
(7) In the Apocalypse.
2. He was Gods Lamb because
(1) Gods property was in Him. He was Gods Son, Servant,
Angel, Prophet, Messenger.
(2) Gods Name was in Him.
(3) Gods love was in Him.
(4) Gods power was in Him.
III. A WORK OF CHRIST. He takes our sins away.
1. From the sinners heart.
2. From Gods Book.
3. From Gods bar.
4. From Gods sight.
5. To His cross.
6. To His grave. (R. S. Brooke, M. A.)
The Lamb of God
1. John had urged the duty of repentance. Now when Jesus made His appearance, John discloses the great object to be accomplished by Him–viz., the pardon of sin. For this mere repentance is insufficient, for it can never remove the penalty of a broken law. It only prepares the penitent to avoid transgression in the future by inspiring a sorrow for and a hatred of sin; so John did not tell the Jews that they would be forgiven because of their repentance; but urged it as an indispensable condition of securing Christs blessing. When he had done this, he bade them behold the Saviour.
2. The term Lamb
(1) Has respect to disposition and character, and is significant of innocence, meekness, and unresisting submission (Isa 53:7). But there were, doubtless, many others to whom the term could be applied besides Christ. But this did not make them saviours from sin. Had Jesus been only a lamb in this sense, He might have been thus qualified for a teacher. But would not John have added something indicative of his Teachers office? To choose a lamb for illustration, and to mean by taking away the sin of the world the influence of sagacious instruction, is utterly confusing and unintelligible; and then, if Christ saves by His instruction, why was not Paul called a saviour of men?
(2) But the term has respect to an atoning sacrifice, by which pardon of sin is secured. And it would be very natural for John, as a Jew, familiar with the Mosaic offerings, and with their application in Isaiah lift., to use the term in this sense. The same idea was familiar to Paul (1Co
5:7), Peter (1Pe 1:18-19; cf. Exo 12:5), and John Rev 5:8-14).
3. Jesus is the Lamb of God. This cannot be a mere term of excellence, like mountains of God, but either the Lamb who belongs to, or is provided by, God. The former would make an inept and frigid meaning; for John is showing the relation in which Christ stands to man. The latter, therefore, is the meaning. Every Jew had to provide and present as a sin-offering a lamb without spot or blemish. What each had done for himself, God now does for all men.
(1) Christ takes away sin. The Hebrews employed the phrase as meaning to bear the punishment or consequences of sin, or to expiate sin, or to forgive it. Either of the first two meanings will answer well here (1Pe 2:24; Gal 3:13; 2Co 5:29). So Christ takes away sin by removing its condemning and soul-destroying power. The Greek verb means first to lift up and then to raise up and remove, as one lifts a burden and conveys it away. And so Christ took the burden of our sins, and this load He carried away.
(2) He takes away the sin of the world. Other conditions are required besides His expiatory death. The sinner must be penitent, and behold the Lamb with the eye of faith. This done, salvation is as wide as the world of men; and so the proffer is universal. (Moses Stuart.)
The Lamb of God
I. THE OBJECT WHICH WAS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED. The abolition of the worlds sin: a most desirable object. Were any one to offer to take away the worlds sorrow, or its toil and trouble, or its care, what a benefactor he would be. But how much more when the Son of God comes from heaven and suffers to take away its sin. Because the sting and bitterness is nothing but that. But we are led aside from the truth by the consideration of second causes and immediate results, and so forget the nature of sin and disregard the Baptists invitation. And yet sin is the universal curse, and those who are unacquainted with sorrow are sinful; and sin unrepented of will bring the bitterest sorrow. The need, then, of the abolition of sin is
1. Universal.
2. The greatest of our needs. Other needs man can remedy; but no man can help his brother here.
3. The most pressing.
4. In proportion we do not feel this, our sin is the greater.
II. THE MEANS ORDAINED FOR ITS ACCOMPLISHMENT. Such a need in Gods universe could not be without a remedy. This was provided in the Lamb of God, which expression looks back to Isa 53:1-12. and Gen 22:1-24. Christ was the Lamb of God in being Gods appointed sacrifice, and the sacrifice offered by God. He was the federal head of our race, the one Being in whom our race was gathered up, who took upon Himself the penalty of sin. His great qualification for this was his sinlessness. Two conclusions
1. That if Christ was the Lamb of God He must have been an adequate provision for dealing with the worlds sin.
2. That He must have been the exclusive sacrifice for sin. There was no other means appointed by God; there can be no other means devised by man.
III. THE METHOD OF APPLYING THESE MEANS.
1. Christ takes away the punishment of sift–sin with all its accidents and qualities.
2. Christ destroys the power of sin in the heart.
3. You cannot get rid of sin by resolutions or efforts, but only by faith in Him. There is in us a sinful will which prompts to sin. We cannot get rid of that by thwarting or discipling our sinful will. We can only do it by taking cognizance of a higher will in Christ. And as we believe in Him we submit to His will, and become inspired with a fresh will which prompts to good and not to evil. (Stanley Leathes, B. D.)
The Lamb of God
1. How long our first parents remained innocent is not revealed; but we scarcely read of their fall before we read also of their restoration. The gates of Paradise are hardly closed before the altar of atonement is erected at the entrance. The flame of the Cherubic sword is blended with the flame of the consuming sacrifice. The promise of salvation was sealed by blood, not of bears and lions, but of oxen, sheep, and lambs. Blood being put for life, the lesson taught was
(1) that man was a sinner, and that sin must be punished;
(2) that sin might be forgiven and the sinner saved. The offerer placed his hands upon the victim and confessed his sin, thereby symbolically transferring his guilt.
2. But how can sin be transferred to a dumb animal (Heb 10:4)? And yet the voice of the whole dispensation cries Without shedding of blood there is no remission. How shall these discordant sounds be tempered into unison? Only by looking beyond the sacrifice to another which it represents. In Christ these seeming contradictions are reconciled. That which was pleasing in the sight of God for His sake, was abhorrent when considered apart from Him. The faith of old believers, therefore, was the same as ours, only darkened by the symbols which the Antitype has now abolished.
3. We cannot tell how far the doctrine of atonement was maintained without corruption in the age immediately preceding the Advent. The great mass of the people had undoubtedly lost sight of it; but others certainly felt their lost and wretched state, and looked with a prospective faith to the coming and dying of the Lamb of God. Their hopes were naturally stimulated by the Baptist. But he did satisfy them being a preacher of righteousness–not a sacrifice for sin. But having strengthened their sense of guilt and need of expiation by the preaching of the law, John led them to the altar and pointed to the Lamb of God.
4. Two to whom these words were addressed followed Jesus–a sufficient proof that they were waiting for Him, and prepared for His reception. But in what did their preparation consist? Not in personal merit; they were sinners. Not in superior wisdom; they were fishermen. In one point, it is true, they were peculiarly enlightened, and in that consisted their peculiar preparation to receive the Saviour. They knew that they were lost, and that He alone could save them; so that when their former master said, Behold the Lamb of God, they followed Him at once. And so it has been ever since. In all cases the same preparation is necessary, a sense of need and a conviction of the Saviours being able to supply it.
5. This doctrine lies at the basis of all efforts for the reformation
(1) of the individual,
(2) of the community. (J. A. Alexander, D. D.)
Forgiveness of sins through the atoning sacrifice of Christ is a blessing which it is the glory of God to reveal, and the privilege of Christians to experience
I. SIN, WHICH IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW, JUSTLY EXPOSES THE OFFENDER TO THE PUNISHMENT OF DEATH. God created man upright; made him subject to law; encouraged his obedience by promises, and threatened disobedience with the penalty of death. Man transgressed: all men have transgressed; so the condemnation rests upon all.
II. THE GRACIOUS GOD, THOUGH JUSTLY OFFENDED BY THE SINS OF MEN, HAS IN MERCY MADE PROVISION FOR THE RESTORATION OF ALL WHO REPENT AND BELIEVE. That death may be abolished, sin must be removed. Sin has been atoned for, and therefore can he removed by the sacrifice of Christ. It is removed by a penitent trust in that sacrifice.
III. TO THE FAITH OF BELIEVERS THE DIVINE PROVISION WAS EXHIBITED IN THE TYPE AND PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT (Lev 16:1-34.; Isa 53:1-12.). In the former one victim was slain to represent the death of Christ; the other went away alive to represent Christ as living again after having borne our sins.
IV. ALL THESE TYPES AND PROPHECIES WERE FULFILLED BY THE ATONING DEATH AND TRIUMPHANT RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD.
V. THROUGH THE SACRIFICE AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST, SINNERS OF ALL CONDITIONS ARE ENTITLED TO THE BLESSINGS OF REDEMPTION. Consider
1. The influence of these truths upon the mind (Rom 5:1-5).
2. The encouragement hereby given to the returning sinner.
3. The madness of expecting salvation in any other way. (T. Slatterie.)
The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world
I. WHO IS THIS LAMB OF GOD. Christ Jesus typified by the paschal lamb; which was
1. Without spot (Heb 9:14).
2. Separated the tenth day.
3. Killed.
4. The blood sprinkled on the post so that the destroying angel might pass 1Pe 1:2; Heb 10:22).
5. Boasted with fire.
6. It expiated sin typically, Christ really (1Jn 2:2).
7. It was meek and patient in all its sufferings: so Christ (Isa 53:7).
II. WHAT SIN DOTH HE TAKE AWAY?
1. Original (Rom 5:19).
2. Actual (Eph 1:7).
3. Habitual (Act 3:26).
III. HOW DOTH CHRIST TAKE AWAY SIN?
1. He became man (Joh 1:14).
2. In the human nature He assumed He suffered death (Php 2:8).
3. The human nature in Him dying, by that death He expiated the sins of human persons (Isa 53:5-6).
4. By this means He took our sins away from us, Himself becoming our sin-offering (2Co 5:21).
5. And so He takes away whatever in sin is prejudicial to us; as
(1) The guilt.
(2) The curse (Gal 3:13).
(3) The strength of sin. USE. Behold this Lamb of God.
1. In the manger.
2. In the temple.
3. In the garden.
4. In the judgment-hall.
5. Upon the cross.
6. Ascending.
7. Now at the right hand of God. (Bp. Beveridge.)
The great work of Christ, and the great work of the preacher
I. THE GREAT WORK OF CHRIST. Sin always implies the existence of taw, knowledge of law, capability of obeying law, and actual departure from law. Christ came to take sin away.
1. This work is of all works most difficult. In some respects it is impossible. Its fact cannot be taken away, nor its memory, nor its influence; but its painful consciousness, its controlling power, its polluting influences, and its dawning consequences can. But this transcends all human power. Senators, sages, poets, priests have tried and failed. Christ alone can do it, and has done it.
2. This work is of all works the most indispensable, Sin is the foundation of all mans suffering, physical, political, social, religious. The work required is to dry up this fountain. Sin must be taken away from our literature, governments, institutions, hearts, before the world can be saved. This is the great work of Christ.
II. THE GREAT WORK OF THE PREACHER. To point to the Lamb of God. This designation suggests
1. Sinlessness.
2. Sacrifice. Christs was voluntary, all-sufficient, exemplary.
3. Divinity. Christ was Gods messenger and atoner. The preachers work, therefore, is not to deal in controversies or speculations. The world wants a Saviour, not a system or a creed. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The excellency of the Christian, Atonement
I. Christ excels in the NATURE OF THE VICTIM.
1. The faultlessness of the Saviour. According to Judaism the lamb of sacrifice must be a year old, and without a blemish. Thus Jesus went through the four seasons–the spring, summer, autumn, winter of existence, without receiving or inflicting injury. Without blemish in the inward life, without spot in the outward character. Many are without spot to men, but are conscious of being full of spots unto God. Jesus was without spot to God.
2. His Divine appointment. According to Judaism, the lamb of sacrifice was separated from the flock days before it was slain. And Jesus was marked out from the foundation of the world.
(1) This verse teaches us that a Lamb slain is the central idea of creation and that in this light the universe was planned. The idea of sacrifice is the scarlet thread that stretches from eternity to eternity. God sprinkled the door posts of creation with blood when He framed them.
(2) The Lamb slain is also the centre of the Divine nature. Sacrifice is the deepest principle of God Himself. Christ was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world. In eternity the Father anointed the Son to be a priest and a sacrifice with the consecrating oil of the Holy Ghost. The Gospel does not create this principle, it only reveals it. God purchased His Church with His own blood.
3. His Divine nature. The Lamb of God is partaker of the nature of God. According to Judaism, the sacrificial lamb was to be brought up on the farm of the offerer: for this reason that it must cost some thought and pains, and consequently be something united to him by a tie of affection. And Jesus was a Lamb which God reared upon His own farm. I was by Him as one brought up with Him; according to the Chaldee paraphrase. I was nursed at His side. But He was not only of God. He was God. This it was that imparted efficacy to His sufferings.
II. It excels in THE EFFICACY OF THE WORK. The Jewish sacrifices brought sin to remembrance; Christs sacrifice took it away.
1. Look at Christ as bearing the sin of the world. But to bear it He must go under it. In the Old Testament to forgive means literally to carry. Who is a God like unto Thee that pardoneth (lit. beareth) iniquity? Other Gods pardoned. Jehovah carried sin; under the Old Testament in respect of covenant, under the New through Incarnation and imputation.
2. Christ bore sin away. Christ hath wholly purchased us from the curse of the law (Welsh translation). How? By fully paying.
3. Christ bore it away once for ever. The Jewish sacrifices had to be repeated; but Christ cancelled it once for all.
III. It excels in the AREA OF ITS INFLUENCE. The Jewish sacrifices availed for one nation only. Christs sacrifice is intended for the benefit of the world.
1. Sin, not sins; sin in its root, its deepest, bitterest nature.
2. The sin of the world. When the Great Western Railway was first made in South Wales, it was constructed on the broad-gauge principle; but the directors years afterwards judged it expedient to convert it from the broad gauge into the narrow gauge. In the history of the way of salvation, however, the contrary process was observed,–the narrow gauge under the Old Testament, and the broad gauge under the New.
3. All the sin of all the world. According to Judaism, a sacrifice was not left for all sins, such as adultery, murder, Sabbath desecration–sins committed with a high hand. Whoever was found guilty of these was to be cut off from among his people. But the sacrifice of Christ covers all, not a single sin excepted. (J. Cynddylan Jones, D. D.)
Objections met
It has been said that the view of Christs work here put into the Baptists mouth could not have been entertained by him because
I. The pre-Christian times were not acquainted with the idea of a suffering Saviour. But this idea is not foreign to the Old Testament, with which the Baptist may be presumed to have had some acquaintance.
II. The disciples of Jesus were incapable of understanding this idea Mat 16:22). But though not understood by, the idea cannot be shown to have been strange to them; while, even if it was, that would not prove it to have been strange to John, who was reared as a prophet.
III. The idea which was only at a later period in the Christian Church fully developed could hardly have been anticipated by individual reflection. But the Baptist refers to Divine inspiration as the source of his knowledge (verse 23).
IV. The Baptist expected a theocratic and not a suffering Messiah Mat 11:3). But Johns doubts were occasioned, not by Christs sufferings, but by His delay in asserting His Messianic dignity. Besides, it is not safe to argue from the thoughts of a prisoner to the views of the same individual at liberty. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)
Johns call for attention
In that simple Behold, we have the highest and crowning direction for the right reception of the Christ. It was a look that betrayed the whole world into sin and condemnation, and it is a look that again unites men with their proper Lord, and recovers them from their guilt and misery. But it must be an earnest look–a look of faith,–a look of appreciative confidence–a look which transfers the whole trust and affection of the heart to the object on which it rests,–a look which draws after it the entire wish and desire of the soul. Such a look Andrew had, when he rushed in search of his brother Simon, saying, We have found the Messias! Such a look Philip had, when he went to Nathanael exclaiming, We have found Him, of whom Moses in the Law, and the prophets, did write! (verses 41-45). And such a look, my brethren, is in the power of every one of us this day. Oh the blessedness of our privileges! (J. A.Seiss, D. D.)
Christ the Passover Lamb
The Passover was close at hand (2:13). We know its significance, and what a fundamental importance the deliverance from Egypt had for the history of Israel as well as for its knowledge of salvation. This fact stands so alone that only the day of the new salvation is to be compared with it, and the latter again has such a fitting type in no fact of the Old Testament history as it has in the former. Now the Baptist knew that the time of the final closing salvation had dawned, and that Jesus was the one bringing it. Why should he not, above all, compare this salvation and Him who brought it with that first typical redemption of Israel? Then, however, that Lamb was the means of sparing the nation. For its sake destruction passed over the people. Thus now will Jesus be the means of sparing. (C. E. Luthardt, D. D.)
Christ the Lamb and the Lion
Doth not St. John call Christ a Lion? Rev 5:5). Why then doth the Baptist call Him a Lamb? The lion and the lamb, the prophet Isaiah tells us, shall both dwell together in the days of Christ: but may they both be together in the Person of Christ? not only in one place together, but also in one case together? Different respects may tie discordant titles unto one subject. His courage against Satan, whom He conquered, His patience among men, whom He suffered, declared there was met in one Messias the stoutness of a lion, and the meekness of a lamb. St. Bernards distinction so determines it; He rose like a lion, but he suffered like a lamb. (R. Clerke, D. D.)
Christ bearing the sins of the world
The other day I saw a contrivance to judge a mans strength by the power of his breath–you breathe into the machine, and by the weight you lift will be accurately estimated the power of your lungs. And Jesus Christ keeps the stars floating by the power of His breath just as children keep bubbles on a summer eve; He breathes and the planets swim as feathers in a breeze; but He who upholds the stars with His word, who bears with ease the burden of ten thousand worlds, bends and staggers under the weight of your sins. The Lord hath made the iniquity of us all to meet on Him. Sin came from all directions; a multitude of sins from our own neighbourhood went that day on a pilgrimage to Mount Calvary; iniquity poured in from all quarters, and fell in terrible cataracts on the devoted head of the patient victim. He was wounded for our transgressions, etc. (J. Cynddylan Jones, D. D.)
Praise of Christ the Lamb of God
A gentleman travelling in Norway went to see the church in a certain town. Looking up at its tower he was surprised to see the carved figure of a lamb near the top. He inquired why it was placed in that position, and was told that when the church was being built a workman fell from the high scaffold. His fellows saw him fall, and horror-stricken rushed down expecting to find him dashed to pieces. But to their surprise and joy he was almost unhurt. How had he escaped? & flock of sheep was passing by the church at the moment of his fall, and he fell amongst them and right on the top of a lamb. The lamb was crushed to death, but the man was saved. And the lamb was carved on the tower at the height from which he fell to commemorate his escape. Shall we then not give the highest place of honour to the Lamb of God who was crushed beneath our load. (F. E. Turner.)
The value of Christs sacrifice
How can one atone for thousands? asked the North American Indians of the missionary Brainerd. The missionary solved their difficulty by showing that one sovereign is worth two hundred and forty pence–one gold coin being equal in value to many copper ones, the difference in the metal making a difference in the value. Similarly the sufferings of one God-man are a sufficient propitiation for the sins of millions of mere men, the difference in the rank constituting a difference in the worth. (J. C. Jones, D. D.)
How weighty must be the blood of the Lamb, by whom the world was made, to turn the scale when weighed against the world! (Augustine.)
Christs work not frustrated by His rejection
I am aware the objection is often made, that if Christ taketh away the sin of the world, and yet the vast majority of men die in their sins and are lost, Christs work for many was wrought in vain. I see no force in this. I think we might as well argue, that because sin came into the world and marred creation, creation was in vain. We are not talking of the works of men, but of the eternal Word, and we must be content to see much in His works that we do not entirely understand. Though multitudes are lost, I have no doubt the last day will prove that nothing that Christ did for them was in vain. (Bp. Ryle.)
The sacrificial lamb of the Mohammedans
It is noticeable that although modern Islam rejects the idea of the sacrifice of Christ, the custom of sacrifice is still commanded; as, for instance, for certain offences during the Pilgrimage. Something approaching to the Jewish Day of Atonement is thus described by an American missionary in India: On a great day with the Mohammedans of Calcutta they offered their yearly sacrifice, the atonement for sin. A lamb or a kid without spot or blemish is taken to the priest or moulvie; the person who presents the offering lays his hands on the animals head, saying: For my head I give thine. Then he touches the ears, the mouth, the eyes, etc., of the sacrifice, still repeating: For my ears, thy ears; for my mouth, thy mouth; for my eyes, thy eyes; and so on till he has mentioned all that he has to say. Then he exclaims: For my life, thy life; and as he pronounces these words the priest plunges a knife into the kids heart, and pronounces an absolution for the sinner. Is not this a strange custom, showing that the Mohammedan also acknowledges the necessity of an atonement, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sin? (S. S. Times.)
The death of Christ the preachers theme
In one of the old-fashioned mansions in the United States there is still to be seen a brass-bound clock upon the staircase landing with the hands fixed at the minute and hour when Washington died. The grandfather of the present owner was a pall-bearer at the funeral of the great republican, and set the hands where they have ever since remained. Even so the preachers finger must ever point the multitude to Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (H. O. Mackey.)
Christ the preachers theme
Among those who visited Dr. Carey, the great Baptist missionary, in his last illness was Alexander Duff, the Scotch missionary. On one occasion he spent some time talking chiefly about Careys missionary life, until the dying man whispered Pray. Duff knelt down and prayed, and then said good.bye. As he passed from the room, he thought he heard a feeble voice pronouncing his name, and turning, found that he was recalled. He stepped back accordingly, and this is what he heard, spoken with a gracious solemnity: Mr. Duff, you have been speaking about Dr. Carey, Dr. Carey: when I am gone say nothing about Dr. Carey–speak about Dr. Careys Saviour. Duff went away rebuked and awed, with a lesson in his heart that he never forgot. (H. O. Mackey.)
We must look to Christ
When I was in Belfast I knew a doctor who had a friend, a leading surgeon there, and he told me that the surgeons custom was, before performing any operation, to say to the patient, Take a good look at the wound, and then fix your eyes on me, and dont take them off till I get through. I thought at the time that was a good illustration. Sinner, take a good look at the wound tonight, and then fix your eyes on Christ, and do not take them off. It is better to look at the remedy than at the wound. See what a poor wretched sinner you are, and then look at the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. He died for the ungodly and the sinner. Say Ill take Him, and may God help you to lift your eye to the Man on Calvary. And as the Israelites looked upon the serpent and were healed, so may you look and live to-night. (D. L. Moody.)
.
Jesus the propitiation for sin
When our Lord was thus set forth by John, it is well to note the special character under which He was declared. John knew much of the Lord Jesus, and could have pictured Him in many lights and characters. He might especially have pointed Him out as the great moral example, the founder of a higher form of life, the great teacher of holiness and love; yet this did not strike the Baptist as the head and front of our Lords character, but he proclaimed Him as one who had come into the world to be the great sacrifice for sin. Lifting up his hand and pointing to Jesus, he cried, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. He did not say, Behold the great Exemplar; no doubt he would have said that in due season. He did not even say, Behold the king and leader of a new dispensation; that fact he would by no means have denied, but would have gloried in it. Still, the first point that he dwells upon, and that which wins his enthusiasm is, Behold the Lamb of God. John the Baptist views Him as the propitiation for sin, and so he cries, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! (C. H.Spurgeon.)
A saving message
It is told of the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, that when about to preach in the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, in 1857, he went down a short time before the service to arrange where the platform should be placed, and whilst trying the various positions he cried aloud, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! A man was at that time at work in the Palace, who heard the text spoken under such unusual circumstances. It went with power to his heart, convinced him of sin, and led him to the sin-atoning Lamb, in whom he found forgiveness, peace, and joy.
The atonement and the Scriptures
A Socinian preacher once said to Mr. Newton, Sir, I have collated every word in the Hebrew Scriptures seventeen times; and it is very strange if the doctrine of atonement which you hold should not have been found by me. Mr. Newton replied, I am not surprised at this; I once went to light my candle with the extinguisher on it. Prejudices from education, learning, etc., often form an extinguisher. It is not enough that you bring the candle; you must remove the extinguisher.
The great remedy
Hannah More relates that Dr. Johnson, on his deathbed, was in great distress of mind. Not being comforted by ordinary conversation, he desired to see a minister. Mr. Winstanley was named, and the doctor requested him to be sent for. Mr. Winstanley did not come, but wrote to the doctor as follows:–Sir,–I beg to acknowledge the honour of your note, and am very sorry that the state of my health prevents my compliance with your request. I can easily conceive what would be the subject of your inquiry. I can conceive that on the near approach of death what you once considered mere peccadilloes have risen into mountains of guilt, on whichsoever side you look you see only positive transgression, defective obedience; and hence in self-despair are eagerly inquiring, What must I do to be saved? I say to you in the language of the Baptist, Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world! When this was read to the doctor he anxiously asked, Does he say so? The consequence was that he was brought to the renunciation of himself and a simple reliance on Jesus as his Saviour.
Free trade with heaven established by Christ
Under the Old Testament no free trade was carried on between heaven and earth, no unrestricted commerce, for the duty was so high–a lamb being taken from one farm, a bullock from another, a heifer from the third, a goat from the fourth, and fowls from the poor, to pay the imposed duty; but the sacrifice once offered on Calvary for the sin of the world has, I am glad to tell you, established Free Trade for ever. (J. C. Jones, D. D.)
The message for sinners
John Wesley, preaching to an audience of scholars and noblemen, used the generation of vipers text, and flung denunciation right and left. That sermon should have been preached at Newgate, said a displeased courtier. No, said the fearless apostle, my text there would have been, Behold the Lamb of God, etc. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
A young telegraph operator was anxious about his soul. After a sleepless night he went to his duties; while restless and absorbed in the thought of being a sinner he heard the click of his instrument, and with great astonishment and emotion spelt out this message:–From H–, Windermere, to J– B– , Warkworth. Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world; in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. This was sent as an answer to a letter from a young man who also was seeking peace. It acted as a double blessing, showing to both operator and receiver the way of salvation. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
The sin of the world
I think John the Baptist in this text speaks about sin as we think of a terrible epidemic from which individual men suffer, and which we are accustomed to speak of as that by which we are all affected. The symptoms may vary in individual cases; the course of the disease may sometimes be more or less rapid; and there may be great differences in the pain which it inflicts on different men. When we speak of the cholera or some malignant fever, we regard those who suffer from it as smitten down by some terrible power which travels from house to house, and involves all its victims in one common peril; that some poison is in the blood of those who suffer; that they are all wrestling with the same ghastly enemy; and that they are all in danger of the same doom. Now it is thus that John the Baptist thougtht of sin. What we describe as the accidental lapses of individual men were to him the symptoms and the result of something vaster and more dreadful; the sins of individual men were to him only the revelations of an evil energy which had taken possession of the race. There was a great confederacy into which all men had entered, consciously or unconsciously–a confederacy against the authority of God, and against the eternal law of righteousness. Different men break different commandments; their individual transgressions vary according to their circumstances, their training, or their temper. But no man stands apart–no man refuses to share in the great revolt against the majesty of heaven. Where there is not a profligate, reckless disobedience, there is indifference to the Divine authority–an indifference which is just as fatal, and involves a separation from God as positive as it he had been an active antagonist to it. This is a common sin. This is a sin in which we are all sharers, and in which we still share if we are not redeemed, and constitutes an essential moral element and characteristic spirit of the world, but it finds expression in infinitely various ways. Now, I can imagine some of you saying–Did He take away the sin of the world? What signs are there that He has done it? Sin is here still. There is no solitary country the world over that is redeemed from it. It stains this century, as it has stained every century that has gone by. Will you consider it as guilt–guilt which one does recognize, and which fills the heart with terror, with dark and gloomy anticipations of the lust penalty with which it must be visited. Well, millions upon millions who have appealed to Christ will tell you that its guilt has been taken away. Or will you consider sin as involving the terrible necessity of the separation of the soul from God. This is one of its worst and most malignant effects. We see, as the result of our sin, that we are driven away from that Divine presence–that our sin comes between us and the favour of Heaven–and we find that we cannot break through it, and speak to God face to face. God is holy, and by the necessity of His nature shrinks from contact with sin. Well, Christ has taken sin away even in that sense. If sin is no longer a dominant power in this world, there is something here that is stronger than it; there is the liberty into which we can enter through Christ Jesus our Lord. He has taken it away as the authority by which we were controlled, and through Him we are able to enter into the fullest freedom, and to keep Gods commandments. I admit that sin has not disappeared from the world, but God has done His part towards causing it to disappear. He can give eternal life, but He cannot receive it for us; we must receive it. All He could do to take away our sin He has actually done; and we ought to rejoice with great exulting joy in the redemption that is wrought for us through Christ Jesus our Lord. Now there are two or three considerations I wish to impress upon you before I close, suggested by this subject.
1. In the first place, in this work of the Lord we are all deeply concerned.
2. Again, that which He has done excludes altogether the plea that you are helplessly under the power of sin.
3. Again this takes away the excuse for persisting in sin.
4. If you remain under the power of sin, it is by your own choice. All sin is, no doubt, the result of choice.
5. Finally, the truth that we have been considering excludes all hope that if we fail to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour that we shall ever obtain Gods mercy and eternal life. (R. W. Dale, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 29. The next day] The day after that on which the Jews had been with John, Joh 1:19.
Behold the Lamb of God, c.] This was said in allusion to what was spoken Isa 53:7. Jesus was the true Lamb or Sacrifice required and appointed by God, of which those offered daily in the tabernacle and temple, Ex 29:38-39, and especially the paschal lamb, were only the types and representatives. See Ex 12:4-5; 1Co 5:7. The continual morning and evening sacrifice of a lamb, under the Jewish law, was intended to point out the continual efficacy of the blood of atonement: for even at the throne of God, Jesus Christ is ever represented as a lamb newly slain, Re 5:6. But John, pointing to Christ, calls him emphatically, the Lamb of God:-all the lambs which had been hitherto offered had been furnished by men: this was provided by GOD, as the only sufficient and available sacrifice for the sin of the world. In three essential respects, this lamb differed from those by which it was represented.
1st. It was the Lamb of God; the most excellent, and the most available.
2nd. It made an atonement for sin: it carried sin away in reality, the others only representatively.
3rd. It carried away the sin of the WORLD, whereas the other was offered only on behalf of the Jewish people. In Yalcut Rubeni, fol. 30, it is said, “The Messiah shall bear the sins of the Israelites.” But this salvation was now to be extended to the whole world.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The next day; the most think, the day following that day when the messengers from Jerusalem had been examining the Baptist. Heinsius thinks it was the same day, and saith, the Hellenists usually so interpret , for , after these things; but the former sense is more generally embraced.
John seeth Jesus coming to him, out of the wilderness, as some think, where he had been tempted by the devil; but then it must follow, that he was not amongst the crowd, Joh 1:2, standing in the midst of them, when the messengers were there; and it should appear by Joh 1:32,33, that this which is here recorded happened after Christs baptism by John (of which this evangelist saith nothing): it seemeth rather to be understood of another coming of Christ to John after he had been baptized, when John, seeing him, pointed as it were with his finger to him, (for the term
Behold seemeth to be here used demonstratively), showing them the person whom he would have them cast their eye upon; whom he calls,
the Lamb of God, not only to denote his excellency, as we read of the night of the Lord, Exo 12:42, and the bread of God, Lev 21:21; which indeed Christ was, being without blemish, 1Pe 1:19; but with reference to the lambs used in the Jewish sacrifices, not only at the passover, Exo 12:5, but in the daily sacrifice, Exo 29:38; Lev 1:10, or the burnt offering; and in the peace offering, Lev 3:7, and in the sin offering, Lev 4:32. He calls Christ the Lamb of God, probably, because divers of the priests were there to hear, and (as appears, Joh 1:39) it was nigh the time of their daily sacrifice; that so he might remind them that Christ was the truth and Antitype to all their sacrifices.
Which taketh away the sin of the world; , the word signifies both to take up, and to take away: which taketh away the sin of the world, as God, to whom it belongs to forgive sin; and this he did by taking it upon himself, (so it is translated, Mat 16:24), expiating it, which expiation is followed by a plenary remission, and taking it away, both the punishment of it, and the root, and body, and power of it; redeeming them as from the grave and hell, due to man for sin; so from a vain conversation, 1Pe 1:18; and not doing this for the Jews only, but for the Gentiles also, 1Jo 2:2, for many in the world, being he without whom there is no remission, Act 4:12. Nor doth his gracious act cease at any time, it is a work he is always doing, and which none but he can do: ministers may persuade, priests of old offered lambs and other beasts in sacrifice; but he alone taketh away sin. So that, as what he said to the messengers of the sanhedrim gave all the honour of any valuable effect of baptism to Christ; so, what he saith here gives him all the honour of any good effect of preaching, or any good effect of our ministry; it is he alone, who (when we have said or done what we can) taketh away the sin of the world.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
29. seeth Jesusfresh,probably, from the scene of the temptation.
coming unto himas tocongenial company (Ac 4:23),and to receive from him His first greeting.
and saithcatching asublime inspiration at the sight of Him approaching.
the Lamb of Godthe oneGod-ordained, God-gifted sacrificial offering.
that taketh awaytakethup and taketh away. The word signifies both, as does thecorresponding Hebrew word. Applied to sin, it means to bechargeable with the guilt of it (Exo 28:38;Lev 5:1; Eze 18:20),and to bear it away (as often). In the Levitical victims bothideas met, as they do in Christ, the people’s guilt being viewed astransferred to them, avenged in their death, and soborne away by them (Lev 4:15;Lev 16:15; Lev 16:21;Lev 16:22; and compare Isa 53:6-12;2Co 5:21).
the sinThe singularnumber being used to mark the collective burden andall-embracing efficacy.
of the worldnot ofIsrael only, for whom the typical victims were exclusively offered.Wherever there shall live a sinner throughout the wide world, sinkingunder that burden too heavy for him to bear, he shall find in this”Lamb of God,” a shoulder equal to the weight. The rightnote was struck at the firstbalm, doubtless, to Christ’s ownspirit; nor was ever after, or ever will be, a more gloriousutterance.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him,…. Not to be baptized, for he had been baptized before by him. This seems to have been after Christ had been forty days in the wilderness, from whence he now returned, and came to attend on John’s ministry; both to do honour to him, and that he might be made manifest by him; and this was the day after John had bore such a testimony concerning him, to the priests and Levites; and which Christ the omniscient God, knew full well, and therefore came at this season, when the minds of the people were prepared by John’s testimony, to expect and receive him: one part of the work of Elias, which the Jews assign unto him, and the precise time of his doing it, exactly agree with this account of John the Baptist; they say c, that his work is
“to bring to them (the Israelites) the good news of the coming of the Redeemer; and this shall be, , “one day”, before the coming of the, Messiah; and this is that which is written, “behold I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord”. Mal 4:5.”
For John, the day before Christ Lord, came to him, had signified to the priests and Levites, that the Messiah was already come; and now on the day following, seeing him, pointed as with his finger to him,
and saith, behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world: he calls him a “lamb”, either with respect to any lamb in common, for his harmlessness and innocence; for his meekness and humility; for his patience; and for his usefulness, both for food and clothing, in a spiritual sense; as well as for his being to be a sacrifice for the sins of his people: or else with respect to the lambs that were offered in sacrifice, under the legal dispensation; and that either to the passover lamb, or rather to the lambs of the daily sacrifice, that were offered morning and evening; since the account of them best agrees with what is said of this Lamb of God, who was slain in type, in the morning of the world, or from the foundation of the world; and actually in the evening of the world, or in the end of it; and who has a continued virtue to take away the sins of his people, from the beginning, to the end of the world; and their sins, both of the day and night, or which are committed every day: for as they are daily committed, there is need of the daily application of the blood and sacrifice of Christ, to remove them; or of continual looking unto him by faith, whose blood has a continual virtue, to cleanse from all sin: the Jewish doctors say d, that
“the morning daily sacrifice made atonement for the iniquities done in the night; and the evening sacrifice made atonement for the iniquities that were by day:”
and in various things they were typical of Christ, as that they were lambs of the first year, which may denote the weakness of the human nature of Christ, which had all the sinless infirmities of it; they, were also without spot, signifying the purity of Christ’s human nature, who was holy and harmless, a lamb without spot and blemish; these were offered as a sacrifice, and for the children of Israel only, as Christ has given himself an offering and a sacrifice to God, both in soul and body, for the sins of the mystical Israel of God, the Israel whom God has chosen for himself, whether Jews or Gentiles; for Christ is the propitiation for the sins of both: and these were offered daily, morning and evening; and though Christ was but once offered, otherwise he must have often suffered; yet as he has by one offering put away sin for ever, so there is a perpetual virtue in his sacrifice to take it away, and there is a constant application of it for that purpose; to which may be added, that these lambs were offered with fine flour, oil and wine, for a sweet savour to the Lord; denoting the acceptableness of the sacrifice of Christ to his Father, to whom it is for a sweet smelling savour, Eph 5:2. And Christ is styled the Lamb “of God”, in allusion to the same, whom the Cabalistic Jews e call the secret of the mystery, and , “the Lambs of God”; because God has a special property in him; he is his own Son; and because he is of his providing and appointing, as a sacrifice for sin, and is acceptable to him as such; and to distinguish him from all other lambs; and to give him the preference, since he does that which they could not do, “taketh away the sin of the world”: by the “sin of the world”, is not meant the sin, or sins of every individual person in the world; for some die in their sins, and their sins go before hand to judgment, and they go into everlasting punishment for them; which could not be, if Christ took them away: rather, the sin which is common to the whole world, namely: original sin; but then it must be observed, that this is not the only sin Christ takes away; for he also takes away actual sins; and the Arabic and Ethiopic versions read in the plural, “the sins of the world”; and also that this he takes away, only with respect the elect; wherefore they are the persons intended by the world, as in Joh 6:33, whose sin, or sins, Christ takes away: and a peculiar regard seems to be had to the elect among the Gentiles, who are called the world, in distinction from the Jews, as in Joh 3:16, and the rather, since the lambs of the daily sacrifice, to which the allusion is, were only offered for the sins of the Jews: but John here signifies, that the Lamb of God he pointed at, and which was the antitype of these lambs, not only took away the sins of God’s people among the Jews, but the sins of such of them also as were among the Gentiles; and this seems to me to be the true sense of the passage. The phrase “taking away sin”, signifies a taking it up, as Christ did; he took it voluntarily upon himself, and became responsible to divine justice for it; and also a bearing and carrying it, for taking it upon himself, he bore it in his own body on the tree, and carried it away, as the scape goat did under the law; and so likewise a taking it quite away: Christ has removed it as far as the east is from the west, out of sight, so as never to be seen any more; he has destroyed, abolished, and made an utter end of it: and this is expressed in the present tense, “taketh away”: to denote the continued virtue of Christ’s sacrifice to take away sin, and the constant efficacy of his blood to cleanse from it, and the daily application of it to the consciences of his people; and which is owing to the dignity of his person, as the Son of God; and to his continual and powerful mediation and intercession: this must be a great relief to minds afflicted with the continual ebullitions of sin, which is taken away by the Lamb of God, as fast as it rises; and who, for that purpose, are called to “behold”, and wonder at, the love and grace of Christ, in taking up, bearing, and taking away sin; and to look to him by faith continually, for everlasting salvation; and love him, and give him the honour of it, and glorify him for it.
c R. Abraham ben David in Misn. Ediot, c. 8. sect. 7. d R. Menachem, fol. 115. apud Ainsworth, in Exod. xxix. 39. e Raya Mehimna, in Zohar in Lev. fol. 33. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| John’s Testimony to Christ. |
| |
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. 32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. 35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
We have in these verses an account of John’s testimony concerning Jesus Christ, which he witnessed to his own disciples that followed him. As soon as ever Christ was baptized he was immediately hurried into the wilderness, to be tempted; and there he was forty days. During his absence John had continued to bear testimony to him, and to tell the people of him; but now at last he sees Jesus coming to him, returning from the wilderness of temptation. As soon as that conflict was over Christ immediately returned to John, who was preaching and baptizing. Now Christ was tempted for example and encouragement to us; and this teaches us, 1. That the hardships of a tempted state should engage us to keep close to ordinances; to go into the sanctuary of God, Ps. lxxiii. 17. Our combats with Satan should oblige us to keep close to the communion of saints: two are better than one. 2. That the honours of a victorious state must not set us above ordinances. Christ had triumphed over Satan, and been attended by angels, and yet, after all, he returns to the place where John was preaching and baptizing. As long as we are on this side heaven, whatever extraordinary visits of divine grace we may have here at any time, we must still keep close to the ordinary means of grace and comfort, and walk with God in them. Now here are two testimonies borne by John to Christ, but those two agree in one.
I. Here is his testimony to Christ on the first day that he saw him coming from the wilderness; and here four things are witnessed by him concerning Christ, when he had him before his eyes:–
1. That he is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, v. 29. Let us learn here,
(1.) That Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, which bespeaks him the great sacrifice, by which atonement is made for sin, and man reconciled to God. Of all the legal sacrifices he chooses to allude to the lambs that were offered, not only because a lamb is an emblem of meekness, and Christ must be led as a lamb to the slaughter (Isa. liii. 7), but with a special reference, [1.] To the daily sacrifice, which was offered every morning and evening continually, and that was always a lamb (Exod. xxix. 38), which was a type of Christ, as the everlasting propitiation, whose blood continually speaks. [2.] To the paschal lamb, the blood of which, being sprinkled upon the door-posts, secured the Israelites from the stroke of the destroying angel. Christ is our passover, 1 Cor. v. 7. He is the Lamb of God; he is appointed by him (Rom. iii. 25), he was devoted to him (ch. xvii. 19), and he was accepted with him; in him he was well pleased. The lot which fell on the goat that was to be offered for a sin-offering was called the Lord’s lot (Lev 16:8; Lev 16:9); so Christ, who was to make atonement for sin, is called the Lamb of God.
(2.) That Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of God, takes away the sin of the world. This was his undertaking; he appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, Heb. ix. 26. John Baptist had called people to repent of their sins, in order to the remission of them. Now here he shows how and by whom that remission was to be expected, what ground of hope we have that our sins shall be pardoned upon our repentance, though our repentance makes no satisfaction for them. This ground of hope we have–Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. [1.] He takes away sin. He, being Mediator between God and man, takes away that which is, above any thing, offensive to the holiness of God, and destructive to the happiness of man. He came, First, To take away the guilt of sin by the merit of his death, to vacate the judgment, and reverse the attainder, which mankind lay under, by an act of indemnity, of which all penitent obedient believers may claim the benefit. Secondly, To take away the power of sin by the Spirit of his grace, so that it shall not have dominion, Rom. vi. 14. Christ, as the Lamb of God, washes us from our sins in his own blood; that is, he both justifies and sanctifies us: he takes away sin. He is ho airon —he is taking away the sin of the world, which denotes it not a single but a continued act; it is his constant work and office to take away sin, which is such a work of time that it will never be completed till time shall be no more. He is always taking away sin, by the continual intercession of his blood in heaven, and the continual influence of his grace on earth. [2.] He takes away the sin of the world; purchases pardon for all those that repent, and believe the gospel, of what country, nation, or language, soever they be. The legal sacrifices had reference only to the sins of Israel, to make atonement for them; but the Lamb of God was offered to be a propitiation for the sin of the whole world; see 1 John ii. 2. This is encouraging to our faith; if Christ takes away the sin of the world, then why not my sin? Christ levelled his force at the main body of sin’s army, struck at the root, and aimed at the overthrow, of that wickedness which the whole world lay in. God was in him reconciling the world to himself. [3.] He does this by taking it upon himself. He is the Lamb of God, that bears the sin of the world; so the margin reads it. He bore sin for us, and so bears it from us; he bore the sin of many, as the scape-goat had the sins of Israel put upon his head, Lev. xvi. 21. God could have taken away the sin by taking away the sinner, as he took away the sin of the old world; but he has found out a way of abolishing the sin, and yet sparing the sinner, by making his Son sin for us.
(3.) That it is our duty, with an eye of faith, to behold the Lamb of God thus taking away the sin of the world. See him taking away sin, and let that increase our hatred of sin, and resolutions against it. Let not us hold that fast which the Lamb of God came to take away: for Christ will either take our sins away or take us away. Let it increase our love to Christ, who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, Rev. i. 5. Whatever God is pleased to take away from us, if withal he take away our sins, we have reason to be thankful, and no reason to complain.
2. That this was he of whom he had spoken before (Joh 1:30; Joh 1:31): This is he, this person whom I now point at, you see where he stands, this is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man. Observe, (1.) This honour John had above all the prophets, that, whereas they spoke of him as one that should come, he saw him already come. This is he. He sees him now, he sees him nigh, Num. xxiv. 17. Such a difference there is between present faith and future vision. Now we love one whom we have not seen; then we shall see him whom our souls love, shall see him, and say, This is he of whom I said, my Christ, and my all, my beloved, and my friend. (2.) John calls Christ a man; after me comes a man–aner, a strong man: like the man, the branch, or the man of God’s right hand. (3.) He refers to what he had himself said of him before: This is he of whom I said. Note, Those who have said the most honourable things of Christ will never see cause to unsay them; but the more they know him the more they are confirmed in their esteem of him. John still thinks as meanly of himself, and as highly of Christ, as ever. Though Christ appeared not in any external pomp or grandeur, yet John is not ashamed to own, This is he whom I meant, who is preferred before me. And it was necessary that John should thus show them the person, otherwise they could not have believed that one who made so mean a figure should be he of whom John had spoken such great things. (4.) He protests against any confederacy or combination with this Jesus: And I knew him not. Though there was some relation between them (Elisabeth was cousin to the virgin Mary), yet there was no acquaintance at all between them; John had no personal knowledge of Jesus till he saw him come to his baptism. Their manner of life had been different: John had spent his time in the wilderness, in solitude; Jesus at Nazareth, in conversation. There was no correspondence, no interview between them, that the matter might appear to be wholly carried on by the direction and disposal of Heaven, and not by any design or concert of the persons themselves. And as he hereby disowns all collusion, so also all partiality and sinister regard in it; he could not be supposed to favour him as a friend, for there was no friendship or familiarity between them. Nay, as he could not be biassed to speak honourably of him because he was a stranger to him, he was not able to say any thing of him but what he received from above, to which he appeals, ch. iii. 27. Note, They who are taught believe and confess one whom they have not seen, and blessed are they who yet have believed. (5.) The great intention of John’s ministry and baptism was to introduce Jesus Christ. That he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. Observe, [1.] Though John did not know Jesus by face, yet he knew that he should be made manifest. Note, We may know the certainty of that which yet we do not fully know the nature and intention of. We know that the happiness of heaven shall be made manifest to Israel, but cannot describe it. [2.] The general assurance John had that Christ should be made manifest served to carry him with diligence and resolution through his work, though he was kept in the dark concerning particulars: Therefore am I come. Our assurance of the reality of things, though they are unseen, is enough to quicken us to our duty. [3.] God reveals himself to his people by degrees. At first, John knew no more concerning Christ but that he should be made manifest; in confidence of that, he came baptizing, and now he is favoured with a sight of him. They who, upon God’s word, believe what they do not see, shall shortly see what they now believe. [4.] The ministry of the word and sacraments is designed for no other end than to lead people to Christ, and to make him more and more manifest. [5.] Baptism with water made way for the manifesting of Christ, as it supposed our corruption and filthiness, and signified our cleansing by him who is the fountain opened.
3. That this was he upon whom the Spirit descended from heaven like a dove. For the confirming of his testimony concerning Christ, he here vouches the extraordinary appearance at his baptism, in which God himself bore witness to him. This was a considerable proof of Christ’s mission. Now, to assure us of the truth of it, we are here told (v. 32-34),
(1.) That John Baptist saw it: He bore record; did not relate it as a story, but solemnly attested it, with all the seriousness and solemnity of witness-bearing. He made affidavit of it: I saw the Spirit descending from heaven. John could not see the Spirit, but he saw the dove which was a sign and representation of the Spirit. The Spirit came now upon Christ, both to make him fir for his work and to make him known to the world. Christ was notified, not by the descent of a crown upon him, or by a transfiguration, but by the descent of the Spirit as a dove upon him, to qualify him for his undertaking. Thus the first testimony given to the apostles was by the descent of the Spirit upon them. God’s children are made manifest by their graces; their glories are reserved for their future state. Observe, [1.] The spirit descended from heaven, for every good and perfect gift is from above. [2.] He descended like a dove–an emblem of meekness, and mildness, and gentleness, which makes him fit to teach. The dove brought the olive-branch of peace, Gen. viii. 11. [3.] The Spirit that descended upon Christ abode upon him, as was foretold, Isa. xi. 2. The Spirit did not move him at times, as Samson (Judg. xiii. 25), but at all times. The Spirit was given to him without measure; it was his prerogative to have the Spirit always upon him, so that he could at no time be found either unqualified for his work himself or unfurnished for the supply of those that seek to him for his grace.
(2.) That he was told to expect it, which very much corroborates the proof. It was not John’s bare conjecture, that surely he on whom he saw the Spirit descending was the Son of God; but it was an instituted sign given him before, by which he might certainly know it (v. 33): I knew him not. He insists much upon this, that he knew no more of him than other people did, otherwise than by revelation. But he that sent me to baptize gave me this sign, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, the same is he. [1.] See here what sure grounds John went upon in his ministry and baptism, that he might proceed with all imaginable satisfaction. First, He did not run without sending: God sent him to baptize. He had a warrant from heaven for what he did. When a minister’s call is clear, his comfort is sure, though his success is not always so. Secondly, He did not run without speeding; for, when he was sent to baptize with water, he was directed to one that should baptize with the Holy Ghost. Under this notion John Baptist was taught to expect Christ, as one who would give that repentance and faith which he called people to, and would carry on and complete that blessed structure of which he was now laying the foundation. Note, It is a great comfort to Christ’s ministers, in their administration of the outward signs, that he whose ministers they are can confer the grace signified thereby, and so put life, and soul, and power into their ministrations; can speak to the heart what they speak to the ear, and breathe upon the dry bones to which they prophesy. [2.] See what sure grounds he went upon in his designation of the person of the Messiah. God had before given him a sign, as he did to Samuel concerning Saul: “On whom thou shalt see the Spirit descend, that same is he.” This not only prevented any mistakes, but gave him boldness in his testimony. When he had such assurance as this given him, he could speak with assurance. When John was told this before, his expectations could not but be very much raised; and, when the event exactly answered the prediction, his faith could not but be much confirmed: and these things are written that we may believe.
4. That he is the Son of God. This is the conclusion of John’s testimony, that in which all the particulars centre, as the quod erat demonstrandum–the fact to be demonstrated (v. 34): I saw, and bore record, that this is the Son of God. (1.) The truth asserted is, that this is the Son of God. The voice from heaven proclaimed, and John subscribed to it, not only that he should baptize with the Holy Ghost by a divine authority, but that he has a divine nature. This was the peculiar Christian creed, that Jesus is the Son of God (Matt. xvi. 16), and here is the first framing of it. (2.) John’s testimony to it: “I saw, and bore record. Not only I now bear record of it, but I did so as soon as I had seen it.” Observe, [1.] What he saw he was forward to bear record of, as they, Acts iv. 20: We cannot but speak the things which we have seen. [2.] What he bore record of was what he saw. Christ’s witnesses were eye-witnesses, and therefore the more to be credited: they did not speak by hear-say and report, 2 Pet. i. 16.
II. Here is John’s testimony to Christ, the next day after, Joh 1:35; Joh 1:36. Where observe, 1. He took every opportunity that offered itself to lead people to Christ: John stood looking upon Jesus as he walked. It should seem, John was now retired from the multitude, and was in close conversation with two of his disciples. Note, Ministers should not only in their public preaching, but in their private converse, witness to Christ, and serve his interests. He saw Jesus walking at some distance, yet did not go to him himself, because he would shun every thing that might give the least colour to suspect a combination. He was looking upon Jesus—emblepsas; he looked stedfastly, and fixed his eyes upon him. Those that would lead others to Christ must be diligent and frequent in the contemplation of him themselves. John had seen Christ before, but now looked upon him, 1 John i. 1. 2. He repeated the same testimony which he had given to Christ the day before, though he could have delivered some other great truth concerning him; but thus he would show that he was uniform and constant in his testimony, and consistent with himself. His doctrine was the same in private that it was in public, as Paul’s was, Act 20:20; Act 20:21. It is good to have that repeated which we have heard, Phil. iii. 1. The doctrine of Christ’s sacrifice for the taking away of the sin of the world ought especially to be insisted upon by all good ministers: Christ, the Lamb of God, Christ and him crucified. 3. He intended this especially for his two disciples that stood with him; he was willing to turn them over to Christ, for to this end he bore witness to Christ in their hearing that they might leave all to follow him, even that they might leave him. He did not reckon that he lost those disciples who went over from him to Christ, any more than the schoolmaster reckons that scholar lost whom he sends to the university. John gathered disciples, not for himself, but for Christ to prepare them for the Lord, Luke i. 17. So far was he from being jealous of Christ’s growing interest, that there was nothing he was more desirous of. Humble generous souls will give others their due praise without fear of diminishing themselves by it. What we have of reputation, as well as of other things, will not be the less for our giving every body his own.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
On the morrow ( ). Locative case with (day) understood after the adverb . “Second day of this spiritual diary” (Bernard) from verse 19.
Seeth Jesus coming ( ). Dramatic historical present indicative () with vivid present middle participle (). Graphic picture.
Behold the Lamb of God ( ). Exclamation like , not verb, and so nominative . Common idiom in John (John 1:36; John 3:26, etc.). For “the Lamb of God” see 1Co 5:7 (cf. Joh 19:36) and 1Pe 1:19. The passage in Isa 53:6f. is directly applied to Christ by Philip in Ac 8:32. See also Matt 8:17; 1Pet 2:22; Heb 9:28. But the Jews did not look for a suffering Messiah (Joh 12:34) nor did the disciples at first (Mark 9:32; Luke 24:21). But was it not possible for John, the Forerunner of the Messiah, to have a prophetic insight concerning the Messiah as the Paschal Lamb, already in Isa 53, even if the rabbis did not see it there? Symeon had it dimly (Lu 2:35), but John more clearly. So Westcott rightly. Bernard is unwilling to believe that John the Baptist had more insight on this point than current Judaism. Then why and how did he recognize Jesus as Messiah at all? Certainly the Baptist did not have to be as ignorant as the rabbis.
Which taketh away the sin of the world ( ). Note singular not plural (1Jo 3:5) where same verb , to bear away, is used. The future work of the Lamb of God here described in present tense as in 1Jo 1:7 about the blood of Christ. He is the Lamb of God for the world, not just for Jews.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him,” (te epaurion blepei ton lesoun erchomenon pros auton) “On the next day he beheld Jesus coming to him of his own will, choice, or accord, “the next day after the Jewish delegation had quizzed him repeatedly, Joh 1:19-27.
2) “And saith, Behold the Lamb of God,” (kai legei ide ho amnos tou theou)”And he (John) says, (to those before him) behold the Lamb of God,” in His character and His office as prophesied, Exo 12:3, Isa 53:7-11, Rev 5:6.
3) “Which taketh away the sin of the world.” (ho airon ten hamartian tou kosmou) “The one who bears away the sin of the world,” as a great plague, 1Jn 3:5. As the true redemption sacrifice, of whom all other previous ones were mere types, shadows, symbols, and/or object lessons, He still bears our sins; 2Co 5:21; Heb 10:14. He bare our sins in His body on the tree, 1Pe 2:24; Lev 10:17.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
29. The next day. There can be no doubt that John had already spoken about the manifestation of the Messiah; but when Christ began to appear, he wished that his announcement of him should quickly become known, and the time was now at hand when Christ would put an end to John’s ministry, as, when the sun is risen, the dawn suddenly disappears. After having testified to the priests who were sent to him, that he from whom they ought to seek the truth and power of baptism was already present, and was conversing in the midst of the people, the next day he pointed him out to the view of all. For these two acts, following each other in close succession, must have powerfully affected their minds. This too is the reason why Christ appeared in the presence of John.
Behold the Lamb of God. The principal office of Christ is briefly but clearly stated; that he takes away the sins of the world by the sacrifice of his death, and reconciles men to God. There are other favors, indeed, which Christ bestows upon us, but this is the chief favor, and the rest depend on it; that, by appeasing the wrath of God, he makes us to be reckoned holy and righteous. For from this source flow all the streams of blessings, that, by not imputing our sins, he receives us into favor. Accordingly, John, in order to conduct us to Christ, commences with the gratuitous forgiveness of sins which we obtain through him.
By the word Lamb he alludes to the ancient sacrifices of the Law. He had to do with Jews who, having been accustomed to sacrifices, could not be instructed about atonement for sins in any other way than by holding out to them a sacrifice. As there were various kinds of them, he makes one, by a figure of speech, to stand for the whole; and it is probable that John alluded to the paschal lamb. It must be observed, in general, that John employed this mode of expression, which was better adapted to instruct the Jews, and possessed greater force; as in our own day, in consequence of baptism being generally practiced, we understand better what is meant by obtaining forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ, when we are told that we are washed and cleansed by it from our pollutions. At the same time, as the Jews commonly held superstitious notions about sacrifices, he corrects this fault in passing, by reminding them of the object to which all the sacrifices were directed. It was a very wicked abuse of the institution of sacrifice, that they had their confidence fixed on the outward signs; and therefore John, holding out Christ, testifies that he is the Lamb of God; by which he means that all the sacrifices, which the Jews were accustomed to offer under the Law, had no power whatever to atone for sins, but that they were only figures, the truth of which was manifested in Christ himself.
Who taketh away the sin of the world. He uses the word sin in the singular number, for any kind of iniquity; as if he had said, that every kind of unrighteousness which alienates men from God is taken away by Christ. And when he says, the sin Of The World, he extends this favor indiscriminately to the whole human race; that the Jews might not think that he had been sent to them alone. But hence we infer that the whole world is involved in the same condemnation; and that as all men without exception are guilty of unrighteousness before God, they need to be reconciled to him. John the Baptist, therefore, by speaking generally of the sin of the world, intended to impress upon us the conviction of our own misery, and to exhort us to seek the remedy. Now our duty is, to embrace the benefit which is offered to all, that each of us may be convinced that there is nothing to hinder him from obtaining reconciliation in Christ, provided that he comes to him by the guidance of faith.
Besides, he lays down but one method of taking away sins We know that from the beginning of the world, when their own consciences held them convinced, men labored anxiously to procure forgiveness. Hence the vast number of propitiatory offerings, by which they falsely imagined that they appeased God. I own, indeed, that all the spurious rites of a propitiatory nature drew their existence from a holy origin, which was, that God had appointed the sacrifices which directed men to Christ; but yet every man contrived for himself his own method of appeasing God. But John leads us back to Christ alone, and informs us that there is no other way in which God is reconciled to us than through his agency, because he alone takes away sin. He therefore leaves no other refuge for sinners than to flee to Christ; by which he overturns all satisfactions, and purifications, and redemptions, that are invented by men; as, indeed, they are nothing else than base inventions framed by the subtlety of the devil.
The verb αἴρειν ( to take away) may be explained in two ways; either that Christ took upon himself the load which weighed us down, as it is said that he carried our sins on the tree, (1Pe 2:24😉 and Isaiah says that
the chastisement of our peace was laid on him, (Isa 53:5😉
or that he blots out sins. But as the latter statement depends on the former, I gladly embrace both; namely, that Christ, by bearing our sins, takes them away. Although, therefore, sin continually dwells in us, yet there is none in the judgment of God, because when it has been annulled by the grace of Christ, it is not imputed to us. Nor do I dislike the remark of Chrysostom, that the verb in the present tense — ὁ αἴρων, who taketh away, denotes a continued act; for the satisfaction which Christ once made is always in full vigor. But he does not merely teach us that Christ takes away sin, but points out also the method, namely, that he hath reconciled the Father to us by means of his death; for this is what he means by the word Lamb. Let us therefore learn that we become reconciled to God by the grace of Christ, if we go straight to his death, and when we believe that he who was nailed to the cross is the only propitiatory sacrifice, by which all our guilt is removed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE BAPTISTS EVIDENCE FOR THE LAMB OF GOD
Text 1:29-34
29
On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!
30
This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is become before me: for he was before me.
31
And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing in water.
32
And John bare witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him.
33
And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize in water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth in the Holy Spirit.
34
And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.
Queries
a.
Why does John call Jesus the Lamb of God?
b.
Did the descending Spirit really look like a dove?
c.
Why does John emphasize I knew him not?
Paraphrase
The day following the questioning by the Jews, John sees Jesus coming toward him and says, Look! There is the Lamb of God, Who is taking away the sin of the world! This is the One of Whom I said, a Man is coming on the scene after me Who outranks me because He existed in eternity before me. I did not know He was the Messiah at first; but in order that He might be made manifest unto Israel, so Israel might know Him, I purposely came immersing in water, And John testified, saying, I have seen the Spirit coming down as a dove out of heaven and abiding upon Him. And I did not know Him, before this incident, as the Messiah; but the One who sent me to immerse in water, that One said to me, the One upon Whom you shall see the Spirit descending and abidingthis is the One Who immerses in the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have testified that this One is The Son of God!
Summary
John the Baptist points the multitudes to Jesus of Nazareth as The Lamb of God. John then sets forth the God-given evidence for his testimony.
Comment
It would be well to remark here that the author of the Fourth Gospel bridges a gap of almost thirty years between Joh. 1:18-19. The boyhood, baptism and temptation of Jesus in the wilderness are all omitted between the account of the Incarnation and that portion of Johns ministry here recorded. Therefore, when John the Baptist sees Jesus coming toward him, Jesus is returning to the scene of His baptism after having been in the wilderness of Judea for the temptation. It is only natural that Jesus would come here to link up His ministry where that of John was beginning to fade, Jesus took up preaching the gospel of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe in the gospel, (Mar. 1:14-15) where John left off.
There are a number of inferences connected with Johns utterance, Look, the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world. (a) That John was thinking of the Passover lamb (Exo. 12:1-51; Exo. 13:1-22; 1Co. 5:7; 1Pe. 1:19) since the Passover was near; (b) that, being the son of a priest, he thought of the daily offering of a lamb (Exo. 29:38-42; Num. 28:4); or (c) that the Baptist was reminded of the lamb in Isa. 53:1-12. We must agree with Hendriksen when he says, . . . why is it necessary to make a choice? Was not Christ the antitype of all three (1Pe. 1:19; Act. 8:32-35)?
In the Old Testament, the priests were to place their hands on the head of each lamb offered, thus signifying that the lamb was suffering Gods penalty upon sin which the Jew had merited by his disobedience. The lamb bore the sentence of death in place of the Israelite who deserved it. Amazing grace! This was the atonement of the Old Testament. It was typical of the atonement of the Lamb of God and the New Covenant. The atonement of the Hebrew was accomplished by the grace of God and the ransom of a lambs blood. The Hebrew, however, had to appropriate that atonement to himself. He appropriated Gods mercy through faitha faith that caused him to obey Gods plan of atonement. He might not understand fully the how and the why of placing his hand upon the head of the sacrificial lamb (Lev. 1:3-5), but trusting and believing in Jehovah to fulfil His promises, the Israelite obeyed.
When John the Baptist said that Jesus was the Lamb of God that makes atonement for the sin of the world, he did not mean irresistible or universal atonement. Such assumption contradicts plain scriptural teaching (cf. Mat. 7:14; Mat. 7:20-23, etc.). When, by faith, we are obedient to the plan of atonement or salvation ordained in Gods New Testament, we are promised complete and eternal atonement. When we obey Christs commands, we, like the Israelite of old, lay our hands upon the Lamb of God signifying that He pays the ransom for usHe suffers the penalty in our stead. We may not understand all the reasons for His commands, i.e., immersion in water (Act. 2:38), but if we TRUST Him, we will OBEY Him.
The atonement is a subject of unsearchable riches. No commentator has yet fathomed its depths. As one reads the Scriptures concerning the subject, it becomes both awesome and beautiful. Christ took away our sin by bearing in His own sinless body the penalty of the Father upon sin (cf. Rom. 3:21-26; Rom. 5:1-11; Rom. 6:23Heb. 5:7-9; Heb. 10:1-39; Isa. 53:1-12). Christ bears away, potentially, every sin that shall ever be committed (cf. 2Co. 5:14-15).
In Joh. 1:31 John says that he did not know Jesus. Whether John knew Jesus as he would a kinsman, or whether he knew Him as a fellow Israelite, we do not know. The emphasis which the Baptist wishes to place is that he did not know Jesus as the Messiahdid not know Him thus until after the baptismal experience and the dove descending upon Him. At the baptism of Jesus the Spirit descended upon Him in a bodily form as a dove and a voice spoke from heaven saying, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased (cf. Luk. 3:22), John really saw a dove descend upon Jesus, These (the dove and the voice) are the Divine manifestations which John saw and heard and which he now bears witness to.
John also explains in Joh. 1:31 that one of the purposes of his baptizing was that Jesus of Nazareth should be made manifest to Israel as the Lamb of Godthe promised Messiah, That Jesus of Nazareth was the Saviour of the world was not the private idea of John the Baptist, but He who sent John to baptize gave him the signs of the dove and the voice from heaven. The testimony of John is that of an eyewitness, and rests upon miraculous revelation. The fact that John was not aware of the deity of Jesus beforehand precludes any possibility of collusion or agreement between Jesus and John to deceive the people.
Some comment is in order here regarding Johns apparent contrast between his water baptism and the baptizing which the One following him shall perform. In the Synoptics, when John is preaching to the public in general and the Pharisees in particular, he says, I indeed baptize you in water . . . but he that cometh after me . . . he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire, etc., Mat. 3:11 (cf. also Mar. 1:8; Luk. 3:16-17). There are those today who claim John meant that he baptized only in water, but that Jesus would baptize (immerse) all believers in the Holy Spirit and in fire. We believe that the Scriptures teach a baptism of the Holy Spirit and of fire, but neither one are to be administered to all believers. By reading Luk. 24:49, and by further connecting it immediately with Act. 1:1-5 it becomes plain that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that which Jesus promised and administered to the apostles on the day of Pentecost (Act. 2:1-47). This was also administered to the household of Cornelius (Act. 10:44-48), signifying that the Gentiles were to be accepted into the kingdom of God by the heretofore prejudiced Jews (cf. Act. 10:47; Act. 11:16-18; Act. 15:7-11). These are the only instances where the Scriptures definitely speak of immersion in the Holy Spirit after the ascension of Christ. Others received special gifts of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of the hands of the apostles, but there were no other baptisms in the Holy Spirit.
As for the baptism in fire, the context demands that we interpret John the Baptists statement as referring to eternal punishment. In both Mat. 3:12 and Luk. 3:17 John interprets his foregoing statement concerning baptism in fire by saying, the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. This is also true of the verses preceding the mention of baptizing in fire. John first tells the Pharisees that every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire; then he goes on to tell Who is going to do the casting into the fire (cf. Mat. 3:10-11; Luk. 3:9-10). John is saying, I am not the anointed One you are asking aboutI merely baptize in water. The Baptist wants it emphatically understood that the One coming after him is mightier than the forerunner, that it is He Who has authority to immerse in the Holy Spirit and in fire!
Quiz
1.
What portion of Jesus life is omitted between Joh. 1:18-19?
2.
How is the atonement provided for by Christ (the Lamb of God) appropriated to our souls?
3.
Give two reasons why John came baptizing.
4.
What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit? in fire?
5.
Only ___________________ has authority to administer these two baptisms.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(29) The next day.We pass on to the witness of John on the second day, when he sees Jesus coming unto him, probably on the return from the Temptation. Forty days had passed since they met before, and since John knew at the baptism that Jesus was the Messiah. These days were for the One a period of loneliness, temptation, and victory. They must have been for the other a time of quickened energy, wondering thought, and earnest study of what the prophets foretold the Messianic advent should be. Prominent among those prophecies which every Rabbi of that day interpreted of the Messiah, was Isa. 52:13; Isa. 53:12. We know that on the previous day the fortieth chapter is quoted (Joh. 1:23), and that this prophet is therefore in the speakers thoughts. Side by side with these thoughts was the daily continuing tale of grief and sorrow and sin from those who came to be baptised. How often must there have came to the mind such words as, He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, He was wounded for our transgressions, He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, He bare the sin of many! The Messiah, then, was the servant of Jehovah, the true Paschal Lamb of Isaiahs thought. While the heart burns with this living truth that all men needed, and that one heart only knew, that same Form is seen advancing. It bears indeed no halo of glory, but it bears marks of the agonising contest and yet the calm of accomplished victory. He hath no form nor comeliness, no beauty that we should desire Him. John looks at Him as He is coming, sees there living, walking in their midst, the bearer of the worlds sin and sorrow; and utters words than which in depth and width of meaning none more full have ever come from human lips, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.
The margin gives beareth as an alternative rendering for taketh away, and this union exactly expresses the force of the original. He is ever taking away sin, but this He does by bearing the burden Himself. (Comp. 1Jn. 3:5.) A reference to the words of Isa. 53:4, above, fully establishes this. The Baptist probably used the very word of the prophet; but the Evangelist does not, in recording this for Greek readers, use the word of the LXX. as St. Peter does (1Pe. 2:24, bare our sin in His own body), but are-translates, and chooses the wider word which includes both meanings.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
SECOND testimony of the Baptist to Jesus That before the people, Joh 1:29-34.
29. The next day There were three days of testimony of John to Jesus, Joh 1:19; Joh 1:29; Joh 1:35. The last two were testimonies to the present Jesus.
Seeth Jesus coming unto him He who had been standing among them now singles himself out. To others’ eyes he is but an ordinary man; to the divinely-opened eyes of the Baptist there is a dignity in his person above all earthly dignity. And in Jesus there is a silence, at once elevated and meek, by which he waits to be attested, but must not say to the world, I am he, until his official introducer says, “
This is he.” Behold the Lamb of God
Taketh away the sin On the great day of the atonement the priest, confessing the sins of the people, laid them upon the scape-goat, who both bore them as substitute for the people, and took them away, being sent into the unknown depths of the desert. As the innocence of Jesus is prefigured by the Lamb, so his taking away the sin of the world is borrowed from this act, though not from the animal, on the day of atonement. The lamb is selected to symbolize the personal innocence of the Redeemer; the goat to signify his symbolical or representative guilt as substitute for the sinner. This taking away of sin is, first, by expiation; second, by forgiveness; and third, by sanctification through the Holy Spirit.
Of the world Many of the Jewish doctors limited the atoning power of sacrifice to Israel, but John extends it to the world. Such is the divine design. Christ died for every man alike. No plan or decree excludes any man from its blessed results; nothing but man’s own will; a will fully able to accept when it refuses.
Strauss and others wonder how it is that John should understand the doctrine of the atonement, of which even the apostles at the time of Christ’s resurrection had but little conception. Our reply is, that John at this time was living in inspired communication from God, as is repeatedly declared. He understood it as Isaiah announced it centuries beforehand. We do not doubt that there were numbers of the more spiritual Jews who understood the prophetic and typical doctrines of the atonement; but of all persons in the nation, none should have a more clear view (even if it had to be obtained by immediate prophetic revelation) of the true nature of the Messiah’s office than he, the harbinger himself. His clearness of view, in this the bright morning of his mission, may not only have been clearer than that of the apostles during the Saviour’s sojourn; but clearer than even he possessed, when in the day of darkness and trial he sent his message from prison to Jesus. Nor is it true that the Baptist is represented by our Evangelist as expressing views of the dignity and future history of Jesus in advance of any thing he is made to utter in the first three Gospels. The Baptist is clearly made to declare that the personage whose forerunner he is, is LORD, that is, Jehovah, in Mat 3:3; he indicates the call of the Gentiles in Mat 3:9; he ascribes the sending of the Holy Ghost to Christ, Mat 3:11; and he pronounces Christ the judge and executor of final and eternal retribution, Mat 3:12. Our present Evangelist is indeed, as he purposes to be, more diffuse and extended in representing the Baptist’s testimony to the high personality of Jesus; but he is not more decisive. The Baptist’s Christ is just as divine a being in the first Evangelist as in the last.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘On the morrow he sees Jesus coming to him and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”.’
‘The morrow, the next day’. This whole passage links a number of events over a period of days. The writer, who was present and saw what took place, could never forget those never to be forgotten days when he first saw Jesus. And prominent among those memories was the way in which John the Baptiser, when he saw Jesus coming towards him, turned to the people and declared to them, Who Jesus was. ‘See’, he says, ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’. Here John is connecting Jesus with the suffering servant and prophet spoken of in Isaiah 53, the lamb (amnos, as here) who was led to the slaughter, who was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities, and who bore our sins and carried our sorrows (Isa 53:7 with Joh 1:4-5 in context). He would suffer for the sins of his people, as He Himself would later confirm (Luk 22:37; Mar 10:45). By this time the Servant was seen by some as a Messianic figure. Thus the Targum of Jonathan speaks of a ‘Servant Messish’.
The writer will also often later centre on the Passover, and although he nowhere in fact mentions the Passover lamb, it is possible he also has the Passover lamb in mind when he refers to the Passover. Indeed it might be argued that it was because he saw Jesus as replacing the Passover lamb that he never mentions it. The Passover Lamb was Himself visiting Jerusalem. Certainly it is difficult to avoid the implication that the One Who died at the Passover was the Passover lamb (made explicit in 1Co 5:7). And while that lamb was initially not specifically propitiatory, it now had to be offered in the Temple through the priests, and therefore included propitiatory elements.
Nor should we overlook the daily sacrifice, which was propitiatory and was an important part of the Passover. But whatever was most directly in John’s mind it is clear that he was thinking in terms of a sacrificial offering. Thus he saw Jesus as One Who would in some way be a sacrifice for the sins of the world, and this could only link back to Isa 53:10, with its emphasis on the guilt offering, while indirectly including the Passover lamb and the daily offering.
It should be noted that in the Septuagint (LXX – an important Greek version of the Old Testament) the Passover lamb is not ‘amnos’ but ‘probaton’, however, LXX does see it as taken from among the ‘amnoi’ (e.g. Exo 12:5), and the words are paralleled in Isa 53:7. (And John the Baptiser is thinking in Hebrew and Aramaic not Greek).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God ( Mat 3:13-17 , Mar 9:9-11 , Luk 3:21-22 ) In Joh 1:29-34 we read the story of how John the Baptist baptizes Jesus Christ and declares Him to be the Lamb of God.
John’s Testimony to the People Joh 1:29-34 records the testimony of John the Baptist to the people about the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. This testimony emphasizes Jesus redemptive work on Calvary as the “Lamb of God” to take away the sins of the people.
Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Joh 1:29
[108] The Diatessaron reads, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou serve. And when the devil had completed all his temptations, he departed from him for a season. And behold, the angels drew near and ministered unto him. And next day John was standing, and two of his disciples; and he saw Jesus as he was walking, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God” ( The Diatessaron 5.1-5) in ANF 9.
[109] John Chrysostom agrees with the order of The Diatessaron, saying, “Matthew, after the return of Jesus from the wilderness, saying nothing of the intermediate circumstances, as what John spake, and what the Jews sent and said, and having cut short all the rest, passes immediately to the prison.” ( Homilies on John 17) See John Chrysostom, The Homilies of John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, on the Gospel of St. John, Translated, with Notes and Incides, pt. 1 Homilies I-XLI (Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1848), 139.
[110] Matthew Poole, Matthew Henry, John Gill, and Heinrich Meyer are examples of commentators who clearly place the Temptation before John 1:29. An example of Gospel harmonies that follow this view are James Macknight, A Harmony of the Four Gospels, vol. 1 (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, and Ogle, Duncan, and Co., 1819), 174; Lant Carpenter, Harmony of the Gospels (Boston: Gray and Bowen, 1831), 17-20; J. M. Fuller, The Four Gospels, Arranged in the Form of a Harmony, From the Text of the Authorized Version (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1984) , 11-12; John A. Broadus, A Harmony of the Gospels in the Revised Version (New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1894), 16-18; A. T. Robertson, A Harmony of the Gospels for Students of the Life of Christ (New York: George H. Doran Company, 1922), xv.
[111] John Calvin, Commentary on the Gospel According to John, vol. 1 (Edinburgh: The Calvin Translation Society, 1847), 63.
[112] Kurt Aland, ed., Synopsis of the Four Gospels (Greek-English Edition of the Synopsis Quattuor Evangeliorum), 12th Edition (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2001), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004).
Joh 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
Joh 1:35, “Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;”
Joh 1:43, “The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.”
Joh 2:1, “And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:”
Joh 1:29 tells us that on this day, Jesus the Messiah was manifested to John the Baptist. Note that on the previous day, John faced one of the greatest confrontations in his public ministry to date, when the Pharisees, whom everyone feared, asked John to justify his ministry. We often face the same situations in our lives. It is in the times of greatest adversity that God reveals His glory to us. John’s confrontation with the Pharisees was still fresh in his mind as he was baptizing Jesus and seeing the Holy Spirit descend upon Him.
This experience was a great source of strength and encouragement for John the Baptist. I have found that it is during the most difficult times in my life when God reveals Himself to me in such powerful ways.
Joh 1:29 “and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” – Comments – Why did John use the title “the Lamb of God” for the Messiah at Jesus’ baptism? Since Jesus Christ came to take away the sins of the world, this is a prophecy of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. He is like a lamb offered upon the altar as a sacrifice.
John the apostle will use this title at least twenty-six times throughout the book of Revelation in reference to Jesus Christ.
Joh 1:29 Comments – We must believe that John the Baptist and Jesus Christ had met as children. When we look at Mary running to spend time with her close relative Elisabeth while they were both pregnant, and rejoicing with one another at their miracles, we cannot but believe that they came together after their children were born to rejoice once more and to show these children to one another. It is very likely that John and Jesus were brought together on a number of occasions when Mary and Elisabeth and their families visited one another. Thus, John may have recognized his blood relative in the nature; but in Joh 1:29 he sees him for the first time as the One whom God revealed would come and be baptized and take away the sins of the world.
Joh 1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
Joh 1:31 Joh 1:31
Joh 1:29-31 Comments – The Purpose of John’s and Jesus’ Ministries – In Joh 1:29-31 we are told by John the Baptist the purpose of both of their ministries. John the Baptist was sent to reveal the Messiah and prepare Israel for His coming. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Jesus came to offer Himself as the sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Joh 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
Joh 1:33 Joh 1:34 Joh 1:34
Joh 1:19, “And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
John points to the Lamb of God:
v. 29. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
v. 30. This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a Man which is preferred before me; for He was before me.
v. 31. And I knew Him not; but that He should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
v. 32. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him.
v. 33. And I knew Him not; but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
v. 34. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. The very next day after the embassy of the Sanhedrin had been with John, he saw Jesus coming toward him. This incident probably took place after the temptation in the wilderness. John said, in the hearing of his disciples and such other people as may have been present at the time: Behold the Lamb of God that beareth the sin of the world. The herald proclaimed the coming of the King, undoubtedly with the passage Isa 53:1-12 in mind. Christ was the prophesied Lamb, the sacrificial Lamb, the Passover Lamb, the Lamb that was led to the slaughter. And He was the Lamb of God, He was provided by God, sent out by God, He came with God’s full consent and will. In His capacity as Lamb of God, He lifts up and carries away, He puts away entirely, without leaving a trace behind, He renders full satisfaction for the sin, all the sin without exception, all the transgression with all its guilt. This bearing and taking away was a continuous work and labor. The entire life of Jesus was a bearing and atoning for sin and the guilt of sin. The sin of the world, of the whole world, He bore and took away, without restriction or reservation. “This is preaching with exceptional beauty and consolation of Christ, our Savior; we can never reach it with our words, yea, not even with our thoughts. In yonder life we shall in all eternity have our joy and delight in that fact that the Son of God humiliates Himself thus far and takes my sins on His back; yea, not only my sins, but also those of the whole world, all that have been committed since Adam, down to the very last person, all this He assumes as having been done by Him, and He wants to suffer and die for it, in order that I may be without sin and obtain eternal life and salvation. Who can adequately speak or think of that, namely, that the whole world with all her sanctity, righteousness, power, and glory is included in sin and has no value in the sight of God, and wherever someone wants to be saved and be rid of his sin, that he knows his sins are all laid upon the Lamb’s back? This Lamb bears the sins, not mine or thine, or any other person’s alone, nor those of a single kingdom or country, but those of the whole world; and thou art also a part of the world. ” John identifies Christ more exactly by referring to his words of the day before. He whom I am pointing out to you, He who is here before you, He is the one that in point of human existence is later than I, but by reason of His divinity stands far in advance of me, surpasses me in every respect. Jesus Was before John, had been in existence from eternity, and this attribute of eternity is confessed by John. When Jesus first came to John, the latter did not know Him personally, he was not sure as to His identity, he could not have recognized Him beyond the possibility of a mistake. See Mat 3:14. John had known of the existence of Jesus; he had probably been told by his parents or received other revelations concerning Him whose coming he proclaimed. But His person was not known to the Baptist. This fact had nothing to do with John’s ministry, which consisted in witnessing and preaching of Him, in order to make Him manifest before the people of Israel. Before Jesus could be revealed, the ministry of John should prepare the way. To Israel, as to the chosen people of God, Jesus was to be revealed first, and to that end the baptizing of John was to serve. The people, having confessed their sins and having received the assurance of pardon in baptism, would be eager for the full and complete revelation of the grace and mercy of God in the person and work of Jesus. And John had proof positive that the Man to whom he was pointing was the Messiah. For he had seen the heavens opened, and the Spirit of God descending upon Christ in visible form, Mat 3:16; Mar 1:10; Luk 3:22. That Spirit which Jesus had received upon that occasion had not left Him again, but had remained upon Him. Jesus had had the Holy Ghost from the moment of His conception, but this Spirit had been passive within Him. Now, however, by this open revelation, the formal beginning of the ministry of Christ was indicated. From that time on the Spirit of God proved Himself a living, active power in the human nature of Christ. He was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power, Act 10:38. Thus the visible communication of the Spirit at the time of Christ’s baptism was incidentally a preparation of Jesus for His prophetic office and work.
John now summarizes once more. He had not been personally acquainted with Christ, but when God had given him tile command and sent him forth to baptize and perform all the works of his ministry, He had given him that revelation, that definite sign by which he should distinguish with unfailing certainty the person of the Messiah. John would see the Spirit descending upon Christ, and this same person would be He that would baptize with the Holy Ghost. This was one of the functions of Christ according to prophecy. The first work of the Savior is this, that He bears and takes away the sin of the world. The second is this, that He sanctifies the sinners that have accepted His salvation through the Holy Spirit. They must be cleansed and purified of sins and all uncleanness. Hence the importance of the sending of the Spirit. And John had been an eye. witness, he was absolutely sure of what he had seen. And therefore he could now bear witness with such certainty. He could preach and proclaim with absolute definiteness that this Jesus who had received the Holy Ghost without measure was the Son of God. Note: All truly Christian preaching must have the essential content of the proclamation and witness of John. A true Christian preacher will first prepare the way for the coming of the Lord through the preaching of repentance. He that is no sinner and does not want to acknowledge himself a sinner, has no need of a Savior. But then follows the preaching of Christ, of Jesus of Nazareth, of the Redeemer of the world. Only by and through such preaching is the eternal Light revealed to men.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Joh 1:29. The next day John seeth Jesus, &c. It seems Jesus returned from the wilderness about the time that the priests and Levitesarrived at Bethabara; for the day after they proposed their questions, he happened to pass by while the Baptist was standing with the multitude on the banks of the Jordan. The great business of the Messiah’s forerunner being to lead the people to that Messiah, John embraced this new opportunity of pointing him out to them; “Behold,” said he, “with the strictest attention and regard that innocent and holy Person, who may properly be called the Lamb of God, as he is the great atoning sacrifice, of which the lambs, daily offered by divine command in the temple, were intended to be types; which expiates and takes away the sin of the whole world; and is set forth to be a propitiation, not only for the Jews, for whom alone the sacrifices of the law were offered, but for the Gentiles too; that throughhis name whosoever believeth in him, may receive remission of sins.” It is well observed by the author of the treatise called “Christ the Mediator,” that this is the only sense in which a lamb can be said to take away sin. Comp. Heb 9:26; Heb 9:28. Eph 1:7. Col 1:14.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 1:29 . ] on the following day , the next after the events narrated in Joh 1:19-28 . Comp. Joh 1:35 ; Joh 1:44 (Joh 2:1 ), Joh 6:22 , Joh 12:12 .
. .] coming towards him , not coming to him, i.e . only so near that he could point to Him (Baur). He came, however, neither to take leave of the Baptist before His temptation (Kuinoel, against which is Joh 1:35 ), nor to be baptized of him (Evvald, Hengstenberg; see the foregoing note); but with a purpose not more fully known to us, which John has not stated, because he was not concerned about that, but about the testimony of the Baptist . If we were to take into account the narrative of the temptation, which, however, is not the case,
Jesus might be regarded as here returning from the temptation (see Euthymius Zigabenus, Lcke, Luthardt, Riggenbach, Godet).
, . . .] These words are not addressed to Jesus, but to those who are around the Baptist, and they are suggested by the sight of Jesus; comp. Joh 1:36 . As to the use of the singular , when nevertheless several are addressed, see on Mat 10:16 . The article denotes the appointed Lamb of God, which, according to the prophetic utterance presupposed as well known, was expected in the person of the Messiah. This characteristic form of Messianic expectation is based upon Isa 53:7 . Comp. Mat 8:17 ; Luk 22:37 ; Act 8:32 ; 1Pe 2:22 ff.; and the in the Apocalypse. On the force of the article, see Joh 1:21 , ; also , Rom 15:12 ; , Rev 5:5 . The genitive is that of possession, that which belongs to God, i.e . the lamb appointed as a sacrifice by God Himself. This interpretation follows from the entire contents of Isa 53 , and from the idea of sacrifice which is contained in , . . . We must not therefore render: “the Lamb given by God” (Hofmann, Luthardt). But while, according to this view, the lamb, designated and appointed by God, is meant, the lamb already spoken of in holy prophecies of old, whose fulfilment in Jesus was already recognised by the Baptist, it is erroneous to assume any reference to the paschal lamb (Luther, Grotius, Bengel, Lampe, Olshausen, Maier, Reuss, Luthardt, Hofmann, Hengstenberg; comp. Godet). Such an assumption derives no support from the more precise definition in , . . ., and would produce a ; for the view which regarded Christ as the paschal lamb first arose ex eventu , because He was crucified upon the same day on which the paschal lamb was slain (see on Joh 18:28 ; 1Co 5:7 ). He certainly thus became the antitype of the paschal lamb, but, according to the whole tenor of the passage in Isaiah, He was not regarded by the Baptist in this special aspect, nor could He be so conceived of by his hearers. The conception of sacrifice which, according to the prophecy in Isaiah and the immediate connection in John, is contained in , is that of the trespass-offering, , Isa 53:10 ; [116] 1Jn 2:2 ; 1Jn 4:10 ; 1Jn 1:7 . It by no means militates against this, that, according to the law, lambs were not as a rule employed for trespass-offerings (Lev 14:2 , Num 6:12 , relate to exceptional cases only; and the daily morning and evening sacrifices, Exo 29:38 ff., Num 28 , which Wetstein here introduces, were prayer- and thank-offerings), but for sacrifices of purification (Lev 5:1-6 ; Lev 14:12 ; Num 6:12 ): [117] for in Isaiah the Servant of Jehovah, who makes atonement for the people by His vicarious sufferings, is represented as a lamb; and it is this prophetic view, not the legal prescription, which is the ruling thought here. Christ was, as the Baptist here prophetically recognises Him, the antitype of the O. T. sacrifices: He must therefore, as such, be represented in the form of some animal appointed for sacrifice; and the appropriate figure was given not in the law, but by the prophet , who, contemplating Him in His gentleness and meekness, represents Him as a sacrificial lamb , and from this was derived the form which came to be the normal one in the Christian manner of view. The apostolic church consequently could apprehend Him as the Christian Passover; though legally the passover lamb, as a trespass-offering, which it certainly was, differed from the ordinary trespass-offerings (Ewald, Alterth . p. 467 f.; Hengstenberg takes a different view, Opfer, d. h. Schr . p. 24 ff.). This Christian method of view accordingly had a prophetical , and not a legal foundation. To exclude the idea of sacrifice altogether, and to find in the expression Lamb of God the representation merely of a divinely consecrated, innocent, and gentle sufferer (Gabler, Melet. in Joh 1:29 , Jen. 1808 1811, in his Opusc. p. 514 ff.; Paulus, Kuinoel), is opposed to the context both in Isaiah and in John, as well as to the view of the work of redemption which pervades the whole of the N. T. Weiss, Lehrbegr. p. 159 ff.
. . . ] may either signify, “who takes away the sin of the world,” or, “who takes upon himself ,” etc., i.e . in order to bear it. Both renderings (which Flacius, Melancthon, and most others, even Bumlein, combine) must, according to Isaiah 53., express the idea of atonement; so that in the first the cancelling of the guilt is conceived of as a removing , a doing away with sin (an abolition of it); in the second, as a bearing (an expiation) of it. The latter interpretation is usually preferred (so Lcke, B. Crusius, De Wette, Hengstenberg, Brckner, Ewald, Weber, v . Zorne Gottes, p. 250), because in Isa 53 the idea is certainly that of bearing by way of expiation ( : LXX. , , ). But since the LXX. never use to express the bearing of sin, but always , etc., while on the other hand they express the taking away of sin by (1Sa 15:25 ; 1Sa 25:28 ; Aq. Psa 31:5 , where Symm. has and the LXX. ); and as the context of 1Jn 3:5 , in like manner, requires us to take , there used to denote the act of expiation (comp. Joh 2:2 ), as signifying the taking away of sins; so , etc., here is to be explained in this sense, not, indeed, that the Baptist expresses an idea different from Isa 53 , but the expiation there described as a bearing of sins is represented, according to its necessary and immediate result, as the abolition of sins by virtue of the vicarious sacrificial suffering and death of the victim, as the , Heb 9:26 . Comp. already Cyril: ; Vulgate: qui tollit; Goth.: afnimith . John himself expresses this idea in 1Jn 1:7 , when referring to the sin-cleansing power of Christ’s blood, which operates also on those who are already regenerate (see Dsterdieck in loc ., p. 99 ff.), by . The taking away of sins by the Lamb presupposes His taking them upon Himself. The interpretation “to take away,” in itself correct, is (after Grotius) misused by Kuinoel: “ removebit peccata hominum, i.e. pravitatem e terra; ” [118] and Gabler has misinterpreted the rendering “to bear; ” “qui pravitatem hominum i.e. mala sibi inflicta , patienti et mansueto animo sustinebit .” Both are opposed to the necessary relation of the word to . , as well as to the real meaning of Isa 53 ; although even Gabler’s explanation would not in itself be linguistically erroneous, but would have to be referred back to the signification, to take upon oneself, to take over (sch. Pers . 544; Soph. Tr . 70; Xen. Mem . iv. 4. 14; 1Ma 13:17 ; Mat 11:29 , al .).
The Present arises from the fact that the Baptist prophetically views the act of atonement accomplished by the Lamb of God as present . This act is ever-enduring , not in itself, but in its effects (against Hengstenberg). Luthardt holds that the words are not to be understood of the future, and that the Baptist had not Christ’s death in view, but only regarded and designated Him in a general way, as one who was manifested in a body of weakness, and with liability to suffering, in order to the salvation of men. But this is far too general for the concrete representation of Christ as the Lamb of God, and for the express reference herein made to sin , especially from the lips of a man belonging to the old theocracy, who was himself the son of a sacrificing priest, a Nazarite and a prophet.
] the sins of the world conceived of as a collective unity; “una pestis, quse omnes corripuit,” Bengel. Comp. Rom 5:20 .
] an extension of the earlier prophetic representation of atonement for the people , Isa 53 . to all mankind , the reconciliation of whom has been objectively accomplished by the of the Lamb of God, but is accomplished subjectively in all who believe (Joh 3:15-16 ). Comp. Rom 5:18 .
[116] As to the distinction between trespass or guilt and sin offerings, , see Ewald, Alterth. p. 76 ff.; and for the various opinions on this distinction, especially Keil, Arch. I. 46; Oehler in Herzog’s Encykl. X. p. 462 ff.; Saalschtz, M. R. p. 321 ff.
[117] Concerning , Lev 5:6 , see Knobel in loc.
[118] Comp. Baur, N. T. Theol . p. 396: “In a general sense, He bears away and removes sin by His personal manifestation and ministry throughout.” This is connected with the error that we do not find in John the same significance attached to Christ’s death which we find in Paul.
Note .
That the Baptist describes Jesus as the Messiah, who by His sufferings maizes expiation for the world’s sin, is to be explained by considering his apocalyptic position, by which his prophecies, which had immediate reference to the person and work of Jesus, were conditioned; comp. Joh 1:31 ff. It was not that he had obtained a sudden glimpse of light in a natural manner (Hofmann, Schweizer, Lange), or a growing presentiment (De Wette), or a certitude arrived at by reason and deep reflection (Ewald); but a revelation had been made to him (comp. Joh 1:33 ). This was necessary in order to announce the idea of a suffering Messiah with such decision and distinctness, even according to its historical realization in Jesus; an idea which, though it had been discovered by a few deep-seeing minds through prophetic hints or divine enlightenment (Luk 2:25 ; Luk 2:34-35 ), nevertheless undoubtedly encountered in general expectations of a kind diametrically opposite (Joh 12:34 ; Luk 24:26 ), and in order likewise to give to that idea the impress of world-embracing universality, although the way was already prepared for this by the promise made to Abraham. The more foreign the idea of a suffering Messiah was to the people in general, the more disinclined the disciples of Jesus showed themselves to accept such a view (Mat 16:21 ; Luk 24:25 ); the more certain that its dissemination was effected by the development of the history, while even thus remaining a constant to the Jews, the more necessary and justifiable does it appear to suppose a special divine revelation, with which the expression borrowed from Isa 53 may very well be consistent. And the more certain it is that the Baptist really was the subject of divine revelations as the forerunner of the Messiah (comp. Mat 3:14 ), all the more unhistorical is the assumption that the evangelist divests the idea of the Messiah of its historical form (Keim) by putting his own knowledge into the Baptist’s mouth (Strauss, Weisse, Baur, Hilgenfeld, Scholten; comp. De Wette’s doubt, but against this latter, Brckner). This view receives no support from the subsequent vacillation of the Baptist (Mat 11:3 ), because the revelation which he had received, as well as that made to him at the baptism (Joh 1:32 ), would not exclude a subsequent and temporary falling into error, and because this was not caused by any sufferings which Jesus underwent, but by his own sufferings in face of the Messianic works of Jesus, whereby the divine light previously received was dimmed through human weakness and impatience. It is only by surrendering the true interpretation (see above) that Luthardt avoids such a supposition as this. The notion of a spiritualizing legend (Schenkel) is of itself excluded by the genuineness of the Gospel, whose author had been a disciple of the Baptist. Moreover, Jesus Himself, according even to the testimony of the Synoptics (Mar 2:20 ; Mat 12:39 , etc.), was sufficiently acquainted from the very first with the certainty of His final sufferings.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1601
CHRIST THE LAMB OF GOD
Joh 1:29. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
IN the general estimation of the world, they are reputed great who bear sway over their fellow-creatures, and are surrounded with pomp and splendour. But, with God, men are accounted great according as they possess a knowledge of his ways, and advance the ends of his government. Hence we are told by our Lord himself that John the Baptist, a plain rustic man, clothed with coarse raiment of camels hair, and a leathern girdle, and subsisting on the spontaneous produce of the wilderness, was the greatest of all men that had ever been born. And what was it that so exalted him, not only above all the monarchs of the mightiest empires, but above Abraham, or Moses, or David, or any other of the prophets? It was this: they had seen Christ only at a distance, and spoken of him only in dark prophecies; but he beheld him personally; and, having discovered him by an infallible sign from heaven, pointed him out to others as that very Lamb of God, who should take away the sin of the world. Through the goodness of God, we may be as much exalted above him, as he was above others, if we behold Jesus in the character which is here assigned him; because the completion of his sacrificial work, together with the more perfect revelation of it, which we have in the New Testament, enables us to enter far more deeply into the mystery of redemption, and more fully to comply with the ends and designs of God in it [Note: Mat 11:11.]. To forward therefore your truest advancement, we shall,
I.
Illustrate the character of our Lord as it is here described
[Under the law there were lambs offered every morning and evening in sacrifice to God; and it is to these, and not to the Paschal Lamb, that St. John refers. They were to be of the first year, and without blemish [Note: Exo 29:38-41. Num 28:3-8]: and by the continual offering up of them God was pacified, as it were, so that his wrath did not break forth to destroy his people on account of their daily transgressions. Such a lamb was Christ: he was the Lamb, whom all the others typified. He was truly without spot or blemish [Note: 1Pe 1:19.]; and was offered on the altar of his cross, not merely for the good, but in the stead, of sinners [Note: 1Pe 3:18. Gal 3:13.]. He was really a propitiatory sacrifice, inasmuch as he bore in his own body the curse due to sin [Note: 1Pe 2:24.], and expiated all its guilt. As there was no variation of the daily sacrifices, but only a repetition of the same, so his one offering of himself is the sole cause of our acceptance with God: nor need that to be repeated, because the virtue of it extends from the beginning to the end of time; he is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world [Note: Rev 13:8.]. Nor is it the sin of one nation only that he takes away, but the sin of the whole world [Note: 1Jn 2:2.]. He was eminently the Lamb of God, having been chosen to that office by God, and being accepted by him on our behalf in the discharge of it: He was an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour [Note: Eph 5:2.].]
II.
Call more particularly your attention to him
1.
Let the careless sinner behold him
[It is but too evident that they, who live in the neglect of God and their own souls, know little of the evil and malignity of sin. But let such persons view the Son of God leaving the bosom of his Father, and assuming our nature to atone for sin: let them go to Gethsemane and behold him bathed in a bloody sweat through the agonies of his soul: let them follow him to Calvary, and hear him crying in the depths of dereliction, My God, my God! why hast thou forsaken me? Let them view him expiring under the curse and condemnation of the law; and then let them judge, whether sin be so light and venial an evil as they imagine? Let them bethink themselves, if such things were done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry [Note: Luk 23:31.]? Let them behold him whom they have pierced, yea, whom they are daily crucifying afresh, and mourn [Note: Zec 12:10.]. Let them know that what he suffered was for them; and that, if they be only willing to humble themselves for their iniquities, the benefits of his death shall extend to them. O that we might all so behold him, as to experience the efficacy of his blood in the removal of our sins!]
2.
Let the self-righteous moralist behold him
[How strange is it that any one, who bears the name of Christ, should expect salvation by the works of the law! Why should that Lamb of God have come down from heaven to expiate our guilt, if sin could have been taken away by means of any repentance or righteousness of ours? What truth could there be in the Baptists assertion, if pardon were to be obtained in any other way than through the sacrifice of Christ? Yea, for what end could so many thousands of lambs have bled upon the altar, but to shew, that without shedding of blood there could be no remission [Note: Heb 9:22.]; and consequently, to lead the attention of all to that Lamb of God, that should in due time be offered on the cross? Let such indignity then be no longer shewn to the Saviour of the world: but, as it is his office to take away our sin, let us renounce all self-righteous hopes, and trust entirely in his all-atoning sacrifice.]
3.
Let the mourning penitent behold him
[No sight under heaven can be so welcome to a contrite soul as a sight of Jesus dying in the place of sinners: for, can we suppose, that he was appointed of God to make atonement for us, and that he executed his commission by dying on the cross, and that, after all, he is unable or unwilling to take away our sin? Was he designed to be a propitiation for the sins of the whole world, and is there such malignity in the sins of any individual, that there is not a sufficiency in his blood to atone for them? Let us put away such disparaging thoughts of this Lamb of God: let us view him as infinite both in power and grace: let us listen to his encouraging invitation, Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth [Note: Isa 45:22.]: and let us, whatever be our state, trust in him, as able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him.]
4.
Let the professor of godliness behold him
[Well may you rejoice in the sufficiency of your Saviours merits; well may you glory in the security which his blood affords you. But remember, it is not the guilt of sin only that he removes, but the power of it also: and the experience of the latter is our only evidence that we have experienced the former. To redeem us from the love and practice of iniquity, and to purify us unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works, was no less the intent of his death, than to deliver us from condemnation [Note: Tit 2:14. 1Pe 2:24.]. While therefore we behold the Lamb of God as the ground of our hope, let us also behold him as a pattern for our imitation [Note: 1Pe 2:21.]. Let us follow his steps in all meekness and patience, in all purity and holiness: and let us convince the world that faith in Christ, so far from relaxing our zeal for good works, is the strongest incentive to the performance of them.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Ver. 29. Taketh away ] Or, that is taking away, , by a perpetual act, as the sun doth shine, as the spring doth run,Zec 13:1Zec 13:1 . This should be as a perpetual picture in our hearts. As we multiply sins, he multiplieth pardons, Isa 55:7 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
29 34. ] Second witness borne by John to Jesus: apparently before his disciples.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
29. ] , the day after. Those who wish to introduce the Temptation between Joh 1:28-29 , interpret it, ‘ on some day after .’ Thus Euthym [29] ., . But this sense of ., although certainly found in the LXX, see Gen 30:33 , is not according to the usage of John (see reff.), and would be quite alien from the precision of this whole portion of the narrative, which, Joh 1:40 , specifies even the hours of the day. I understand it therefore literally, both here and in Joh 1:35 ; Joh 1:44 .
[29] Euthymius Zigabenus, 1116
. . . ] It is not said whence , or why , or whether for the purpose of an interview, or not; the fact merely is related, for the sake of the testimony which follows. I mention this, because on these points difficulties have been raised.
. . . ] This is one of the most important and difficult sayings in the N.T. The question to be answered is, in calling Jesus by so definite a name as , to what did John refer? And this question is intimately connected with that of the meaning of the following words, .
( ) The title must refer to some known and particular lamb , and cannot be a mere figure for a just and holy man, as Kuinoel and Gabler suppose. It is inconceivable, that should in a testimony so precise and formal as this of the Baptist, be nothing but an hyperbole , and that one wholly unprecedented , and to his hearers unintelligible . Had no doctrinal considerations been at stake, we may safely say that this interpretation would never have been proposed. In its bearing on the latter clause of the verse, it is equally untenable. These interpreters make . . . . to mean, “qui pravitatem hominum per vitam suam graviter quidem etsi innocens experietur, sed agni instar mala sibi inflicta patiente et mansueto animo sustinebit” (Gabler); or, “Hic removebit peccata hominum, i. e, pravitatem e terra,” The first of these meanings of is altogether without example: that cited from 1Ma 13:17 , not being applicable. The second, though common enough in other connexions, is never found with : see reff. The commonsense account of this part of the matter is: John wished to point out Jesus as the Messiah: he designates Him as the Lamb of God; he therefore referred to some definite lamb, revealed by God, sent by God, pleasing to God, or in some meaning especially, . Whence did this idea come?
( ) Can John have referred to the paschal lamb? Further than that the very use of the name brings in with it the general typical use of the animal, and that thus this particular use may lie in the background, I think not , and for this reason: The dominant idea in the paschal sacrifice has no connexion, in any sense of the words, with . However by the light now thrown back on it since the Spirit has opened the things of Christ, we discern this typical meaning in the sprinkling of the blood (see 1Co 5:7 ), in the Jewish mind , no mention being made of sin or the removing of sin in any connexion with the paschal lamb, the two could not be brought forward, in such an announcement as this, in close connexion with one another.
( ) Can the reference be to the lamb of the daily morning and evening sacrifice? or to the sacrificial lamb generally? With the same reservation as above, I think not: for (1) this expression is too definite to have so general and miscellaneous a reference; (2) of many animals which were used for sacrifice, the lamb was only one , and that one not by any means so prominent as to serve as a type for the whole: and (3) the lamb (with only two exceptions, Lev 4:32 ; Num 6:14 , in both which cases it was to be a female , as if for express distinction from the ordinary use of the lamb) was never used for a sin-offering , properly so called and known. The question is not , whether Christ be not typified by all these offerings, which we now know to be the case ( 1Pe 1:19 alli [30] .), but whether the Baptist is likely to have referred to them in such words as these .
[30] alli = some cursive mss.
( ) There remains but one reference, and that is, to the prophetic announcement in Isa 53:7 . The whole of that latter section of Isaiah, as before remarked on Joh 1:23 , is Messianic, and was so understood by the Jews (see my Hulsean Lectures for 1841, pp. 62 66). We have there the servant of God (= the Messiah) compared to a lamb brought to the slaughter ( Isa 53:7 ), and it is said of Him ( Isa 53:4 ), Joh 1:5 , Joh 1:6 , Joh 1:8 , , Joh 1:12 , . So that here, and here only, we have the connexion of which we are in search, between the lamb , and the bearing or taking away of sin , expressly stated, so that it could be formally referred to in a testimony like the present. And I have therefore no doubt that this was the reference .
( ) We have now to enquire into the specific meaning of (see above under ( )). answers to the Heb. , which is used frequently in the O.T. in connexion with or , in the sense of peccati pnas luere : see Lev 24:15 ; Num 5:31 ; Num 14:34 ; Eze 4:5 ; Eze 23:35 alli [31] .: and variously rendered in the LXX by , as above, Isa 53:11-12 , or , ib. Isa 1:4 , or , Eze 4:5 ; Eze 18:19 ; Num 5:31 ; Num 14:34 ; Lev 24:15 . (which though not a compound of , seems to have almost been adopted as such, the actual compound being intransitive) is used in the sense of ‘ taking away of sin and its guilt ,’ but taking it away by expiation: see Exo 34:7 ; Lev 10:17 ; Num 14:18 .
[31] alli = some cursive mss.
The word in our verse will bear either of these meanings, or both conjoined; for if the Lamb is to suffer the burden of the sins of the world, and to take away sin and its guilt by expiation, this result must be accomplished by the offering of Himself .
But ( ) it is objected, that this view of a suffering Messiah and of expiation by the sufferings of one , was alien from the Jewish expectations; and that the Baptist (see Mat 11:2 ff. and note) cannot himself have had any such view. But the answer to this may be found in the fact that the view, though not generally prevalent among the Jews, was by no means unknown to many. The application by the early Jewish expositors of Isa 53 to the Messiah, could hardly have been made, without the idea of the suffering and death of their Messiah being presented to their minds. The same would be the case in the whole sacrificial conomy: the removal of guilt (which was universally ascribed to the Messiah) by suffering and death would be familiarized to their minds. Traces of this are found in their own writings. In 2Ma 7:37-38 , the last of the seven brethren thus speaks before his martyrdom: , , , . . And Josephus, de Maccab. 17 ( 4Ma 17:22 ) says of these same martyrs. that they were . ( ) . The whole history of the sacrifices and devotions of the heathen world abounds with examples of the same idea variously brought forward; and to these the better-informed among the Jews could be no strangers. And as to the Baptist himself, we must not forget that the power of the Holy Spirit which enabled him to recognize by a special sign the Redeemer, also spoke in him , and therefore his words would not be the result of education merely, or his own reasoning, but of that kind of intuitive perception of divine truth, which those have had who have been for any special purpose the organs of the Holy Ghost.
And as regards Mat 11:3 , the doubt on the mind of John there expressed does not appear to have touched at all on the matter now in question, but to have rather been a form of expressing his impatience at the slow and quiet progress of Him of whom he expected greater things and a more rapid public manifestation.
See this whole enquiry pursued at greater length in Lcke’s Commentary, vol. i. pp. 401 416, from whence the substance of this note is taken.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 1:29-34 . The witness of John based on the sign at the baptism of Jesus .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Joh 1:29 . , the first instance of John’s accurate definition of time. Cf. 35, 43, Joh 2:1 . The deputation had withdrawn, but the usual crowd attracted by John would be present. “The inquiries made from Jerusalem would naturally create fresh expectation among John’s disciples. At this crisis,” etc. (Westcott). . Jesus had quite recently returned from the retirement in the wilderness, and naturally sought John’s company. Around John He is more likely to find receptive spirits than elsewhere. And it gave His herald an opportunity to proclaim Him, . The article indicates that a person who could thus be designated had been expected; or it may merely be introductory to the further definition of the succeeding clause. , provided by God; cf. “bread of God,” Joh 6:33 ; also Rom 8:32 . It is impossible to suppose with the author of Ecce Homo that by this title “the lamb of God” the Baptist merely meant to designate Jesus as a man “full of gentleness who could patiently bear the ills to which He would be subjected” ( cf. Aristoph., Pax , 935). The second clause forbids this interpretation. He is a lamb , and there is only one way in which a lamb can take away sin, and that is by sacrifice. The expression might suggest the picture of the suffering servant of the Lord in Isa 53 , “led as a lamb to the slaughter,” but unless the Baptist had previously been speaking of this part of Scripture, it is doubtful whether those who heard him speak would think of it. In Isaiah it is as a symbol of patient endurance the lamb is introduced; here it is as the symbol of sacrifice. It is needless to discuss whether the paschal lamb or the lamb of daily sacrifice was in the Baptist’s thoughts. He used “the lamb” as the symbol of sacrifice in general. Here, he says, is the reality of which all animal sacrifice was the symbol. , the present participle, indicating the chief characteristic of the lamb. has three meanings: (1) to raise or lift up, Joh 8:59 , ; (2) to bear or carry, Mat 16:24 , ; (3) to remove or take away, Joh 20:1 , of the stone from the sepulchre; and 1Jn 3:5 , , that He might take away sins. In the LXX , not , is regularly used to express the “bearing” of sin (see Leviticus, passim ). In 1Sa 15:25 Saul beseeches Samuel in the words , which obviously means “remove” (not “bear”) my sin. So in 1Sa 25:28 . But a lamb can remove sin only by sacrificially bearing it, so that here includes and implies . , cf. 1Jn 2:2 , , and especially Philo’s assertion quoted by Wetstein that some sacrifices were .
In this verse Holtzmann finds two marks of late date. (1) The Baptist was markedly a man of his own people, whose eye never ranged beyond a Jewish horizon; yet here he is represented as from the first perceiving that the work of Jesus was valid for all men. And (2) the allusion to the sacrificial efficacy of Christ’s death could not have been made till after that event. Strauss stated this difficulty with his usual lucidity. “So foreign to the current opinion at least was this notion of the Messiah that the disciples of Jesus, during the whole period of their intercourse with Him, could not reconcile themselves to it; and when His death had actually taken place their trust in Him as the Messiah was utterly confounded.” Yet Strauss himself admits that “a penetrating mind like that of the Baptist might, even before the death of Jesus, gather from the O.T. phrases and types the notion of a suffering Messiah, and that his obscure hints on the subject might not be comprehended by his disciples and contemporaries”. The solution is probably to be found in the intercourse of John with Jesus, and especially after His return from the Temptation. These men must have talked long and earnestly on the work of the Messiah; and even though after his imprisonment John seems to have had other thoughts about the Messiah, that is not inconsistent with his making this statement under the direct influence of Jesus. We must also consider that John’s own relation to the Messianic King must have greatly stimulated his thought; and his desire to respond to the cravings he stirred in the people must have led him to consider what the Messiah must be and do.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
John
THE WORLD’S SIN-BEARER
Joh 1:29
Our Lord, on returning from His temptation in the wilderness, came straight to John the Baptist. He was welcomed with these wonderful and rapturous words, familiarity with which has deadened our sense of their greatness. How audacious they would sound to some of their first hearers! Think of these two, one of them a young Galilean carpenter, to whom His companion witnesses and declares that He is of worldwide and infinite significance. It was the first public designation of Jesus Christ, and it throws into exclusive prominence one aspect of His work.
John the Baptist summing up the whole of former revelation which concentrated in Him, pointed a designating finger to Jesus and said, ‘That is He!’ My text is the sum of all Christian teaching ever since. My task, and that of all preachers, if we understand it aright, is but to repeat the same message, and to concentrate attention on the same fact-’The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.’ It is the one thing needful for you, dear friend, to believe. It is the truth that we all need most of all. There is no reason for our being gathered together now, except that I may beseech you to behold for yourselves the Lamb of God which takes away the world’s sin.
I. Now let me ask you to note, first, that Jesus Christ is the world’s sin-bearer.
First and chiefest of these, as I take it, are the words which no Jew ever doubted referred to the Messiah, until after He had come, and the Rabbis would not believe in Him, and so were bound to hunt up another interpretation-I mean the great words in the prophecy which, I suppose, is familiar to most of us, where there are found two representations, one, ‘He was led as a Lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth’; and the other, still more germane to the purpose of my text, ‘the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. . . . By His knowledge shall He justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.’ John the Baptist, looking back through the ages to that ancient prophetic utterance, points to the young Man standing by his side, and says, ‘There it is fulfilled.’
But the prophetic symbol of the Lamb, and the thought that He bore the iniquity of the many, had their roots in the past, and pointed back to the sacrificial lamb, the lamb of the daily sacrifice, and especially to the lamb slain at the Passover, which was an emblem and sacrament of deliverance from bondage. Thus the conceptions of vicarious suffering, and of a death which is a deliverance, and of blood which, sprinkled on the doorposts, guards the house from the destroying angel, are all gathered into these words.
Nor do these exhaust the sources of this figure, as it comes from the venerable and sacred past. For when we read ‘the Lamb of God,’ who is there that does not recognise, unless his eyes are blinded by obstinate prejudice, a glance backward to that sweet and pathetic story when the father went up with his son to the top of Mount Moriah, and to the boy’s question, ‘Where is the lamb?’ answered, ‘My son, God Himself will provide the lamb!’ John says, ‘Behold the Lamb that God has provided, the Sacrifice, on whom is laid a world’s sins, and who bears them away.’
Note, too, the universality of the power of Christ’s sacrificial work. John does not say ‘the sins,’ as the Litany, following an imperfect translation, makes him say. But he says, ‘the sin of the world,’ as if the whole mass of human transgression was bound together, in one black and awful bundle, and laid upon the unshrinking shoulders of this better Atlas who can bear it all, and bear it all away. Your sin, and mine, and every man’s, they were all laid upon Jesus Christ.
Now remember, dear brethren, that in this wondrous representation there lie, plain and distinct, two things which to me, and I pray they may be to you, are the very foundation of the Gospel to which we have to trust. One is that on Christ Jesus, in His life and in His death, were laid the guilt and the consequences of a world’s sin. I do not profess to be ready with an explanation of how that is possible. That it is a fact I believe, on the authority of Christ Himself and of Scripture; that it is inconsistent with the laws of human nature may be asserted, but never can be proved. Theories manifold have been invented in order to make it plain. I do not know that any of them have gone to the bottom of the bottomless. But Christ in His perfect manhood, wedded, as I believe it is, to true divinity, is capable of entering into-not merely by sympathy, though that has much to do with it-such closeness of relation with human kind, and with every man, as that on Him can be laid the iniquity of us all.
Oh, brethren! what was the meaning of ‘I have a baptism to be baptized with,’ unless the cold waters of the flood into which He unshrinkingly stepped, and allowed to flow over Him, were made by the gathered accumulation of the sins of the whole world? What was the meaning of the agony in Gethsemane? What was the meaning of that most awful word ever spoken by human lips, in which the consciousness of union with, and of separation from, God, were so marvellously blended, ‘My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ unless the Guiltless was then loaded with the sins of the world, which rose between Him and God?
Dear friends, it seems to me that unless this transcendent element be fairly recognised as existing in the passion and death of Jesus Christ, His demeanour when He came to die was far less heroic and noble and worthy of imitation than have been the deaths of hundreds of people who drew all their strength to die from Him. I do not venture to bring a theory, but I press upon you the fact, He bears the sins of the world, and in that awful load are yours and mine.
There is the other truth here, as clearly, and perhaps more directly, meant by the selection of the expression in my text, that the Sin-bearer not only carries, but carries away, the burden that is laid upon Him. Perhaps there may be a reference-in addition to the other sources of the figure which I have indicated as existing in ritual, and prophecy, and history-there may be a reference in the words to yet another of the eloquent symbols of that ancient system which enshrined truths that were not peculiar to any people, but were the property of humanity. You remember, no doubt, the singular ceremonial connected with the scapegoat, and many of you will recall the wonderful embodiment of it given by the Christian genius of a modern painter. The sins of the nation were symbolically laid upon its head, and it was carried out to the edge of the wilderness and driven forth to wander alone, bearing away upon itself into the darkness and solitude-far from man and far from God-the whole burden of the nation’s sins. Jesus Christ takes away the sin which He bears, and there is, as I believe, only one way by which individuals, or society, or the world at large, can thoroughly get rid of the guilt and penal consequences and of the dominion of sin, and that is, by beholding the Lamb of God that takes upon Himself, that He may carry away out of sight, the sin of the world. So much, then, for the first thought that I wish to suggest to you.
II. Now let me ask you to look with me at a second thought, that such a world’s Sin-bearer is the world’s deepest need.
But I do not need to appeal only to this world-wide fact as being a declaration of what man’s deepest need is. I would appeal to every man’s own consciousness-hard though it be to get at it; buried as it is, with some of us, under mountains of indifference and neglect; and callous as it is with many of us by reason of indulgence in habits of evil. I believe that in every one of us, if we will be honest, and give heed to the inward voice, there does echo a response and an amen to the Scripture declaration, ‘God hath shut up all under sin.’ I ask you about yourselves, is it not so? Do you not know that, however you may gloss over the thing, or forget it amidst a whirl of engagements and occupations, or try to divert your thoughts into more or less noble or ignoble channels of pleasures and pursuits, there does lie, in each of our hearts, the sense, dormant often, but sometimes like a snake in its hybernation, waking up enough to move, and sometimes enough to sting-there does lie, in each of us, the consciousness that we are wrong with God, and need something to put us right?
And, brethren, let modern philanthropists of all sorts take this lesson: The thing that the world wants is to have sin dealt with-dealt with in the way of conscious forgiveness; dealt with in the way of drying up its source, and delivering men from the power of it. Unless you do that, I do not say you do nothing, but you pour a bottle full of cold water into Vesuvius, and try to put the fire out with that. You may educate, you may cultivate, you may refine; you may set political and economical arrangements right in accordance with the newest notions of the century, and what then? Why! the old thing will just begin over again, and the old miseries will appear again, because the old grandmother of them all is there, the sin that has led to them.
Now do not misunderstand me, as if I were warring against good and noble men who are trying to remedy the world’s evils by less thorough methods than Christ’s Gospel. They will do a great deal. But you may have high education, beautiful refinement of culture and manners; you may divide out political power in accordance with the most democratic notions; you may give everybody ‘a living wage,’ however extravagant his notions of a living wage may be. You may carry out all these panaceas and the world will groan still, because you have not dealt with the tap-root of all the mischief. You cannot cure an internal cancer with a plaster upon the little finger, and you will never stanch the world’s wounds until you go to the Physician that has balm and bandage, even Jesus Christ, that takes away the sins of the world. I profoundly distrust all these remedies for the world’s misery as in themselves inadequate, even whilst I would help them all, and regard them all as then blessed and powerful, when they are consequences and secondary results of the Gospel, the first task of which is to deal by forgiveness and by cleansing with individual transgression.
And if I might venture to go a step further, I would like to say that this aspect of our Lord’s work on which John the Baptist concentrated all our attention is the only one which gives Him power to sway men, and which makes the Gospel-the record of His work-the kingly power in the world that it is meant to be. Depend upon it, that in the measure in which Christian teachers fail to give supreme importance to that aspect of Christ’s work they fail altogether. There are many other aspects which, as I have just said, follow in my conception from this first one; but if, as is obviously the tendency in many quarters to-day, Christianity be thought of as being mainly a means of social improvement, or if its principles of action be applied to life without that basis of them all, in the Cross which takes away the world’s iniquity, then it needs no prophet to foretell that such a Christianity will only have superficial effects, and that, in losing sight of this central thought, it will have cast away all its power.
I beseech you, dear brethren, remember that Jesus Christ is something more than a social reformer, though He is the first of them, and the only one whose work will last. Jesus Christ is something more than a lovely pattern of human conduct, though He is that. Jesus Christ is something more than a great religious genius who set forth the Fatherhood of God as it had never been set forth before. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the record not only of what He said but of what He did, not only that He lived but that He died; and all His other powers, and all His other benefits and blessings to society, come as results of His dealing with the individual soul when He takes away its guilt and reconciles it to God.
III. And so, lastly, let me ask you to notice that this Sin-bearer of the world is our Sin-bearer if we ‘behold’ Him.
What is that beholding? Surely it is nothing else than our recognising in Him the great and blessed work which I have been trying to describe, and then resting ourselves upon that great Lord and sufficient Sacrifice. And such an exercise of simple trust is well named beholding, because they who believe do see, with a deeper and a truer vision than sense can give. You and I can see Christ more really than these men who stood round Him, and to whom His flesh was ‘a veil’-as the Epistle to the Hebrews calls it-hiding His true divinity and work. They who thus behold by faith lack nothing either of the directness or of the certitude that belong to vision. ‘Seeing is believing,’ says the cynical proverb. The Christian version inverts its terms, ‘Believing is seeing.’ ‘Whom having not seen ye love, in whom though now ye see Him not, yet believing ye rejoice.’
And your simple act of ‘beholding,’ by the recognition of His work and the resting of yourself upon it, makes the world’s Sin-bearer your Sin-bearer. You appropriate the general blessing, like a man taking in a little piece of a boundless prairie for his very own. Your possession does not make my possession of Him less, for every eye gets its own beam, and however many eyes wait upon Him, they all receive the light on to their happy eyeballs. You can make Christ your own, and have all that He has done for the world as your possession, and can experience in your own hearts the sense of your own forgiveness and deliverance from the power and guilt of your own sin, on the simple condition of looking unto Jesus. The serpent is lifted on the pole, the dying camp cannot go to it, but the filming eyes of the man in his last gasp may turn to the gleaming image hanging on high; and as he looks the health begins to tingle back into his veins, and he is healed.
And so, dear brethren, behold Him; for unless you do, though He has borne the world’s sin, your sin will not be there, but will remain on your back to crush you down. ‘O Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy upon me!’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Joh 1:29-34
29The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30″This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ 31″I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33″I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34″I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Joh 1:29 “Behold, the Lamb of God” The feast of Passover was not far away (cf. Joh 2:13). Therefore, this probably refers to the Passover lamb symbolizing deliverance (i.e., salvation) from Egypt (cf. Exodus 12). John also places Jesus’ death on the same day the Passover lamb was slain (i.e., “Preparation Day”). However, there have been other interpretations:
1. it may refer to the Suffering Servant of Isa 53:7
2. it may refer to the animal which was caught in the thicket in Gen 22:8; Gen 22:13.
3. it may refer to the daily offering in the Temple called “the continual” (cf. Exo 29:38-46).
Whatever the exact association, it was for a sacrificial purpose that the lamb was sent (cf. Mar 10:45).
This powerful metaphor for Jesus’ sacrificial death is never used by Paul and only rarely by John (cf. Joh 1:29; Joh 1:36; also note Act 8:32 and 1Pe 1:19). The Greek term for a “small lamb” (small because it was only one year old, the normal age of sacrificial offerings). A different word is used by John in Joh 21:15 and twenty eight times in Revelation.
There is one further possibility for John the Baptist’s imagery: intertestamental, apocalyptic literature where the “lamb” is a victorious warrior. The sacrificial aspect is still present, but the lamb as eschatological judge is pre-eminent (cf. Rev 5:5-6; Rev 5:12-13).
“who takes away the sin of the world!” The phrase “takes away” meant to “take up and bear away.” This verb is very similar to the concept of “the scapegoat” in Leviticus 16. The very fact that the world’s sin is mentioned alludes to the universal nature of the lamb’s task (cf. Joh 1:9; Joh 3:16; Joh 4:42; 1Ti 2:4; 1Ti 4:10; Tit 2:11; 2Pe 3:9; 1Jn 2:2; 1Jn 4:14). Notice that sin is singular, not plural. Jesus has dealt with the world’s “sin” problem.
Joh 1:30 “for He existed before me” This is a repeat of Joh 1:15 for emphasis. This is another emphasis on the pre-existence and deity of the Messiah (cf. Joh 1:1; Joh 1:15; Joh 8:58; Joh 16:28; Joh 17:5; Joh 17:24; 2Co 8:9; Php 2:6-7; Col 1:17; Heb 1:3).
Joh 1:31 “so that He might be manifested to Israel” This is a common Johannine phrase (cf. Joh 2:11; Joh 3:21; Joh 7:4; Joh 9:3; Joh 17:6; Joh 21:14; 1Jn 1:2; 1Jn 2:19; 1Jn 2:28; 1Jn 3:2; 1Jn 3:5; 1Jn 3:8; 1Jn 4:9), but it is rare in the Synoptic Gospels, only appearing in Mar 4:22. It is a play on the Hebraic term “to know,” which speaks of personal fellowship with someone more than facts about someone. The purpose of John’s baptism was twofold: (1) to prepare the people and (2) to reveal the Messiah.
This verb “manifest” (phanero) seems to replace “reveal” (apokalupt) in John’s writing. Jesus clearly brings to light/sight the person and message of God!
Joh 1:32-33 This is a threefold emphasis of the fact that John saw the Spirit coming and remaining on Jesus.
Joh 1:32 “the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven” This was Isaiah’s (chapters 40-66) way to recognize the Messiah (cf. Isa 42:1; Isa 59:21; Isa 61:1). This does not mean to imply that Jesus did not have the Spirit before this time. It was a symbol of God’s special choice and equipping. It was not primarily for Jesus, but for John the Baptist!
The Jews had a worldview of two ages (see Special Topic at 1Jn 2:17), the current evil age and an age of righteousness to come. The new age was called the age of the Spirit. This vision would have said to John the Baptist (1) this one is the Messiah and (2) the new age has dawned.
“dove” This was used
1. as a rabbinical symbol for Israel (i.e., Hos 7:11)
2. as an allusion to the Spirit as a female bird “brooding” over creation in Gen 1:2 in the Targums
3. in Philo a symbol of wisdom
4. as a metaphor of the manner in which the Spirit descended (the Spirit is not a bird)
“remained” See SPECIAL TOPIC: “ABIDING” IN JOHN’S WRITINGS at 1Jn 2:10.
Joh 1:33 “I did not recognize Him” This implies that John the Baptist did not know Jesus as the Messiah, not that he did not know Him at all. As relatives, surely they had met at family or religious gatherings over the years.
“He who sent me to baptize in water said to me” God spoke to John as He did to other OT prophets. John was to recognize the Messiah by these specific acts which would occur at His baptism.
John’s baptism suggested a religious authority. The official delegation from Jerusalem (cf. Joh 1:19-28) wanted to know the source of this authority. John the Baptist attributes that authority to Jesus. Jesus’ Spirit baptism is superior to John’s water baptism. Jesus’ own baptism in water will become a sign of the baptism of the Spirit, the incorporation into the new age!
“this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit” From 1Co 12:13 it seems that this concept relates to the initial inclusion of a person into the family of God. The Spirit convicts of sin, woos to Christ, baptizes into Christ, and forms Christ in the new believer (cf. Joh 16:8-13). See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE HOLY ONE at 1Jn 2:20.
Joh 1:34 “I myself have seen, and have testified” These are both perfect active indicative which implies past action brought to completion and then continuing. This is very similar to 1Jn 1:1-4.
“that this is the Son of God” One wonders if the Greek word pas, which is normally translated “servant,” reflecting the Hebrew( ‘ebed , BDB 712) in the LXX, could be the background to “Son.” If so, then Isaiah 53 (as is “the lamb” of God in Joh 1:29) is the OT allusion instead of Dan 7:13. Jesus is both the Son and Servant! He will transform believers into “a child,” not “a servant”!
This same title is used by Nathanael in Joh 1:49. It is also used by Satan in Mat 4:3. There is an interesting Greek manuscript variant found in MSS P5 and cf8 i*, which has “the Chosen One of God” instead of “the Son of God” (the UBS4 gives “Son of God” a “B” rating). The phrase “Son of God” is common in John. But, if one follows the rational tenets of textual criticism, then the most awkward and unusual wording is probably original, then there is at least a possibility of the alternate translation even though the manuscript witness is limited. Gordon Fee discusses this textual variant in his article “The Textual Criticism of the New Testament” pp. 419-433, in the introductory volume to The Expositor’s Bible Commentary:
“In Joh 1:34, did John the Baptist say, ‘This is the Son of God’ (KJV, RSV) or ‘This is God’s Chosen One’ (NEB, JB)? The MS evidence is divided, even among the early text-types. ‘Son’ is found in the key Alexandrian witnesses (P66, P75, B, C, L copbo) as well as in several OL (aur, c, flg) and the later Syriac witnesses, while ‘chosen One’ is supported by the Alexandrian P5, , copsa as well as the OL MSS a,b,e,ff2, and the Old Syriac.
“The question must finally be decided on internal grounds. As to transcriptional probability, one thing is clear: the variant is intentional, not accidental (cf. Bart D. Ehrman’s The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, pp. 69-70). But did a second century scribe alter the text to support a kind of adoptionist Christology, or did an orthodox scribe sense the possibility that the designation ‘Chosen One’ might be used to support adoptionism, and so alter it for orthodox reasons? In terms of probabilities, the latter seems far more likely, especially since ‘the Son’ is not changed elsewhere in the Gospel to fit adoptionist views.
“But the final decision must involve exegesis. Since what John the Baptist said was almost certainly intended to be messianic and not a statement of Christian theology, the question is whether it reflects the messianism of such a passage as Psa 2:7 or that of Isa 42:1. In light of the suffering, or paschal, lamb motif of Joh 1:29, it is surely arguable that ‘Chosen One’ fits the context of the Gospel” (pp. 431-432).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
seeth. Greek. blepo. App-133.
Jesus. App-98.
unto. Greek. pros. App-104.
Behold. Greek. ide. App-133. Sing Addressed to the whole company. the Lamb of God. Referring to “the Lamb” spoken of in Isa 53:7, with possible reference to the approaching Passover. This was the title of our Lord for that dispensation.
Lamb. Greek amnos. Occurs only here, Joh 1:36; Act 8:32; 1Pe 1:19. See Joh 21:15, where it is arnion, which occurs in Revelation twenty-eight times of the Lord, once of the false prophet (Joh 13:11).
of = provided by. See Gen 22:8 and App-17.
taketh away = taketh [on Himself to bear] away. Greek airo. Compare Mat 4:6 (first occurance)
sin. Singular. App-128.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
29-34.] Second witness borne by John to Jesus: apparently before his disciples.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 1:29. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of god, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John lost no time. He had no sooner discovered the Saviour than he bore witness of him. The next day. As soon as ever his eyes lighted upon Jesus, he had his testimony ready for him. Behold! said he, the Lamb of God.
Joh 1:30-33. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me: And I knew him not: but that he should manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not:
At first.
Joh 1:33-34. But he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bare record, that this is the Son of God.
Notice how very clear John is. There is no mistaking him. He repeated himself lest there should be any possibility of an error, and he gives the detail of the mode by which he recognized the Saviour, in order that all might be persuaded to accept Jesus as in very truth the Messiah and the Son of God, so that we are to preach very plainly not with enticing words of mens wisdom, but with demonstration of the Spirit and with power. What have we to conceal? Nay, we have everything to reveal and our business is that men should be convinced that Jesus is the Christ, and should come and put their trust in him
Joh 1:35-36. Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples: And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God?
There is no objection to preaching the same sermon twice if it be on such a matter as this. Behold the Lamb of God, he said one day, and the next day he did not vary the phraseology. He had no new metaphor no new figure with which to set forth Christ, but, as striking a nail upon the head and the same nail will help to fasten it, and may do more service than bringing out a new nail, so he gets to the same word and the same subject Behold the Lamb of God.
Joh 1:37. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
They went beyond their teacher. And oh! what a mercy it is if our hearers can go Christward far beyond us. John was well content to be left behind if they followed Jesus; and so may any minister of Christ rejoice if his people will follow Jesus, even if they go far beyond his attainments.
Joh 1:38. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye?
Christ wants intelligent followers: so he asks the question, What seek ye?
Joh 1:38-39. They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master), where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see,
Which is often his answer to enquirers Come and see. Oh! taste and see that the Lord is good. Learn by experience. Do not merely hear what I say, but come and see.
Joh 1:39-42. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peters brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus,
This is how the kingdom began to grow by individual effort. Andrew findeth Simon: one convert must bring another: and he brought him to Jesus.
Joh 1:42. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone,
There was a meaning in the change of names, for there was about to be a change of character the timid son of a dove soon to become a very rock for the Church.
This exposition consisted of readings from Isa 40:1-17; Isaiah 25-31. Joh 1:29-42.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Joh 1:29. , coming to him) after His baptism, as we have seen [and indeed not on the very day of His baptism, on which Jesus was immediately led up into the wilderness (Mat 4:1.) In this place, it seems, Jesus began to walk publickly, Joh 1:36; Joh 1:43, after His return from the wilderness full of victory (we say flushed with victory, victori plenum) Jesus came to John in such a way, that John could point Him out close at hand: and yet Jesus did not begin the conversation with him.-V. g.]- , the Lamb of God) He calls Him the Iamb, [as being] innocent, [and] about to be immolated;[One] who renders active and passive obedience, 1Pe 1:19 [the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot]. , the article has respect to the prophecy delivered concerning Him under this figure, Isa 53:7 [He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth]; also under the type of the Paschal lamb. Moreover the passover itself was then near, ch. Joh 2:13. John being divinely instructed, calls Him the Lamb of God: although at that early time the exact understanding of this appellation would escape, if not John himself, at least his hearers. [Having first asserted his knowledge as to the exalted nature of the person of Jesus Christ, to wit, as to the Word which was made Flesh; next John describes His office and His chief benefit. In like manner Jesus Christ first presented Himself to be acknowledged by the disciples as Son of God; then He instructed them as to His sufferings, etc.-V. g.]- , of God) The Lamb of God, whom God gave and approved of; and concerning whom He Himself bears such testimony, This is the only Lamb, this is the only victim pleasing to Me, Heb 10:5, etc. Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldst not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure, Then said I, Lo I come to do Thy will O God. So Psa 51:17, The sacrifices of God [mean those] which God acknowledges [as pleasing to Him], Luk 2:26, the Lords Christ.- ,) Chrysost. John says, , … Behold the Lamb, and that He takes away, etc. The Vulgate has Ecce Agnus Dei, ECCE qui tollit, etc. [Behold the Lamb, behold Him who takes away]. Both understood the words , , not in the construction of substantive and adjective, but as in apposition. The Lamb of God, i.e., He who takes away, etc. And this second clause was added by either the Baptist, or the Evangelist, as ch. Joh 4:25 [Messias cometh, which is called Christ]. The Lamb of God first took the load of sin off the world on Himself, then rolled it off from Himself. [The same expression evidently, as 1Jn 3:5 (He was manifested to take away our sins).-V. g.]- , the sin) The singular number, with the article, [gives it] the greatest force. [There was] the one plague, which seized on all; He bore the whole; He did not so bear one part [of our sin], as not to bear the other. The same singular number is interposed between Plurals, Isa 53:6; Isa 53:8; Isa 53:12, The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all: whereas in Joh 1:5, He was wounded for our transgressions;-for the transgression of My people was He stricken; He bare the sin of many. Sin and the world are equally widely extended.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 1:29
Joh 1:29
On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God,-The baptism of Jesus is not mentioned by the gospel of John, but it is particularly described by the other evangelists. When he was baptized and came up out of the water the voice came from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Mat 3:17). The Holy Spirit also in the form of a dove descended upon him and abode with him. With these assurances John testified to his disciples that he was the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.
that taketh away the sin of the world!-[Jesus, the Lamb, when slain, took away the sin, not of Jews only, but of the world. He died for all.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Witness Borne to the Son of God
Joh 1:29-34
Johns description of Christ gave answer to Isaacs inquiry, Gen 22:7. Let us not narrow the extent of the gospel. By the grace of God Jesus tasted death for every man, 1Jn 2:2. Though they knew it not, the Messiah had stood on those banks, had mingled with those crowds, had descended into those waters, and was standing among them at that moment. But their eyes were blinded. The new era had already dawned.
The general reader of the story of our Lords baptism probably supposes that the sign of the descending dove and the sound of the Fathers voice were apprehended by all the crowd. This, however, was not the case. John had been previously informed that some day one, indicated by those signs, would come to His baptism. John was the porter of the door of the fold, and it was necessary to certify the true Shepherd when He appeared, Joh 10:3. To our Lord this was the beginning of His ministry. The heavenly powers were opened to Him, which He was in turn to open to all who believe and cooperate with Him for the regeneration of the world.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
sins
Sin. (See Scofield “Rom 3:23”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
The Lamb of God
On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!Joh 1:29.
1. The importance of the Baptists ministry becomes fully intelligible only when his teaching is placed over against the characteristics of the religious thought of his day. It is no far-fetched analogy to liken his work, in one respect, to that of the Reformers of the sixteenth century. He made a great attempt to go back from the accretions of a later age to the purer doctrine of the Scriptures.
Pharisaism had, both directly and indirectly, done vast damage to the spiritual life of Palestine. It had bound upon mens aching backs heavy burdens and grievous to be borne. Righteousness had been made to consist in the punctilious discharge of a multitude of ceremonial obligations. The conception of God as a loving and gracious Father had to no small extent been thrust into the background, while in the forefront of Pharisaic teaching was the idea of a servile relationshipGod as the Master, man as the servant who was required to perform certain duties, and had a right, in return, to the Divine favour. A free, healthy spiritual life was thus made impossible, while encouragement was given, on the one hand to religious self-complacency and self-confidence, and on the other to hypocrisy, and equivocation, and subterfuge.
The effect of such encouragement was only too plain in connection with the popular anticipations of the Divine Kingdom. These anticipations always included the triumph of Israel and the overthrow of the heathen; but they took little or no account of Israels own unworthiness, of Israels own moral and spiritual failure, of Israels own utter need of reconciliation and regeneration. The Judaism of that day failed to realize what sin must mean for Gods chosen people. Controlled to a great extent by the Pharisees, it insisted with wearisome urgency upon offering, ablution, fast, or tithe, but it left undone the weightier matters of the law. It refused to contemplate the possibility of a day of wrath coming for Israel.
At a critical hour in the fortunes of the nation John the Baptist sought to create a stricter, juster, healthier sense of the requirements of real religion. His teaching was the strong and uncompromising corrective of the prevailing fallacies and errors. He attacked with all his might the fabric of belief in privilege which confronted him like some enemys stronghold. He told his auditors that their Abrahamic descent would afford them no refuge from the judgment which was impending. A new life! A new mind! Purity of heart and conscience! Self-separation from the guilty past!herein lay the hope of salvation. It was the teaching of the Old Testament at its highest and best. The prophets had ever laid stress upon the renewal of the inner life through the operation of the Divine grace; and it was this idea that animated all the ministry of the appointed Forerunner of the Lord.
Thine, Baptist, was the cry,
In ages long gone by,
Heard in clear accents by the Prophets ear;
As if twere thine to wait,
And with imperial state
Herald some Eastern monarchs proud career;
Who thus might march his host in full array,
And speed through trackless wilds his unresisted way.
But other task hadst thou
Than lofty hills to bow,
Make straight the crooked, the rough places plain:
Thine was the harder part
To smooth the human heart,
The wilderness where sin had fixed his reign;
To make deceit his mazy wiles forego,
Bring down high vaulting pride, and lay ambition low.
Such, Baptist, was thy care,
That no objection there,
Might check the progress of the King of kings;
But that a clear highway
Might welcome the array
Of Heavenly graces which His Presence brings;
And where Repentance had prepared the road,
There Faith might enter in, and Love to man and God.1 [Note: Richard Mant.]
2. Two utterances mark the flood-tide of St. Johns prophetic inspiration; for when he says of his greater successor, He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire, the very term baptize connects his thought with the divers washings under the old dispensation, while the words with the Holy Ghost and with fire fore-herald that ministration of the Spirit which was ushered in on the day of Pentecost. So, again, when he exclaimed, Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! the phraseology in which he describes the great propitiation of Christ is seen at once to be derived from the typical sacrifices with which as the son of a priest he was perfectly familiar; while the mention of the world gives a wider range to the efficacy of the Atonement than the common Jew would have assigned to it, and is the prelude of the great commission, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. In the former instance it would almost seem that he had received a vision of the Upper Room at the moment when, to the disciples assembled in it, there appeared cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. In the latter he appears to have had a revelation of the uplifted Christ on Calvary drawing all men unto Him.
The text is Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away [margin beareth] the sin of the world! Let us consider it in this way
I.The Sin of the World.
II.The Lamb of God.
III.The Lamb and the Sin.
I
The Sin of the World
1. Sin.Sin, the choice of evil instead of good, the perversion of the desires, the slavery of the will, the darkening of the mind, the deadly sickness of the whole heartthis is the fountain of all trouble, the cause of all disorder and wretchedness. This is the wall which makes the world seem sometimes like a prison and sometimes like a madhouse. This is the curse which destroys lifes harmony and beauty. This is the obstacle which separates the soul, in darkness and sorrow, from God. The forms of every religion, the voice of unceasing prayers, the smoke of endless burnt-offerings, the blood of bulls and goats, the oblations of all that is most precious, cruel altars drenched with human gore, and flames consuming the offspring of mans body,gifts, propitiations, pleadings, sacrifices, without stint and without number,bear witness to the deep and awful sense of sin which rests upon the heart of the world.
What do we really think about sinas we see it in others, as we find it in ourselves? And side by side with such a question as that goes another: What is our conception of repentance? We are all acquainted with its philological significance; but what is its actual significance to our inmost conscience? What is our attitude towards those sins which come to us again and again till we know their faces well enough, till they possess for us a degradingor even, it may be, a fatalfamiliarity? What is our attitude towards that one type of sin which is, as it were, our constant companionwhich we sometimes seriously try to shake off, but which appears to keep pace with us like the very shadow of ourselves? What is our attitude towards that one particular piece of iniquity which, perhaps in the fierce heat of sudden temptation, or perhaps after cool and deliberate calculation, we committed in past years, and which stands out with such hideous prominence from the midst of a life that often has been far enough from being pure and innocent and unselfish and upright?
As we have grown older, we have become clearer and clearer sighted, and we now see that what we at one time thought little or nothing of was really altogether unworthy of any Christian man or woman. Do not let us be afraid of this truer vision of the past; neither let us dread any sudden opening of the eyes, at some future moment, to what we are now, or to what we have been in the days that are beyond recall. Of course, we may let such a realization overwhelm us, but it is our own fault and folly if we do.
Man, what is this, and why art thou despairing?
God shall forgive thee all but thy despair.
We may awake and see the sins which we have committed thronging about us, just as Robespierrein the drama that was played some years ago in Londonsaw in the Conciergerie the ghosts of those whom he had sent to the guillotine. Those spectres may press upon us both on the right hand and on the left; they may come from the days of youth, when we were weak and easily led; or from early manhood or womanhood, when we were wild and reckless, without self-restraint and self-discipline; or from later years, when our conscience had become hardened, and we had made ourselves capable of actions from which aforetime we should have shrunk. Yes; they may come to threaten and appal us. But there is deliverance from them.
(1) The sense of sin is not found everywhere. The Egyptians and Babylonians had their catalogues of sins, but their sinfulness never troubled them as the sinfulness of the Hebrews troubled them. We may almost say that the ancient Greeks had no real conception of sin. The Greeks recognized the existence of vice, certain actions were to them unlovely, disagreeable, mischievous; but the Greek people never felt the burden of their sinfulness. The countrymen of Homer and of Pericles were the lightest hearted of all the peoples of the earth, as joyous and as sunny as the sea which broke into laughter on the shores of their lovely islands. The Romans were far more earnest than the Greeks, but they had no deep consciousness of sin. We can hardly think of Julius Csar shedding tears over his transgressions. Rome had her priests and her sacrifices, but her conception of sin had slight influence on either the personal or the national life. Christianity is pre-eminently the religion which develops in its adherents a sense of sin. Buddhism, and Brahminism, and Confucianism, and Zoroastrianism all recognize the existence of evil, and attempt to deal with it in different ways; but in none of these religions is there a recognition of sin in the sense in which Christians use that word.
A genial sense of camaraderie was inspired and maintained by sacred dance, song, and simple prayer, and especially by the sacrificial banquet at which the deity and his tribe were imagined as feasting together. And whatever ritual was in vogue for the purging of the peoples sins was external and mechanical merely, accompanied by no call to real repentance, no appeal to the individual conscience.1 [Note: L. R. Farnell, The Higher Aspects of Greek Religion, 132.]
Nor, when the dying Indian had been induced at last to express a desire for Paradise, was it an easy matter to bring him to a due contrition for his sins; for he would deny with indignation that he had ever committed any.2 [Note: Parkman, The Jesuits in North America, i. 178.]
A sense of darkness and ignorance made the Greek sorrow, a sense of sin and evil the Hebrew sorrow. The Hebrew sorrow expressed itself in three waysin a passion for forgiveness, in a passion for redemption, and in a passion for life; and these three passions are pointed out by the Baptist in this new phrase which he has coined for the new age, Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!3 [Note: W. W. Peyton.]
Dales sense of sin was deep and vivid. Sinnot merely as revealed in speech and conduct, but as that principle of evil within us by which the very springs of life are corrupted; sin, whether ours by inheritance, or through our own defect, or by our mysterious community in the moral life of the racesin, in all its forms and degrees, he felt to be the most terrible of realities. No one who knew him intimately could fail to perceive it. He sometimes referred, half wonderingly, half sadly, to the experience of a friend of his who once asked him what theologians meant by original sin:I cannot understand what they mean, he said, I have never been conscious of any inclination to do what I knew to be wrong. The fact of original sin presented no difficulty to Dale. He knew only too well the unremitting energy of moral evil, and the incessant struggle against its malignant power. Altogether apart from any special incentive, he would never have dealt lightly with the baser elements in human character and conduct; and anxiety to avert any moral degeneracy in those who had accepted the new doctrine intensified his natural antipathy to evil. At times his denunciation of sin was overwhelming in its force. He never stormed; but his wrath, as it grew, glowed with passion at a white heat. It swept on in waves of living fire. It seemed to scorch, to shrivel, to consume. And if it was not often that he let indignation break into flame, there was always a certain austerityit might even be called harshnessin his moral judgment, which strongly contrasted with his charitable temper in dealing with individual offenders; though even with them his sternness, when provoked, could be terrible.1 [Note: The Life of R. W. Dale, 314.]
(2) It is impossible to have any adequate sense of sin without a great conception of God. It was because the Hebrew prophets saw God to be high and lifted up that they felt themselves to be sinners. I am but dust and ashes, says Abraham. Behold, I am vile; I will lay my hand upon my mouth, says Job. Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, says Isaiah. All the great Hebrews, from Abraham to John the Baptist, lie with their faces in the dust, crying, God be merciful to me a sinner!
Where in any literature will you find a poem like the Fifty-first Psalm? Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. The man who wrote that is a Shakespeare in the realm of spiritual expression.2 [Note: C. E. Jefferson, Things Fundamental, 234.]
(3) The world thinks that the Church makes much ado about little. Men of the world cannot see that sin is terrible, or that it needs to be shunned or feared. Men sometimes confess in a jocose tone that they are sinners; they confess their sinfulness between loud bursts of laughter. One would think from their behaviour that sinning is a joke. Every generation has brought forth its host of writers who have endeavoured to persuade the world that sin is nothing but a trifle, a straw that some happy wind will some day blow away. Or they make it out a form of immaturity, an imperfection, a crudity, a greenness, a rawness, a pardonable ignorance which will certainly be outgrown. You do not blame the apple tree in the early spring because the blossoms are not full blown. Give the tree sufficient time, and the apples will be forthcoming.
All depends on our maintaining the inviolability of the will; and for finite beings a will is no will which cannot choose evil. If admits that, but says that the continued rebellion of any is irreconcilable with the triumph of Gods will and love, then I say that the present rebellion of any is likewise inconsistent with the same. While that awful fact of sin is staring you in the face, you cannot weave theories for the future that will hold water, except by the German dodge of refining sin into a lesser kind of necessary good, which is the very devil.1 [Note: Life and Letters of Fenton J. A. Hort, i. 326.]
One night some years ago in a University town there was a meeting of the White Cross Society. The meeting was over, one of the members had argued that sin was not natural, and at the close one of the medical professors, gathering a group of students around him, said, Thats gammon! The sin you have heard of to-night is natural, and the students to a man hissed him out of the room.2 [Note: George Adam Smith, The Life of Henry Drummond, 471.]
I said to Heart, How goes it? Heart replied:
Right as a Ribstone Pippin! But it lied.3 [Note: H. Belloc, Verses, 81.]
(4) According to Jesus, there is nothing terrible in the world but sin. It is the thing to be shunned, feared, hated. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better to lose an eye than to do wrong. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better to have no right hand than to do wrong. Beware how you tempt others to sin; it were better that a millstone should be hanged about a mans neck, and that the man should be cast into the midst of the sea, than that he should cause a human being to do wrong. That is not the language which we are apt to use, nor is it the feeling which is in our hearts. Many of us would commit a score of sins, rather than lose an eye or a hand. But to the mind of Jesus no loss which may come to the body is to be compared with the loss which comes to the soul by breaking the law of God. Joy, He said, shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. This feeling of Jesus was communicated to His disciples. His Apostles go to work with unflagging earnestness to root out the sins of men. Whenever St. Paul writes of sin, his language becomes terribly earnest and intense. Sin to him is no shadow, it is an awful reality. He speaks to his converts in words which sound like the blast of a bugle. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
It could not have been a trifle that started the great drops of blood from the body of Jesus Christ in Gethsemane, or that caused Him His exceeding sorrow on the tree. Great natures cannot weep blood but on great occasions. There must, then, have been something terrible about this moral putrescence which is called sin. It was no speck on the surface; it was poison in the blood. The tones heard at Golgotha are not the harsh tones of vengeance; there is no scream of fury; no thunder of cursing; there is a wail of sorrow, deep, loud, long, as if the very heart of God had broken. It is the agony of love; it is the paroxysm of a lacerated and dying spirit. It was love that had failed in life, determined to succeed in death. It was dying innocence struggling with dead guilt.1 [Note: J. Parker.]
2. The sin of the world.The word world is one of St. Johns words. It appears on almost every page of his writings. It Stands out prominently both in his Gospel and in his Epistles. What, then, was his conception of the world? There are two words in Scripture used to denote the world There is the word kosmos. This means the world under the condition of space. There is the word on, which means the world under the condition of time. The latter word is translated sometimes age or epoch or dispensation, and it is this word that is used and never the other when the end of the world is spoken of. But the other word kosmos is the word referred to here. What is its meaning? Its first and earliest meaning is the sum total of material things, their order, their beauty, symmetry, law. But this world is never represented as sinful, only as unmoral. Then into this framework of kosmos man is set. It was made for him. It was kept in existence for him, and so the world comes to mean, next, the material universe of which man is the moral centre. Then it comes to be applied to the men themselves, the sum total of humanity who live and move and have their being in this material framework. But man takes the world and uses it without reference to the Giver. He was put into it as a steward, but instead of faithfully recognizing the true owner, he appropriates the proceeds for his own purposes. Hence comes the next idea of the world. It is humanity separated from God. From separation the next step is easy. It is hostility. Thus the last stage of the world is humanity separated, hostile, rebellious against God. That is sin. That is the sin of the world.
(1) The view of the Baptist embraces the human race. His words are that the Lamb of God taketh away the sin of the world; that is, the whole enormous mass of iniquity which is in the world, which burdens and blights the world; the sin of which original depravity is as it were the root, vicious habits the branches, thoughts, words, and deeds of impiety and injustice the leaves and fruits.
John knew very well the sin of the nation. He had seen unreality and formalism in the religious circles of his day, the scandalous life of Herod, and the terrible effect of such examples upon public morality. He had seen the moral indifference of the Herodian, whom nothing could rouse to contend for the principles on which life is based. He had come in close contact with admitted and regretted sin. He had been roused to indignation, to sorrow, moved to pity, knowing that his brother-men had sought for happiness along the paths which end in misery. But from the sin of a nation he rose to a yet more overwhelming thought, which was the sin of the world. All the collective evil of mankind; the burden of inherited evil from which our Lord alone is exempt; the vast innumerable multitude of personal sins from the first rebellion at Eden down to the last evil deed which humanity shall commit: the ghastly retinue of the passions and selfishness of mankind.
All holiness and gentleness work for the worlds redemption within their appointed field. A refined and loving soul, though without the gifts that attract the attention of the world, takes away the sin of a home or neighbourhood. But the power over men which we describe as greatness extends the influence more widely. The purity and gentleness of Jesus might have been hidden away in the little town of Nazareth, and have been an unseen ripple in the great ocean of the worlds affairs. He was, however, not only the Lamb of God, but as He is described elsewhere, the lion of the tribe of Judah. Like the monarch of the forest, He had strength. He had that power of command over men which, for good or evil, influences the world. His power was acknowledged and proved by the bitterness of His enemies; and when He was lifted up from the earth, He drew the eyes of nations, and became a beacon-light for succeeding centuries. And to this day His holiness and gentleness are the mightiest power that we know for taking away the sin of the world. It may still be long before the brute powers are dethroned and the reign of humanity is established, but never was the rule of Christs spirit higher than it is to-day.1 [Note: J. Drummond, Johannine Thoughts, 29.]
(2) Perhaps what appeals more forcibly to the sensitiveness of the present age is the suffering of the world, the burden of the anguish which rests upon mankind. And indeed in its collective mass it is, if viewed apart from Calvary, a terrible enigma. And yet incomparably more awful to a conscience really enlightened by penitence and faith would be the appalling, the overwhelming idea of the sin of the world. That thought has rested with almost intolerable weight upon some of the saintliest of mankind. It rested that day upon St. John.
There was laughter in my fathers hall,
Mirth in my mothers bower,
When One crept silently up by the wall
In the dim, dull, twilight hour.
How did he pass the faithful guard
Who watch both long and late?
Did he steal through the window strongly barred,
Or slipped he in by the gate?
What is the name of this fearful guest,
Sorrow or Shame or Sin?
I cannot tell, but I know no rest
Since his dread form came in.2 [Note: Margaret Blaikie, Songs by the Way, 29.]
(3) It is not the sins but the sin of the world. The sin of the world, of which the various sins are so many branches and manifestations, is the worlds apostasy and alienation from the living God; the two great evils connected going into onethat, we have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters, and have hewn out to ourselves broken cisterns that can hold no water. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And the law of God is onemultitudes of commandments, but one in its principle, its principle being love to God, and love to all created beings for Gods sake. It is one, as flowing all from the same essential purity, justice, and universal moral goodthe Divine nature.
In what does the sin of the world essentially consist? It consists in omitting God from its life. It consists in forgetting, ignoring, denying, defying God. Get hold of that truth, and never let it go. The Bible never wavers in representing this as the essence and origin of all sin. We sometimes speak of sin as drunkenness, or lust, or murder, or theft, or covetousness, or lying. These are rather crimes or vices. They are related to sin as the fruit is related to the tree, or the plant is related to the root. They are not so much sin as the last fruitage of sin. Sin itself lies deeper. It lies in an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.1 [Note: R. Waddell, Behold the Lamb of God, 123.]
Says Drummond: The whole of a mans nature is built up, I might say, of cells. One after another, good and bad, all things have become part of him. His sins have made sin a part of him. That unkind thing you say or do makes you an unkind character. That selfish thing you do makes you selfish, pure and holy and noble thoughts are turned out, and you become an animal. Paul says, Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this dead body? Chained as they were in those dark dungeons of the East, if one prisoner died he was left chained to the man next him. This dead bodyit was Sin. But, gentlemen, we are making dead bodies with our own hands and lives: cell by cell we become dead. Sin is a part of one, and the end of these things is death, and all of a sudden some morning we awake and say, Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this dead body?2 [Note: The Life of Henry Drummond, 478.]
Modern masters of science are much impressed with the need of beginning all inquiry with a fact. The ancient masters of religion were quite equally impressed with that necessity. They began with the fact of sina fact as practical as potatoes. Whether or not man could be washed in miraculous waters, there was no doubt at any rate that he wanted washing. But certain religious leaders in London, not mere Materialists, have begun in our day not to deny the highly disputable water, but to deny the indisputable dirt. Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved.3 [Note: G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy.]
I still, to suppose it true, for my part,
See reasons and reasons; this, to begin:
Tis the faith that launched point-blank her dart
At the head of a lietaught Original Sin,
The Corruption of Mans Heart.1 [Note: Browning, Gold Hair.]
II
The Lamb of God
1. In the conception of Jesus as the Lamb of God, to be offered in expiation of human transgressions, the religious genius of the Baptist reaches (if the expression may be used) its high-water mark. So intense was his appreciation of the real significance of moral evil that he saw that while the utmost a guilty soul can do is to repent, yet more is necessary in the counsels of God if forgiveness is to become a full possibility. There must be the actual removal of human guilt through the self-oblation of the Christ. It was a great venture of thought, even although there was that in the literature of the Old Testament which pointed the way. Here and there in Israel there must have been naturesSimeons seems to have been one of themwhich were capable of recognizing the justice and force of such an anticipation; but it was very different with the almost universal sentiment of the nation. St. John stood nearly by himself in his realization of the profound truth. Flesh and blood had not revealed it unto him.
2. It has sometimes been asked and debated, To which of the lambs of sacrifice, ordained in the Old Testament, did the Baptist here refer; to which did he liken that immaculate Lamb, who, being without spot and stain, should take away our spots and stains, and bear the collective sin of the world? Did St. John allude to the daily lamb of the morning and evening sacrifice? or was it to the lamb of the passover, commemorating the old deliverance from Egypt? or was it to some other of the many lambs which were prescribed in the law of Moses, as a portion of the ritual of sacrifice appointed there? The question is surely a superfluous one. The reference is not special, but comprehensive. It is to none of these in particular, being indeed to them all. They severally set forth in type and in figure some part of that which He fulfilled in substance and in life; in Him, not now a lamb of men, but the Lamb of God, being at length fulfilled to the uttermost the significant word of Abraham, God will provide himself a lamb.
(1) One thing that was associated with the lamb in the sacrifices of which it was the centre was innocence. Innocence belongs conceivably to two stages of life. We speak of the innocence of a child. We do not mean, if we understand our words, that he is free from sin. We mean that he has not yet actually done wrong. But in the case of Christ, we mean something more than that.
As children emerge into manhood, innocence passes, and it is one of the sore regrets of life that it comes back no more. You remember the beautiful sonnet in which Charles Lamb utters his grief for the loss of innocence
We were two pretty babes; the youngest she
The youngest, and the loveliest far (I ween),
And innocence her name. The time has been
We two did love each others company;
Time was we two had wept to have been apart.
But when by show of seeming good beguiled,
I left the garb and manners of a child,
And my first love for mans society,
Defiling with the world my virgin heart
My lovd companion dropt a tear, and fled,
And hid in deepest shades her awful head.
Beloved, who shall tell me, where thou art,
In what delicious Eden to be found?
That I may seek thee, the wide world round.
Now, that was the test that Christ never needed. Why? Because He never lost innocence. He went down among the sins and temptations of life, but He came out of them pure and unsoiled. We call tried innocence holiness. Christ was sinless. That is the marvel of this Lamb of God. The animal was innocent, but it was an untried and unmoral innocence. This Lamb is not only innocent, but also perfectly holy.
Make no mistake as to what we call by the name of virtue. It is the generous force of life. Virtue is not an innocent. We adore Divine innocence, but it is not of all ages and all conditions; it is not ready for all encounters. It protects itself against the snares of nature and of man. Innocence fears everything, virtue fears nothing. Virtue can, if it be necessary, plunge with a sublime impurity into the depths of misery to console it, into every vice to recover it. It knows what the great human task is, and that it is sometimes necessary to soil ones hands.1 [Note: Anatole France, On Life and Letters, 291.]
(2) The second point about the lamb was its gentleness. It is the perfect type of meek, uncomplaining suffering. Christs gentleness was wonderful. It was wonderful because it was not the outcome either of necessity or of weakness. A person is sometimes tolerant because he is morally indifferent. He manifests no anger or passion because he does not feel or see wrong But with Christ it was not so. His gentleness was not the outcome of insensibility, of a mere ignorant good-nature. His holiness made it impossible for Him to be ignorant of sin, made it inevitable that He should see sin with clearer eyes than the sinner himself. Neither was it born from necessity. People are sometimes gentle because they must. They endure and suffer in silence because they say, Well, we cannot help it; it is best to be quiet and resigned. That was not Christs case either. The assumption of the New Testament is that Christ could help it; that He had only to speak, and legions of angels would leap to His command.
This beautiful figure reveals the kind of impression which Jesus made by His simple presence. The lamb is an emblem of innocence and gentleness, as Spenser says:
And by her in a line a milke-white lamb she led
So pure and innocent, as that same lambe,
She was in life and every vertuous lore.
Innocence in a moral agent is not the mere absence of guilt, but reaches the positive rank of purity, or, higher still, of holiness. This holiness in Himself and gentleness towards others marked Jesus out as Gods own Lamb, a man Divine in purity and love, and therefore the beloved Son of God. So much might well be apparent to the searching glance of sympathy and a prophets power of reading the heart. But the succeeding words disclose a deeper insight, and give utterance to a grand truth. Holiness and gentleness are the redeeming powers of the world, and these two great powers have wrought in Christendom from that day to this. The men and women who have lifted the burden of the worlds sin have always been the saints who have washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, or, in less figurative language, have imbibed His spirit of holiness and gentleness, and with their own peace have lulled the storms of passion, and with their own purity have sweetened the fountains of life. The holiness of Christ awakens the sense of sin, while we see that that is the true life of man, and our own hearts look black against that bright illumination. And then His gentleness saves us from despair. Were there nothing but condemnation and scorn, no sympathy, no tender pity, we could not bear that holiness, and could only abandon ourselves as lost. But when it comes with such soothing and loving accents, we are drawn within its folds, and purified in its purity. Thy gentleness has made me great. The maxim of the world, and too often of the Church, has been that violence and revenge take away the sin of the world. But it is not so. These only harden and degrade, whereas love melts the heart, and gives a new and conquering motive in an answering love. In this soul-subduing love we recognize that which is heavenly and eternal. The Lamb of God manifests the holiness and the gentleness of God. And so our fear is cast out; and, lowly and contrite, we draw near, and are folded in the bosom of our Father, and receive the grace of sonship.1 [Note: J. Drummond, Johannine Thoughts, 28.]
A lamb is innocent and mild
And merry on the soft green sod;
And Jesus Christ, the Undefiled,
Is the Lamb of God:
Only spotless He
Upon His Mothers knee;
White and ruddy, soon to be
Sacrificed for you and me.
Nay, lamb is not so sweet a word,
Nor lily half so pure a name;
Another name our hearts hath stirred,
Kindling them to flame:
Jesus certainly
Is music and melody:
Heart with heart in harmony
Carol we and worship we.2 [Note: C. G. Rossetti, Poems, 158.]
When the great Father came to unveil Himself in the person of His Son, it was a life of Divine gentleness that came to earth. Jesus was the incarnation of gentleness. When He was reviled He reviled not again. There never was a life so mild and yet so firm and strong. Munkacsy, in his famous picture of Christ before Pilate, has thrown this Divine trait into the face and figure of Christ. All around is strife, hatred, unrest, but in the centre stands the King of majesty and love with the gentleness of another world upon Him. They spit upon Him, they taunt Him, they crown Him with thorns, but He is still the Lamb of God. Even on the cross this greatness abides, as the Saviour reaches the sublimest and Divinest moment of His passion with the prayer: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.1 [Note: J. I. Vance, Royal Manhood, 53.]
(3) But what was in St. Johns mind when he uttered these words was not so much the character of the Lambinnocence, holiness, sinlessness, gentlenessit was death. It is beyond all doubt that he connected Christ with the sacrifices of the old dispensation. Here at last they found their fulfilment. Here at last the type was completed in the antitype. The Lamb is no unwilling victim. That was the weak spot in all preceding sacrifices. The creature went to death reluctantly. It was forced to its doom. Therefore its death in itself had no moral significance. But the remarkable thing about the death of the Lamb of God is that it is purely voluntary. From very early in His career Christ saw where He was going. It was no blind groping that ended accidentally or necessarily in the cross. He carried the cross on His heart long before it was laid on His shoulders.
There are various types of death. There is the death of the good, the death when the soul surrenders itself into the hands of God. There is another kind of death. It is the death of Gordon of Khartum, the death of the hero. There is a third. Literature has never forgotten Socrates in the Agora of Athens. It is a beautiful scene. The Grecian sage has been sentenced to death on a false charge. He is to be his own executioner, and the great old man talks calmly to his disciples, settles his earthly affairs, says good-bye to one after another, then takes the cup of poison and drinks it, and all is over. Or yet, once more, yonder in a Chinese town a Chinese Christian sinks beneath the stones of the mob. Are you sorry? asks the missionary. Sorry! Oh no, he says. How glad! Only sorry that I have done so little for Jesus. These are the types of death as the world gives them. They are the deaths of the good, the heroic, the sage, the martyr. Christs was not like any of these. Or rather it takes up and comprehends all these. There is one thing common to them all. They had to be. But Christs was predicted. Christs was foreseen. Christs was deliberately accepted. Death did not choose Him. He chose death. He met it at the trysting-place where He and not death determined, and He went to the cross, though legions of angels were waiting to bear Him away from it. That makes His death unique in the world.1 [Note: R. Waddell,]
3. He is the Lamb of God. For He is provided by God. But the Lamb of God does not mean merely a Lamb appointed or ordained by God. The words have reference to an abiding element in God Himself. The Lamb of God belongs as much to the eternal essence of God as His glory, His righteousness, His truth, and His love. And for us, and perhaps for all worlds, this is the most wonderful and entrancing name of all. The highest praise we can offer to God is to sing, Worthy is the Lamb!
Put emphasis on the words, of God. There you strike the distinctive feature of this sacrifice, and of the religion which it created. The difference between Christianity and all other religions lies in these two words. In other religions man provides his sacrifice for his god. In Christianity God provides the sacrifice for man. Christ comes forth out of the heart of God. Shall we not indeed say He is God? Here is where a devastating error has crept in. Men have talked and written as if somehow God and Christ were divided, as if somehow Christ propitiated God, and won Him the mercy. Nowhere in Scripture is there any such statement made. It is a heathen importation. Men are heard saying, Oh, God will do nothing for us. Our only hope is in Christ. What a dreadful travesty of the truth! God and Christ are one in this supreme work. The Father sends the Son, and the Son issues forth gladly out of the Fathers heart. The two are an absolute unity in working out mans salvation. Here is the everlasting proof of the love of God. Men say God is loving, and therefore He does not need to be propitiated. The New Testament says, God is love, and therefore He Himself provides a propitiation.
III
The Lamb and the Sin
1. Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! What precisely do these words mean? In the margin of the ordinary version we read, beareth away the sin of the world; and in that of the Revised Version it is given simply, beareth the sin. But perhaps the full significance of the word is to be had by the union of both the textual and the marginal renderings, for the term in the original is the equivalent of a Hebrew word, which sometimes denotes the bearing of the punishment of sin, and sometimes the making of expiation for sin; and so, as Alford remarks, it will in our verse bear either of these meanings, or both conjoined, for if the Lamb is to suffer the burden of the sins of the world, and is to take away sin and its guilt by expiation, this result must be accomplished by the offering of himself.
(1) The simplest meaning of the word is to lift, and this is also the simplest consciousness of liberation from sin. Man, unable to free himself from the fatal burden, feels it lifted from heart and conscience by the redeeming hand of God. Trust in God is not the product of profound doctrinal understanding, but the expression of the felt need of casting our infirmity and sin on the strength and grace of God. The beginning of the souls redemption is the discovery that we ourselves cannot overcome sin, but that we can safely leave it all with the boundless love and mercy of God.
(2) The second phase in the meaning of the word is to bear. The Divine Saviour who lifts the sin from our aching hearts bears it on His own. This is the substance of the great act and process of atonement, which is the centre of the Christian faith, and in its inexhaustible import both the joy and the despair of the human understanding. It is related, on the one hand, to the inviolable righteousness and truth and love of God, and, on the other, to the vital union of the Divine life with the life of humanity. It is therefore at one and the same time the fulfilment of the Divine righteousness and the working of redemptive energy in the lives of men. The Cross is not an isolated thing, but the sacrificial life of the Son of God interwoven with the red fibres of the human spirit.
(3) The last phase of meaning in the word is to bear away. This ends the succession in the line of grace. The Saviour lifts the sin of the world; He bears the sin of the world; He bears away the sin of the world. The beginning of redemption is liberation from the weight of sin; the completion of redemption is everlasting separation from the power of sin. The Sin-bearer bears away our sin, and we are thrall to it no longer. It can never return to condemn us. He has borne it past all the measureless abysses of death and Hades, and overwhelmed it in the glory of His resurrection. This is the salvation of our God. We are risen with the Risen Christ. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2. The saving power of the Cross of Christ is no theory; it is a fact. The sign of shame and guilt has become the sign of faith and hope. The instrument of torture and death, defiled and loathed and hated, has been lifted out of the gloom and horror of sin, transfigured, crowned with honour and victory, and planted for ever on the hill of salvation. The eyes of the world turn to the Cross of Christ. Fainting, despairing, dying, bound in the prison-houses of crime, crushed under the load of transgressions, parched and burning with the fever of life, from every place of sorrow and suffering and darkness, the lost children of men are looking to the Cross with speechless longing, and feeling its blessed power with unutterable joy.
Do you want to know how it is possible? What if I could not tell? You want to go by the cable cars. Can you explain the force that draws them? Will you wait until you understand the nature of steam and the machinery it uses before you trust yourself to them? You want to use the telegraph to send a message of sympathy or a sum of money to a relative who is in sorrow or want. Do you comprehend the nature of the electric fluid that is waiting to run with your message, and will you delay sending it until you do? You are hungry or thirsty, dying for want of food or drink. Here are both. Will you refuse them till you comprehend the chemical constituents of water, or the means by which the grain from the hillside is turned into the bread that delivers from starvation? Is the experience of others, hundreds of thousands, not enough to assure you in venturing although you do not understand all? Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! That is the Gospel. That is the good news from heaven. It comes as an offer, as a gift. It is ours only to put aside prejudice, and unwillingness, and indifference, and embrace the offer and receive the gift. This is what amazed the Son of God, that men dying should refuse the means of life, that men under the guilt and bondage of sin should decline deliverance. Their unbelief filled Him with dismay. Let it not be said of any of us as of those of old, He marvelled at their unbelief. For unbelief seals us up in sin, and delivers us to the death eternal, from which the Son of God came to set us free.1 [Note: R. Waddell, Behold the Lamb of God, 134.]
3. How the death of Christ upon the Cross is an atonement for the sins of the whole world is a complete mystery to us; but that it is so we know from revelation. All sin, upon repentance, is made as though it had never been by virtue of this sacrifice; it is cancelled, done away with. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. What an astonishing result! What a miracle of power and mercy! Here is accomplished all that man has yearned for, and so ineffectually striven afterthe compensation, the atonement for sin. His wish is accomplished, though he cannot understand how. The atonement, when it has come, is a mystery; but he knows that it is made, that something has been done in heaven by which sin has been cancelled. He knows that there has been a great reconciliation, a great restoration. He does not see this, but he apprehends it by faith.
The various aspects of this mysterious atoning sacrifice emerge in constant succession throughout this Gospel, even before the narrative of the Passion begins. To Nathanael, in those earliest days of all, is whispered the mysterious prophecy of a new Bethel vision. The Person of the Son of Man is to be a fresh medium of access, a new ladder of communication between earth and an opened heaven. To Nicodemus the Son of Man is revealed as the antitype of Moses brazen serpent, lifted up for the saving of those who will look to Him. Meanwhile a still more mysterious utterance has been given to those scandalized by His fierce cleansing of the Temple courts, an utterance which not even the most intimate understood till long afterwards. But St. John is determined that his readers shall understand it, there, in its place, and shall know that thus early the Master was conscious of that supreme trial through which His body had to pass, and of His own inner power to transform death into victory. Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
The same thought again underlies His clear consciousness of the murderous intention of the Jews, recorded in the earlier contests from the fifth chapter to the eighth, and is concentrated in the teaching of the sixth chapter and the tenth.
The sacrificial language of the Fourth Gospel is matched, as we might expect, by that of the First Epistle, here as elsewhere fulfilling the function of an inspired commentary on the writers earlier work. Thus, in the first chapter, it is declared that the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin those who in communion with Him are walking in the light. In the second, Jesus Christ the righteous is set forth as at once Advocate and Propitiation concerning the sins, not merely of a limited circle of privileged ones, but of the whole world. Later on in the same chapter, and again in those that follow it, we are told of a mutual indwelling, wherein the believer attains to that mystic union with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which is the ultimate end of all sacrificethat true and only eternal Life; so that we are prepared for the clear teaching of the final chapter, where, in the uncompromising language of the beloved disciple, it is proclaimed that He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life.
I have felt that to understand the Passion one must be ones self, as it were, God infinite, and able to comprehend the love and the agony of an infinite nature. This sight, of all I look upon, alone has power to arrest my heart. It seems foreign to the order in which I am at present moving, yet it is friendly, familiar to some inner instinct, as if it were native to a kingdom in which I had once moved.1 [Note: Dora Greenwell.]
4. There are, however, certain principles which we can hardly mistake, if we listen either to the voice of Scripture, or to the voice of the Church, or to the voice of our own moral reasonvoices which speak in true concord more frequently than is sometimes supposed.
(1) The first principle which is thus guaranteed to us is that the Death of Christ was not only efficacious by way of example, or because of its influence on the minds of those who think of it, but objectively, in itself, and in relation to the law of righteousness. It is quite true that it is the supremest example of self-sacrifice that the world has witnessed, quite true that the message of the Cross has had power to convince of sin and to lead men to holiness, solely from the pathetic pleading of the love of which it tells. But it is impossible to reconcile the words of Scripture with a theory which goes no farther than this, or to understand the moral necessity for the awful victory of the Cross, if nothing more than this be true.
(2) On the other hand, the word punishment is not used in the New Testament of the Death of Christ. His Atonement is never there described as a punishment of the innocent instead of the guilty, though it has been so described by careless readers of Scripture. That is a conception which is repugnant to all our notions of justice, and it is foreign to the teaching of the Gospels. Punishment can be justly inflicted only on the offender himself. Certainly it does not follow that only the guilty suffer in consequence of their sin. Every days experience convinces us of the contrary. The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children; the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the childrens teeth are set on edge. But that is not to say that the Almighty punishes the children for what was no fault of theirs; it is rather to say that we are all linked together by bonds so close in one great brotherhood that, if one member suffer, all the members suffer with it. It may be said that this makes no difference as to the pain entailed upon the innocent; but surely it makes a wide difference in our conception of the justice of the Supreme Orderer of mens lives, whether we regard Him as the immediate Author of that pain, or whether we look on it as an inevitable consequence of the unity of mankind and of the warfare against good inspired by the wayward wills of men. To ask that it should be otherwise is to ask that man should not be man, should have been created other than he is. The innocent is not punished instead of the guilty; and so it is not said in the New Testament that Christ was punished instead of man. It is said that He suffered because of man, for the sake of man, that the sin which man commits every hour issued in His Passion.
Ghastliest of all misconceptions ever put before this city or any other is the assertion that the doctrine of the Atonement implies, first, that an innocent being is made guilty in the sense of being personally blameworthy; and, secondly, that that innocent being is punished in the sense of suffering pain for personal ill-desert. Both these propositions all clear thought discards, all religious science condemns. We have no doctrine of the Atonement which declares that personal demerit is laid upon our Lord, or that, in the strict sense of the word, He suffered punishmentthat is, pain inflicted for personal blameworthiness. He had no personal blameworthiness. He was an innocent being, as He always will be; and never did, can, or will suffer punishment, in the strict sense of the word.1 [Note: Joseph Cook, Monday Lectures, i. 151.]
(3) Once more, the Death of Jesus is not represented in the New Testament as the cause of the love of God. It is its effect, its outcome. It is a parody of the Gospel to speak of Christs having, as it were, purchased by His eath Gods love for man. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.
I recollect particularly well an answer he gave once in private conversation to the question, Do you believe that the sacrifice of Christ is the essential and basal thing in the Christian religion? The interrogator desired an answer, Yes or No. It was at the time when Drummonds position was being assailed from almost every quarter. I shall not soon forget the slow, deliberate reply: Then my answer must be No. The questioner remarked that it was satisfactory to have such a plain answer. But there was in store for him something which probably made matters plainer still: If I may venture a supplementary remark, said Drummond, I would say that in my opinion the sacrifice of Christ is a part of the very essence of Christianity, but the basis of Christianity is the eternal love of God.2 [Note: George Adam Smith, The Life of Henry Drummond, 335.]
(4) And, lastly, such a conception as that of a Martyr Prophet suffering in innocence instead of sinners who had to share in his sorrow and his pain would be demoralizing to man himself. It would cut at the root of personal responsibility. But the doctrine of the Incarnation has been only half learnt if we have not understood that Christ claimed to be, not only in word, but in fact, the Representative and the Recapitulation of all men. It was in the name of the race whose nature He assumed that He confessed the guilt of sin, on their behalf that He suffered the inevitable consequence of sin. He tasted death for every man. He drank the cup to the dregs. Even alienation from the Divine love was felt by Him at last. My God, He cried, why hast thou forsaken me? Herein was the law of righteousness fulfilled.
Writing to Westcott, Hort says: I entirely agree with what you say on the Atonement, having for many years believed that the absolute union of the Christian (or rather, of man) with Christ Himself is the spiritual truth of which the popular doctrine of substitution is an immoral and material counterfeit.1 [Note: Life and Letters of Fenton J. A. Hort, i. 430.]
The Lamb of God
Literature
Alexander (J. A.), The Gospel of Jesus Christ, 48.
Banks (L. A.), Christ and His Friends, 27.
Bernard (J. H.), Via Domini, 124.
Bowen (W. E.), Parochial Sermons, 110.
Duncan (J.), In the Pulpit and at the Communion Table, 442, 462.
Flint (R.), Sermons and Addresses, 197.
Jefferson (C. E.), Things Fundamental, 225.
Maclaren (A.), Expositions: John i.viii. 40.
Mozley (J. B.), Sermons Parochial and Occasional, 130.
Newbolt (W. C. E.), The Gospel Message, 51.
Perowne (E. H.), The Godhead of Jesus, 83.
Ragg (L.), Christ and our Ideals, 131.
Simpson (W. J. S.), The Prophet of the Highest, 139.
Spurgeon (C. H.), Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, xxxiii. (1887) No. 1, 987; lvi. (1910) No. 3, 222.
Taylor (W. M.), The Silence of Jesus, 17.
Thomas (J.), The Dynamic of the Cross, 86.
Trench (R. C.), Sermons in Westminster Abbey, 163.
Van Dyke (H.), The Reality of Religion, 99.
Waddell (R.), Behold the Lamb of God, 107, 121.
Webb-Peploe (H. W.), Calls to Holiness, 11.
Biblical World, xxxvii. 30 (Robinson).
Christian World Pulpit, xxxvi. 233 (Symes); xxxix. 75 (Peyton); xli. 251 (Abbott); lxx. 74 (Silvester); lxxviii. 241 (Selbie).
Fuente: The Great Texts of the Bible
Behold: Joh 1:36, Gen 22:7, Gen 22:8, Exo 12:3-13, Num 28:3-10, Isa 53:7, Act 8:32, 1Pe 1:19, Rev 5:6, Rev 5:8, Rev 5:12, Rev 5:13, Rev 6:1, Rev 6:16, Rev 7:9, Rev 7:10, Rev 7:14, Rev 7:17, Rev 12:11, Rev 13:8, Rev 14:1, Rev 14:4, Rev 14:10, Rev 15:3, Rev 17:14, Rev 19:7, Rev 19:9, Rev 21:9, Rev 21:14, Rev 21:22, Rev 21:23, Rev 21:27, Rev 22:1-3
which: Isa 53:11, Hos 14:2, Mat 20:28, Act 13:39, 1Co 15:3, 2Co 5:21, Gal 1:4, Gal 3:13, 1Ti 2:6, Tit 2:14, Heb 1:3, Heb 2:17, Heb 9:28, 1Pe 2:24, 1Pe 3:18, 1Jo 2:2, 1Jo 3:5, 1Jo 4:10, Rev 1:5
taketh: or, beareth, Exo 28:38, Lev 10:17, Lev 16:21, Lev 16:22, Num 18:1, Num 18:23
Reciprocal: Exo 29:38 – two lambs Lev 1:10 – of the flocks Lev 4:32 – a lamb Lev 12:6 – a lamb Lev 14:10 – he lambs Num 7:39 – General Num 21:9 – when he 2Sa 24:10 – take away 1Ch 21:8 – do away Job 7:21 – take away Psa 65:3 – transgressions Psa 85:3 – taken Isa 65:1 – Behold Eze 46:13 – Thou shalt daily Zec 3:4 – I have Zec 3:9 – remove Zec 12:10 – they shall look Zec 13:1 – a fountain Zec 13:7 – smite Mat 1:21 – for Mar 11:31 – Why Luk 1:77 – give Luk 3:18 – General Luk 9:31 – spake Joh 1:15 – bare Joh 3:17 – but Joh 4:42 – and know Joh 5:33 – he Joh 6:51 – the life Joh 6:69 – we believe Joh 10:41 – but Joh 11:52 – not Joh 19:5 – Behold Act 13:25 – whom Act 13:38 – that Act 19:4 – John Rom 11:27 – when 1Co 5:7 – Christ 2Co 5:14 – one 1Ti 1:15 – that 1Ti 4:10 – the saviour Heb 2:9 – for every Heb 9:26 – he appeared Heb 10:4 – take Heb 12:2 – Looking 1Jo 1:7 – and the 1Jo 4:14 – the Saviour
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE LAMB OF GOD
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, Which taketh away the sin of the world.
Joh 1:29
John stands before the ministry in the same attitude as that in which the herald angel stands before the infancy, both the one and the other appealing to us to join our song with theirsGlory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. What, then, did John see as the suns rays smote upon him, and caused him to utter this voice?
I. He saw a revelation of goodness; he saw a sight which he had never seen before, not even when he thought of his good old father and his blameless mothera sight which he had never seen in Pharisee or religious Israelite as they flocked out to hear him, and to be baptized; he saw a good Man, a perfect Man, a Man such as man was meant to be; Whom he called a Lamb, in all that was symbolised in that title, of freedom from blemish or taint of ill, even from those faults of good men which so often cause their good to be evil spoken of.
II. Behold the Lamb of God.John saw more than an image, an ideal of spotless purity and blameless life; Christ to him was not only his Master and his Pattern; He was his Saviour; while he speaks of the Lamb of God, the Lamb which God Himself provided for the sacrifice, as of old He provided the sacrifice for Abraham. The Lamb, which might be spoken of as of God, in its Divine and unblemished nature, this Lamb recalls to him the smoking altar of the daily morning and evening sacrifice in the Temple, the paschal victims which, perhaps, were even then passing him in flocks, being driven up to Jerusalem for the feastjust as the shepherds at Bethlehem also, who, on Jewish testimony, are said to have been guarding the flocks used in sacrifice, would have heard with wonder of a Saviour, of a salvation mightier than any which the blood of sacrifice was able to procure.
III. Which taketh away the sin of the world.Here is the last and strongest appeal of Christmas. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil. The sin of the world. This is something more than the individual sins of human beings, the corruption of humanity, the blight of failure, and the curse of frustrated purpose known as sin. That is one of the saddest and most ironical sides of our modern Christmas rejoicingthat sin should be regarded as an appropriate exhibition of joy at its extinction. But the joy of this mighty deliverance wrought is a great one. It almost staggers the imagination to think of a world without sin, to think of London without sin, a golden city of fair streams and unpolluted life; and yet the possibility is there, the victory is won. There is only one line of fortresses which holds out, and that is human free-will. And the free-will which I know most about is my own. Strange it is that that which, on the testimony of all experience and of all language, is our greatest bane, should still hold its ground by the free-will of man. Yet so it is, and nothing but the surrender of mans free-will to God is going to alter it. No civilisation, no education, no change of circumstance, no knowledge of life and its conditions, is going to alter it. It must be the surrender of the free-will of man to God, which is to put into motion this purchased deliverance.
Rev. Canon Newbolt.
Illustration
In some parts of England the old custom still lingers of ringing on Christmas Eve the devils knell. As the bell peals out at midnight this is to symbolise in the poetry of religion that the power of the devil was crippled by the Virgin Birth on Christmas Day.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
9
The next day means the day after the conversations mentioned above. John saw Jesus coming to wards them, and he recognized him from the events recorded in verse 33. Behold the Lamb of God. This should be understood as John’s presentation of Jesus to his (John’s) disciples, and his speech corresponds with the opening of the sheepfold in chapter 10:3. Taketh is translated “beareth” in the margin, and the lexicon agrees with it. The whole sentence is worded in view of the use made of the scapegoat to “bear upon him” the iniquities of the congregation of Israel (Lev 16:22). Yes, Jesus became the scapegoat for the whole world, but that does not relieve sinners of their personal obligation to appropriate the benefits of that arrangement by proper conduct of life. The ceremony with the scapegoat was for the congregation as a whole, but the individual members of the congregation had their personal duties to perform in order to benefit by the national sacrifice. Likewise, men have their individual duties to obey, in order to obtain any benefit from Crist’s sacrifice.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
[The Lamb of God.] St. John alludes plainly to the lamb of the daily sacrifice. Which in shadow took away the sins of Israel.
I. It was commanded in the law that he that offered the sacrifice should lay his hand upon the head of the sacrifice, Lev 1:4; Lev 3:2; Lev 4:4; etc.
II. The reason of which usage was, that he might, as it were, transfer his sins and guilt upon the head of the offering, which is more especially evident in the scapegoat, Lev 16:22.
Hence Christ is said “himself to have borne our sins in his own body on the tree,” 1Pe 2:24; as the offering upon the altar was wont to do. He was made by God a “sin for us,” 2Co 5:21; that is, a sacrifice for sin.
III. The same rite was used about the lamb of the daily sacrifice that was offered for all Israel; “The stationary men [as they were called], or the substitutes of the people, laying their hands upon the head of the lamb.”
To this therefore the words of the Baptist refer: “The lamb of God, that is, the daily sacrifice, taketh away the sins of the world, as the sacrifice did for all Israel. But behold here the true Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world.”
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
THIS passage contains a verse which ought to be printed in great letters in the memory of every reader of the Bible. All the stars in heaven are bright and beautiful, and yet one star exceedeth another star in glory. So also all texts of Scripture are inspired and profitable, and yet some texts are richer than others. Of such texts the first verse before us is preeminently one. Never was there a fuller testimony borne to Christ upon earth, than that which is here borne by John the Baptist.
Let us notice, firstly, in this passage, the peculiar name which John the Baptist gives to Christ. He calls Him “The Lamb of God.”
This name did not merely mean, as some have supposed, that Christ was meek and gentle as a lamb. This would be truth no doubt, but only a very small portion of the truth. There are greater things here than this! It meant that Christ was the great sacrifice for sin, who was come to make atonement for transgression by His own death upon the cross. He was the true Lamb which Abraham told Isaac at Moriah God would provide. (Gen 22:8.) He was the true Lamb to which every morning and evening sacrifice in the temple had daily pointed. He was the Lamb of which Isaiah had prophesied, that He would be “brought to the slaughter.” (Isa 53:7.) He was the true Lamb of which the passover lamb in Egypt had been a vivid type. In short, He was the great propitiation for sin which God had covenanted from all eternity to send into the world. He was God’s Lamb.
Let us take heed that in all our thoughts of Christ, we first think of Him as John the Baptist here represents Him. Let us serve him faithfully as our Master. Let us obey Him loyally as our King. Let us study His teaching as our Prophet. Let us walk diligently after Him as our Example. Let us look anxiously for Him as our coming Redeemer of body as well as soul. But above all, let us prize Him as our Sacrifice, and rest our whole weight on His death as an atonement for sin. Let His blood be more precious in our eyes every year we live. Whatever else we glory in about Christ, let us glory above all things in His cross. This is the corner-stone, this is the citadel, this is the rule of true Christian theology. We know nothing rightly about Christ, until we see him with John the Baptist’s eyes, and can rejoice in Him as “the Lamb that was slain.”
Let us notice, secondly, in this passage, the peculiar work which John the Baptist describes Christ as doing. He says that “he taketh away the sin of the world.”
Christ is a Saviour. He did not come on earth to be a conqueror, or a philosopher, or a mere teacher of morality. He came to save sinners. He came to do that which man could never do for himself,-to do that which money and learning can never obtain,-to do that which is essential to man’s real happiness,-He came to “take away sin.”
Christ is a complete Savior. He “taketh away sin.” He did not merely make vague proclamations of pardon, mercy, and forgiveness. He “took” our sins upon Himself, and carried them away. He allowed them to be laid upon Himself, and “bore them in His own body on the tree.” (1Pe 2:24.) The sins of every one that believes on Jesus are made as though they had never been sinned at all. The Lamb of God has taken them clean away.
Christ is an almighty Savior, and a Savior for all mankind. He “taketh away the sin of the world.” He did not die for the Jews only, but for the Gentile as well as the Jew. He did not suffer for a few persons only, but for all mankind. The payment that He made on the cross was more than enough to make satisfaction for the debts of all. The blood that He shed was precious enough to wash away the sins of all. His atonement on the cross was sufficient for all mankind, though efficient only to them that believe. The sin that He took up and bore on the cross was the sin of the whole world.
Last, but not least, Christ is a perpetual and unwearied Savior. He “taketh away” sin. He is daily taking it away from every one that believes on Him,-daily purging, daily cleansing, daily washing the souls of His people, daily granting and applying fresh supplies of mercy. He did not cease to work for His saints, when He died for them on the cross. He lives in heaven as a Priest, to present His sacrifice continually before God. In grace as well as in providence, Christ worketh still. He is ever taking away sin.
These are golden truths indeed. Well would it be for the Church of Christ, if they were used by all who know them! Our very familiarity with texts like these is one of our greatest dangers. Blessed are they who not only keep this text in their memories, but feed upon it in their hearts!
Let us notice, lastly, in this passage, the peculiar office which John the Baptist attributes to Christ. He speaks of Him as Him “which baptizeeth with the Holy Ghost.”
The baptism here spoken of is not the baptism of water. It does not consist either of dipping or sprinkling. It does not belong exclusively either to infants or to grown up people. It is not a baptism which any man can give, Episcopalian or Presbyterian, Independent or Methodist, layman or minister. It is a baptism which the great Head of the Church keeps exclusively in His own hands. It consists of the implanting of grace into the inward man. It is the same thing with the new birth. It is a baptism, not of the body, but of the heart. It is a baptism which the penitent thief received, though neither dipped nor sprinkled by the hand of man. It is a baptism which Ananias and Sapphira did not receive, though admitted into church-communion by apostolic men.
Let it be a settled principle in our religion that the baptism of which John the Baptist speaks here, is the baptism which is absolutely necessary to salvation. It is well to be baptized into the visible Church; but it is far better to be baptized into that Church which is made up of true believers. The baptism of water is a most blessed and profitable ordinance, and cannot be neglected without great sin. But the baptism of the Holy Ghost is of far greater importance. The man who dies with his heart not baptized by Christ can never be saved.
Let us ask ourselves, as we leave this passage, Whether we are baptized with the Holy Ghost, and whether we have any real interest in the Lamb of God? Thousands, unhappily, are wasting their time in controversy about water baptism, and neglecting the baptism of the heart. Thousands more are content with a head-knowledge of the Lamb of God, or have never sought Him by faith, that their own sins may be actually taken away. Let us take heed that we ourselves have new hearts, and believe to the saving of our souls.
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Notes-
v29.-[The next day.] This means the day after the conversation between John the Baptist and the deputation of priests and Levites. The careful marking of days by John at this stage of his gospel deserves particular notice.
[Seeth Jesus coming unto him.] These words seem to prove that Jesus was not present on the preceding day, during the conversation with the priests and Levites, and that John’s words, “standeth among you,” cannot be literally taken.
It seems probable, as before observed, that our Lord came back to John after His temptation in the wilderness. The Spirit took Him into the wilderness “immediately” after His baptism, (Mar 1:12,) and it was upon His return, at the end of forty days, that John the Baptist saw him again.
[And saith, behold.] This appears to have been a public, open proclamation made by John to his disciples and the multitude who surrounded him. “Behold that person who is coming towards us. He is the Lamb of God, the Messiah of whom I have been preaching to you, and on whom I have told you to believe.”
[The Lamb of God.] There can be no reasonable doubt that John gave this name to our Lord because He was the true sacrifice for sin, the true antitype of the passover lamb, and the lamb prophesied of by Isaiah. (Isa 53:7.) The idea that he only refers to the quietness and meekness of our Lord’s personal character is utterly unsatisfactory. He is describing our Lord’s official character as the great propitiation for sin.
The expression, “Lamb of God,” according to some, signifies “that eminent, great, divine, and most excellent Lamb.” It is a well-known Hebraism to describe anything very great as a thing “of God.” Thus we read of “thunderings of God,” and “trembling of God,” (Exo 9:28; 1Sa 14:15.)-According to others it signifies the Lamb which God has provided from all eternity, and which God has long covenanted and promised to send into the world to be slain for sinners. Both views make good doctrine, but the second seems the preferable one.
Bengel thinks that John called our Lord “the Lamb of God,” with a special reference to the Passover, which was then near. (Joh 2:13.) He also sees a parallel between the expression “Lamb of God,” and the phrase, “sacrifice of God,” (Psa 51:17,) which means “the sacrifice which God acknowledges as pleasing to Him.”
Chemnitius thinks, in addition to other reasons why John calls our Lord “the Lamb,” that he desired to show that Christ’s kingdom was not political. He was neither the ram nor the he-goat described in Daniel. (Dan 8:20.)
[Taketh away.] The Greek word so rendered, is given in the marginal reading, “beareth.” Both ideas are included. It means “taketh away by his expiatory death.” The Lamb of God “beareth” the sin of the world by taking it upon Himself. He allowed our guilt to be laid upon Him, and carried it away like the scapegoat, so that there was none left. It is one of the many expressions which describe the great Scripture truth, that Christ’s death was a vicarious sacrifice for sin. He became our substitute. He took upon Him our sin. He Was made sin for us. Our sins were imputed to Him. He was made a curse for us.
The word here rendered “taketh away” is found at least 100 times in the New Testament. In 82 places it is rendered, “take,”-“take up,”-or “take away.” In 5 places it is, “bear.” In 4 it is, “lift up.” In 2 it is, “remove.” In most of the other places it is the imperative expression, “away with!” All point to the same view of the text before us, viz., “a complete atonement for sin.”
The use of the present tense, “taketh away,” is remarked by all the best commentators, ancient and modern. It is intended to show the completeness of Christ’s satisfaction for sin, and the continual application of His once-made sacrifice. He is always taking sin away. Rollock observes, “The influence of Christ’s sacrifice is perpetual, and His blood never dries up.”
The idea maintained by some, that “taking away sin,” in this place, includes sanctification as well as justification, seems to me quite untenable. That Christ “takes away” the power of a believer’s sins, when He applies His redemption to his soul, is no doubt true. But it is not the truth of this text.
[The sin.] Let it be noted that the singular number is used here. It is “the sin,” not “the sins.” The expression seems to me purposely intended to show that what Christ took away, and bore on the cross, was not the sin of certain people only, but the whole accumulated mass of all the sins of all the children of Adam. He bore the weight of all, and made an atonement sufficient to make satisfaction for all.
The idea propounded by some, that “the sin” which Christ is said here to take away, is only man’s original sin,-and that for man’s actual sins each man must make satisfaction himself, is destitute of the slightest foundation in Scripture, contradicts scores of plain texts, and utterly overthrows the whole Gospel.
[Of the world.] It is almost needless to say that there are two views of this expression. Some say, that it only means, that Christ takes away the sins of Gentiles as well as Jews, and that it does not mean the sin of any but the elect. Others say, that it really means that Christ “taketh away” the sin of all mankind, that is, that He made an atonement sufficient for all, and that all are salvable, though not all saved, in consequence of His death.
I decidedly prefer the latter of these two views. I hold as strongly as any one. that Christ’s death is profitable to none but to the elect who believe on His name. But I dare not limit and pare down such expressions as the one before us. I dare not say that no atonement has been made, in any sense, except for the elect. I believe it is possible to be more systematic than the Bible in our statements. When I read that the wicked who are lost, “deny the Lord that bought them.” (2Pe 2:1,) and that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,” (2Co 5:19,) I dare not confine the intention of redemption to the saints alone. Christ is for every man.
I am aware the objection is often made, that “if Christ taketh away the sin of the world, and yet the vast majority of men die in their sins and are lost, Christ’s work for many was wrought in vain.” I see no force in this objection. I think we might as well argue, that because sin came into the world and marred creation, creation was in vain. We are not talking of the works of men, but of the eternal Word, and we must be content to see much in His works that we do not entirely understand. Though multitudes are lost, I have no doubt the last day will prove that nothing that Christ did for them was in vain.
I rest in the view of the text, that in some ineffable and inscrutable way, the whole world’s sin was borne and atoned for by Christ. “He taketh away, or makes atonement for, the sin of all the men and women in the world.” I have no doubt, from Scripture, that the vast majority of “the world’s” inhabitants will be found at last to have received no benefit from Christ, and to have died in their sins. I repudiate the idea of universal salvation, as a dangerous heresy, and utterly contrary to Scripture.-But the lost will not prove to be lost because Christ did nothing for them. He bore their sins. He carried their transgressions. He provided payment, but they would not put in their claim to any interest in it. He set the prison door open to all; but the majority would not come out and be free. In the work of the Father in election, and of the Spirit in conversion, I see limitation in the Bible most clearly. But in the work of Christ in atonement I see no limitation. The atonement was made for all the world, though it is applied to and enjoyed by none but believers.-Christ’s intercession is the peculiar privilege of His people. But Christ’s atonement is a benefit which is offered freely and honestly to all mankind.
In saying all this I am fully aware that the word “world” is sometimes used in a qualified sense, and must be interpreted with some limitation. When it is said, “The world knew him not,” (Joh 1:10,) it cannot mean that not a single person in the world knew Him. But in the text before us I see no necessity for limitation. I see the whole mass of mankind’s guilt brought together in one singular word, “the sin of the world,” and that sin, I am told, Christ “taketh away.” And I believe the true meaning to be, that the Lamb of God has made atonement sufficient for all mankind, though efficient unquestionably to none but believers.
Augustine remarks, “How weighty must be the blood of the Lamb, by whom the world was made, to turn the scale when weighed against the world!”
Calvin, in his commentary on this verse, says, “John uses the word sin in the singular number for any kind of iniquity; as if he had said that every kind of unrighteousness which alienates men from God is taken away by Christ. And when he says ‘The sin of the world,’ he extends this favour indiscriminately to the whole human race, that the Jews might not think that He had been sent to them alone. Hence we infer that the whole world is involved in the same condemnation; and that as all men, without exception, are guilty of unrighteousness before God, they need to be reconciled to Him. John the Baptist, by speaking generally of the sin of the world, intended to impress upon us the conviction of our own misery, and to exhort us to seek the remedy. Now our duty is to embrace the benefit which is offered to all, that each of us may be convinced that there is nothing to hinder him from obtaining reconciliation in Christ, provided that he comes to Him by the guidance of faith.”
Brentius says, “Although all the men in the world do not receive the benefit of Christ’s passion, because all do not believe on Christ, yet that benefit is so offered to the whole world, that whosoever, whether circumcised or uncircumcised, king or peasant, high or low, rich or poor, sick or well, old or young, receives Christ by faith, is justified before God, and saved with an eternal salvation.”
Musculus says, “John places before us no one particular person whose sins the Lamb has come to take away; but under the expression ‘the world,’ he comprehends the whole race of mortals from the very beginning of the world to the end of it.”
Melancthon says, “He taketh away the sin, that is the universal condemnation, of the human race.”
Chemnitius says, “John affirms that the benefits of Christ belong not to the Jews only, but to the whole world, and that no one who is in the world is excluded from them, if he is only willing to receive them by faith.”
The deep spiritual knowledge exhibited by John the Baptist in this verse, ought not to be overlooked. Such a sentence as the one before us never fell from the lips of any other disciple of Christ before the day of Pentecost. Others could say that our Lord was the Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Son of David, the King of Israel, the Son of the Blessed, who was to come into the world. But none seem to have seen so clearly as John that Christ was the sacrifice for sin, the Lamb that was to be slain. Well would it be for the Church of Christ in the nineteenth century, if all its ministers possessed as much knowledge of Christ’s atonement as is here shown by John the Baptist! John saw the vicarious sacrifice of Christ, before He died on the cross. Many so-called Christians cannot see Christ’s vicarious sacrifice even at this day!
v30.-[This is he of whom I said.] These words appear to have been spoken in our Lord’s presence, and to have been specially intended to point the multitude to Him. “This person before you is He of whom I have repeatedly spoken in my ministry, as the coming One who is far greater than myself. You see Him now before you.”
[A man…he was before me.] The human and divine natures of our Lord are here brought together by John in one sentence, “He of whom I spake to you is a man, and yet at the same time He is One who was before me, because He has existed from all eternity.”
v31.-[I knew him not.] This means “I was not acquainted with Him in time past. There has been no private collusion or arrangement between Him and me. I did not even know Him by sight until the day when He came to be baptized.” The difficulty connected with these words of John will be considered fully at the 33rd verse.
[That he should be made manifest to Israel, &c.] John here declares that the great end of his ministry was, that this wonderful Person, whom he had just pointed out, should be manifested and made known to the Jews. He did not come to form a party of his own, or to baptize in his own name. The whole object of his preaching and baptizing was now before his hearers. It was simply to make known to Israel the Mighty One, the Lamb of God, whom they now saw.
v32.-[And John bare record.] These words seem to denote a public and solemn testimony borne by John to the fact, that our Lord had been visibly acknowledged by God the Father as the Messiah. If his hearers would have further proof that this Person, to whom he was pointing them, was really the Christ, he would tell them what he had seen with his own eyes. He would bear witness that he had seen visible proofs that this Person was really the Messiah.
[I saw.] This means, “At the time when our Lord was baptized, I saw this heavenly vision.” Whether any beside John saw this vision, and heard the voice of the Father, which accompanied it, may well be doubted. At any rate, if they did, they did not understand either what they saw or heard.
[The Spirit descending, &c.] This means that John saw something coming down from heaven after the manner of a dove flying downwards, and that what he saw was the Holy Spirit, graciously revealing Himself in a visible manner.
[It abode upon him.] This means that the heavenly vision of the Holy Spirit rested upon Christ at the time of His baptism. It lighted down upon Him as a dove would settle down, and did not leave Him.
I cannot satisfy myself that the expression “like a dove” in this verse, means that any dove was really seen by John, when our Lord was baptized. All the four Gospel-writers describe an appearance “like a dove.” Luke distinctly speaks of “a bodily shape.” That something visible was seen by John is plain, and that its appearance descending on our Lord, resembled the downward flight of a dove, is also plain. But I am unable to see that the Holy Ghost took upon Him the actual form of a dove.
Some think, as Augustine, that the likeness to a dove was especially employed at this time, to answer the figure of Noah’s flood. He says, “As a dove did at that time bring tidings of the abating of the water, so doth it now of the abating of the wrath of God, upon the preaching of the Gospel.”
We must beware of supposing for a moment, that this vision of the Spirit descending was meant to imply, that our Lord first received the grace of the Holy Ghost at that particular time, or that He had not received it before in the same degree. We must not doubt that the Holy Ghost dwelt in Jesus “without measure” from the very time of His incarnation. The vision was meant to show the Church, that when Christ’s ministry began, a fuller revelation of all Three Persons in the Trinity was made at once to mankind. It was meant at the same time to be a formal testimony to John the Baptist that the Messiah was before him,-that this was the promised Saviour whom God had anointed with the Holy Ghost and sent into the world,-that the time of Christ’s ministry had begun,-that He who had the Spirit to bestow on men was before him,-and that His entrance on His public work was attested by the presence both of the Father and the Holy Ghost, in short, by a manifestation of all three Persons in the Trinity at one time.
As a Levite, John doubtless was familiar with all the ceremonies by which the Jewish high priests and kings were solemnly inducted into their office. For his satisfaction, therefore, our Lord received visible attestation from heaven, and was publicly recognized as the Messiah, the anointed Priest, and King, and Prophet, before his forerunner’s eyes.
Musculus on this verse remarks, “The Spirit did not descend on Christ’s account, who was never separate, either from the Holy Spirit or from the Father,-but on our account, that He who came to redeem the world, might be made manifest, through John’s declaration of Him.”
v33.-[I knew him not.] The Greek word so rendered, both here and at Joh 1:31, is literally, “I had not known him.” There is a difficulty connected with the expression which demands explanation. Matthew tells us, that when our Lord came to John to be baptized, John said to him, “I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” (Mat 3:14,) showing plainly by these words that he knew He was before him. And yet here we find John saying, “I knew him not.” How can this apparent inconsistency be reconciled?
Some think, as Chrysostom, that “John is speaking of former times, and not of the times near to his baptism.”
Some think, as Augustine, that it means, “I had not known till that day that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Ghost, although I had long known him personally, and had recognized him as the Christ of God. But when He came to be baptized, it was also revealed to me, that He would confer on men the great gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Some think, as Brentius and Beza, that it means, “I had not known Jesus by sight until the day when He came to be baptized. I knew that He had been born of the virgin Mary, but was not personally acquainted with Him, having been myself brought up ‘in the desert.’ (Luk 1:80.) I had only been told by Him who sent me to baptize, that whenever the Messiah came to be baptized, I should recognize Him by the descent of the Holy Ghost. When He did come, I received a secret revelation from God that Messiah stood before me, and under the power of that feeling I confessed my unworthiness to baptize Him. But when at last I did baptize Him, I received a full confirmation of my faith by beholding the promised sign of the descent of the Holy Ghost.” Those who hold this view, think the case of Samuel receiving a secret revelation about Saul, an illustration of the matter. (1Sa 9:15-17.)
Some think, as Poole, that it means, “I knew him not perfectly and distinctly, though I had an impression when I first saw Him coming to be baptized, that He was One far greater than myself, and under that impression demurred to baptizing Him. After His baptism I saw clearly who He was.”
The last explanation is perhaps the simplest, and most probable. That John at one time did not know our Lord by sight at all, that he afterwards knew Him imperfectly, and that his perfect knowledge of Him, His nature, office, and work, was not attained till the time when the Spirit descended at His baptism, are points that seem clear. The time when he said, “I have need to be baptized of thee,” would seem to be the time of imperfect knowledge, when the fact that Jesus was the Messiah began to dawn upon him, and made him cry out, “comest thou to me?”
Chrysostom observes, that the expression is a proof “that the miracles which they say belong to Christ’s childhood are false, and the invention of those who bring them to notice. For if He had begun from His early age to work miracles, neither could John have been ignorant of Him, nor would the multitude have needed a teacher to make Him known.”
[He that sent me…same said.] This expression indicates that John the Baptist had many special revelations of God concerning His work, of which we have no record given to us. He seems to have been taught and instructed like one of the old prophets.
[He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.] The remarkable description of our Lord, here given by John the Baptist, has received three very different interpretations.
Some think that it means, “This is He who shall institute Christian baptism, with which the gift of the Holy Ghost shall be connected. His baptism shall be like mine, a baptism of water. But it shall not be a baptism of water only, as mine is, but a baptism accompanied by the regenerating grace of the Spirit.”
Some think that it means, “This is He who shall baptize with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, and confer miraculous gifts on the church.”
Some think it means, “This is He who shall baptize the hearts of men, which neither thou canst do nor any other human minister. He has the prerogative of giving spiritual life. He is the giver of the Holy Spirit to all who believe on Him.”
I am decidedly of opinion that this third view is the correct one. It is the only one which seems at all answerable to the majesty of the person spoken of, the dignity of the speaker, and the solemnity of the occasion.-To say, “This is He who shall institute Christian baptism” seems a very lame and impotent account of the expression.-To say, “This is He who shall bestow miraculous gifts at the day of Pentecost,” is a degree better, but gives a picture of our Lord’s office confined to a single generation.-But to say, “This is He who, in every age of the church, will baptize the hearts of his people by the Holy Ghost, and by this baptism continually replenish the ranks of His mystical body,” is saying that which exactly suits the occasion, and describes our Lord’s work in the world in a worthy manner.
Musculus, on this verse, remarks, “What is it to baptize with the Holy Ghost? It is to regenerate the hearts of the elect, and consecrate them into the fellowship of the sons of God.” Again, he says, “It is Christ alone who baptizes with the Holy Ghost, a power which, as divine, He keeps in His own hands and never communicates to any minister.”
The view I have maintained is ably set forth in Bucer’s commentary on this place. He says, “By the baptism of water we are received into the outward Church of God; by the baptism of the Spirit into the inward Church.” The opinion of one who was Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, in the reign of Edward the Sixth, and the personal friend and adviser of Cranmer and the other English reformers, deserves much consideration. It proves, at any rate, that the doctrine of inward baptism of the Spirit, which Christ alone gives to every believer, and the identity of this baptism with conversion or new birth, are not such modern and contemptible notions as some persons are pleased to think.
The untenableness of the view, held by many, that John’s baptism was not the same as Christian baptism. to all intents and purposes, is ably shown by Lightfoot, in his Harmony of the Four Evangelists. If it was not Christian baptism, it would be hard to prove that some of the disciples ever received Christian baptism at all. There is not the slightest evidence that Andrew, Peter, and Philip were baptized by Jesus.
The familiarity which John displays with the Holy Ghost and his work, deserves particular attention. To say, as many do, that the Holy Ghost was not known until the day of Pentecost, is saying what cannot be proved. The Holy Ghost has always been in the hearts of believers in every age of the world. His abundant outpouring is undoubtedly a leading mark of the days since Christ came into the world. But the Holy Ghost was ever in God’s elect, and without Him there never was a soul saved.
v34.-[I saw and bare record, &c.] This means, “I saw perfectly, and from that time have distinctly and unhesitatingly testified that the person whom you now see before you is the Christ, the Son of the living God. From the day of His baptism I have been fully convinced that this is the Messiah.”
John here declares his own firm conviction of our Lord’s divinity and eternal generation. He was satisfied that our Lord was not the son of Mary only, but the Son of God.
Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
Joh 1:29. The next day he seeth Jesus coming unto him. The day is that immediately following the day of the first testimony, and the climactic arrangement of the narrative is already perceptible. Already Jesus is in a different position. On the previous day He was spoken of as coming after John; now He is coming unto him. Then He stood unknown, unrecognised, amidst the throng; now He is expressly pointed out by His forerunner. Then it was His elevation above John that was expressed; now it is the greatness of His work in itself.
And saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. The translation of this clause has been disputed (see the margin of the Authorised Version), but without good reason. The idea of taking or bearing sin is indeed of very common occurrence in the Old Testament; but it is not expressed by the word here used, which denotes taking away, removal. In meaning, however, the two renderings would almost coincide, since the metaphor of the verse is sacrificial: in the thought of bearing sin as an atoning sacrifice is involved the removal of the punishment deserved and of the sin itself. There is only one other passage of the New Testament in which this expression is found, 1Jn 3:5, and there the meaning is very clear. A much more difficult question remains: What is the Baptists meaning when he speaks of the Lamb of Goa? The answer which perhaps now finds most favour with commentators is, that this particular image was directly suggested to his mind by the memorable prophecy of Isaiah 53, in one verse of which (Joh 1:7) there is an allusion to a lamb. But there are serious difficulties in the way of this explanation. A reference to the chapter will show that in that verse the prophet speaks of the lamb as an example of uncomplaining patience, and not in connection with taking away sin. He was oppressed, although he submitted himself, and opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep dumb before her shearers; and he opened not his mouth. Again, had the prophecy of this chapter been definitely the source of the Baptists words, we might surely have looked for some close resemblances of language. But such coincidences are not to be found in any part of the chapter: the ideas of taking and bearing sin are prominent, but they are expressed by words altogether different from that here used. If we are thus obliged to look away from Isaiahs great prophecy of Messiah, we naturally turn to the Mosaic ritual of sacrifice. Again we are met by difficulties. It would seem impossible to bring in here the thought of any other than the sin-offering, and yet it was only occasionally, and almost as an exception, that a sin-offering consisted of a lamb (Lev 4:32). The lamb of the morning and evening sacrifices was a burnt-offering. There remain only two other explanations of the phrase. It is just possible that the lamb merely indicates a sacrificial victim, the gentleness and harmlessness of this animal making it especially suitable as a type. It is, however, much more probable that the Baptist spoke of the paschal lamb. The peculiar definiteness of the expression (the Lamb of God) will in this case need no explanation: no thought was more familiar to the Israelite than that of the lamb for the Passover; and, we may add, few thoughts are brought out in this Gospel with greater distinctness than the relation of the Lord Jesus to the paschal sacrifice and feast (see notes on chaps, 6 and 19). As the institution of the Passover preceded the general Mosaic legislation, its laws and arrangements lie without the circle of the ordinary ritual of sacrifices, and combine ideas which were otherwise kept distinct. The paschal supper resembles the peace-offerings, the characteristic of which was the sacred feast that succeeded the presentation of the victim (Lev 5:15),an emblem of the fellowship between the accepted worshipper and his God. But the sin-offering also is included, as a reference to the original institution of the Passover will at once show. The careful sprinkling of the blood upon the door-posts was intended to be more than a sign to the destroying angel whom to spare. The lamb was slain and the blood sprinkled that atonement might be made for sin: when Israel is consecrated anew to God, the sin and the deserved punishment removed, the sacred feast is celebrated. It has been suggested that the nearness of the Passover (see chap. Joh 2:13) may have presented these thoughts to the Baptists mind. It is still more likely that one who was enabled so clearly to discern the meaning of the Old Testament as to recognise the removal of the sin of the world as the object of Messiahs coming, would see from the first how fitly that ordinance, in which Israels redemption began, associated itself with the approaching redemption of the world. It is the worlds Passover, both the sacrifice and the feast, that John sees to be at hand. With this verse compare especially 1Pe 1:18-19; Rev 5:6; Rev 5:9. The marginal references will show to what an extent this Gospel is pervaded by the thought of the world as the object of Christs saving work.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
This is John the Baptist’s third testimony concerning Christ; in which he points out Christ as the true Sacrifice for the expiation of sin. Behold the lamb of God: the Lamb of God’s appointing, to be an expiatory sacrifice; the Lamb of God’s election; the Lamb of God’s affection; the Lamb of God’s acceptation; the Lamb of God’s exaltation; who, by the sacrifice of his death, has taken away the sin of the world.
The sin, not sins, (in the plural number,) to denote original sin, as some think; or, as others, to show, that Christ hath universally taken upon himself the whole burden of our sin and guilt. And there seems to be a secret antithesis in the word world. In the Levitical sacrifices, only the sins of the Jews were laid upon the sacrificed beast; but this Lamb takes away the sin both of the Jew and the Gentile. The Lord has caused to meet on him the iniquity of us all.
And the word, taketh away, being in the present tense, denotes a continued act, and it intimates to us thus much, viz. That it is the daily office of Christ to take away our sin, by presenting to the Father the memorials of his death. Christ takes away from all believers the guilt and punishment of their sins, the filth and pollution of them, the power and dominion that is in them: as St. John called upon the Jews, to behold this Lamb of God with an eye of observation; so it is our duty to behold him now with an eye of admiration; with an eye of gratulation; but especially with an eye of faith and dependence, improving the fruit of his death to our own consolation and salvation, Look unto me, and be saved. Isa 14:22.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Joh 1:29. The next day Namely, the day after John had returned the answer mentioned Joh 1:26-27, to the priests and Levites sent to inquire into his character and mission; John seeth Jesus coming unto him Having now returned from the desert, in which he had been tempted; and saith, Behold the Lamb of God That innocent and holy person, who is to be offered up a sacrifice for the sins of mankind; prophesied of by Isaiah, (Isa 53:7,) and typified by the paschal lamb, and by the daily sacrifice; which, taketh away the sin of the world Which so atones for and expiates the guilt of mankind, not only of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, that through his mediation, whosoever, being truly penitent, and bringing forth fruits worthy of repentance, believeth in him, may receive remission of sins. Grotius, indeed, understands this of Christs reforming mens lives; but it plainly refers to his being slain as a piacular victim, (1Pe 1:19,) to redeem us to God by his blood, (Rev 5:9,) or to procure for us that redemption which ensures to the penitent, that believe in him with a true and living faith, remission of sins, (Eph 1:7; Col 1:14,) and an exemption from the punishment deserved thereby. To understand this doctrine more fully, the reader must observe that, when a sacrifice was to be offered for sin, he that brought it laid his hand upon the head of the victim, according to the command of God, Lev 1:4; Lev 3:2; Lev 4:4; (where see the notes;) and by that rite was supposed to transfer his sins upon the victim, which is said to take them upon itself and to carry them away. Accordingly, in the daily sacrifice of the lamb, the stationary men, says Dr. Lightfoot, who were the representatives of the people, laid their hands upon the lambs thus offered for them; and these two lambs offered for the daily sacrifice were bought with that half shekel which all the Jews yearly paid, , , as the price of redemption of their souls, to make atonement for them, Exo 12:3; Exo 12:14; Exo 12:16. This lamb was therefore offered to take away the guilt of their sin, as this phrase signifies when it relates to sacrifices. Since, therefore, the Baptist had said, he baptized them for the remission of their sins, he here shows them by what means that remission was to be obtained. See Whitby.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ver. 29. The next day he sees Jesus coming to him, and he says: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
The very next day after the day when John had proclaimed the presence of the Messiah in the midst of the people, Jesus approaches His forerunner, who recognizes Him and declares Him to be the Messiah. The words, coming to Him, have troubled the interpreters. Some have understood that He came to be baptized, which is impossible, since the following verses (Joh 1:31-33), and even Joh 1:26, imply that the baptism was already accomplished. Baur thinks that Jesus came to John for the purpose of receiving his testimony, and he, of course, finds in this fact, thus understood, a proof of the purely ideal character of the narrative. But this detail implies simply that Jesus, after having been baptized, had, previously to this meeting, separated Himself from John for a certain time, and that after this interval He, on this very day, returned to the presence of His forerunner, hoping to find in His presence those whom God should give to Him in order to begin His work. And we know, in fact, from the Synoptical account, that Jesus, after His baptism, had withdrawn into the solitude of the desert, where He had passed several weeks; it was now the moment, therefore, when He reappeared to take up His work as Redeemer. Nothing is more natural than that, with this design, He should return to the presence of John. Was not he the one who had been sent to open the way for Him to Israel? Was it not at his hands that He could hope to receive the instruments which were indispensable to Him for the accomplishment of His task? Jesus Himself (Joh 10:3) designates John as the porter who opens to the Shepherd the door of the sheepfold, so that He does not have to climb over the wall of the inclosure like the robber, but can enter without violence into the sheepfold.
Lucke also places this return of Jesus in connection with the narrative of the temptation.
We may be surprised that for the purpose of designating Jesus as the Messiah John does not employ one of the titles which were commonly used for this end: Christ, Son of God, or King of Israel. The term Lamb of God is so original that, if it is historical, it must have its ground in some particular impression which the Baptist had received at the time of his previous meeting with Jesus. And indeed, we must remember that when an Israelite came to have himself baptized by John, he began by making confession of his sins (Mat 3:6; Mar 1:5). Jesus could not have dispensed with this preparatory act without arrogating to Himself from the first an exceptional position, and nothing was farther from His thought than this: He wished to fulfill all righteousness (Mat 3:15). What, then, could His confession be? Undoubtedly a collective confession, analogous to that of Daniel (Daniel 9), or that of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 9), a representation of the sin of Israel and of the world, as it could be traced by the pure being who was in communion with the perfectly holy God, and at the same time the tenderly loving being, who, instead of judging His brethren, consecrated Himself to the work of saving them. If, as we cannot doubt, this was the spirit in which Jesus spoke and perhaps prayed at that moment, we may understand that the expression which the forerunner uses here to designate Him, is indeed the reflection of what he had experienced when hearing and seeing this unique man, who, by His tender sympathy and His intercession, took upon Himself the burden of the sin of the world. On the other hand, in order that the title of which the Baptist made use might be intelligible for his hearers, it was indispensable that it should connect itself with some well-known word or some well-known fact of the Old Covenant, which was generally referred to the Messiah. This is implied by the article , the, before the term Lamb of God, an article which signifies the Lamb known and expected by the hearers. The thought which presents itself most naturally to the mind is that of seeing here an allusion to the Servant of the Lord described in Isaiah 53, under the figure of a lamb which allows itself to be led to the slaughter without opening its mouth. On the preceding day, the Baptist had already appealed to a saying of the same prophet (Isa 40:3). Before the polemic against the Christians had driven the Jewish interpreters to another explanation, they did not hesitate to apply that sublime representation (Isa 52:13 to Isa 53:12) to the Messiah. Abarbanel says expressly: Jonathan, the son of Usiel, referred this prophecy to the Messiah who was to come, and this is also the opinion of our sages of blessed memory. (See Eisenmenger,Entdeckt, Judenth, II. Th. p. 758; Lucke, I. p. 406).
We need not here prove the truth of this explanation of Isaiah 53 and the insoluble difficulties in which every contrary interpretation is involved. The fact is sufficient for us that it was the prevalent one among the ancient Jews. From this it follows that the allusion of John the Baptist could be easi!y understood by the people who were present. Some interpreters have claimed that the term, Lamb, represents, in the mouth of the forerunner as well as in the book of Isaiah, only the meekness and patience of the just one suffering for the cause of God. Thus Gabler: Here is the man full of meekness who will support patiently the evils which human perversity shall occasion him; andKuinoel: Here is the innocent and pious being who will take away wickedness from the earth. But these explanations do not account for the article , the well-known, expected, Lamb, and they entirely efface the manifest relation which the text establishes between the figure of lamb and the act of taking away sin. Weiss explains, almost as the preceding writers do, by emphasizing the allusion to Isa 53:7, but without finding here the least notion of sacrifice. This last view seems to us not defensible. The idea of sacrifice is at the foundation of the whole passage Isaiah 53; comp. especially, Joh 1:10-12 : When his soul shall have offered the expiatory sacrifice ascham), and: He shall bear their iniquities, words to which precisely John the Baptist alludes in these last words: who takes away the sin of the world. The Lamb of God designates Jesus, therefore, as realizing the type of the Servant of Jehovah, Isaiah 53, charged with delivering the world from sin by His sacrifice. Some interpreters, especially Grotius, Lampe, Luthardt and Hofmann, believe that the Baptist is thinking only of the sacrifices of the Old Covenant in which the lamb was used as a victim, specially of that of the Paschal lamb. It is, indeed, indisputable that, among the clean animals used as victims, the lamb was the one which, by its character of innocence and mildness, presented the emblem most suited to the character of the Messiah as John the Baptist here describes Him (comp. Lev 4:32; Lev 5:6; Lev 14:12; Num 6:12), and that, in particular, the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb really possessed an expiatory value (comp. Exo 12:13).
It appears to me indubitable, therefore, notwithstanding all that Weiss and Keil still say, that, in expressing himself as he does here, the forerunner is thinking of the part of the lamb, not in the daily Jewish worship, but in the Paschal feast. And this allusion seems to me to be perfectly reconcilable with the reference to that saying of Isaiah 53 since in this chapter Isaiah represents the Servant of the Lord precisely under the figure of the lamb sacrificed as an expiatory and delivering victim. The complement , of God, is the genitive of possession, and at the same time of origin. In this sacrifice, indeed, it is not man who offers and slays, it is God who gives, and gives of His own. Comp. 1Pe 1:19-20; Rom 8:32. It is remarkable that this title of lamb, under which the evangelist learned to know Jesus for the first time, is that by means of which the Saviour is by preference designated in the Apocalypse. The chord which had vibrated, at this decisive hour, in the deepest part of John’s heart resounded within him even to his latest breath.
Exegetes are not agreed as to the sense which the word , who takes away, has here. The verb sometimes signifies to raise a thing from the ground, to lift it, sometimes to take it away, to carry it away. For the first sense, comp. Joh 8:29 (stones); Mat 11:29 (the yoke): Joh 16:24 (the cross). For the second: Joh 11:39; Joh 11:48; Joh 15:2; Joh 17:15, etc., and especially 1Jn 3:5 : Jesus Christ appeared to take away our sins. The second sense would lead rather to the idea of the destruction of sin; the first, to that of expiation, as in some expressions of the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. But if John had thought especially of expiation, he would probably have employed the term , to bear, which the LXX. used in the words quoted from Isaiah 53. He is probably, therefore, thinking of the taking away of sin. Let us not forget, however, that, in accordance with Isaiah 53 and the Israelitish worship in general, this end cannot be attained except by means of expiation. In order to take away sin, it was necessary that Christ should begin by taking upon Himself the burden of it, to the end that he might be able afterwards to remove it by the work of sanctification. The idea of removing includes, therefore, implicitly that of bearing. The present participle might be referred to the idea of the mission of Jesus. But it is more simple to see in it an historical present; since the first act of His ministry, Jesus has labored for the taking away of sin on earth.
The burden to be taken away is designated in a grand and sublime way: the sin of the world. This substantive in the singular presents the sinful error of humanity in its profound unity. It is sin in the mass, in which all the sins of all the sinners of the world are comprehended. Do they not all spring from the same root? We must guard against understanding by , as de Wette does, the penalty of sin. This idea, the sin of the world, has been judged too universal for the Baptist’s mouth. So Weiss ascribes it solely to the evangelist. Reuss says: We have here an essentially Christian declaration. But in Isa 52:13-15, it was already said that the sight of the suffering Servant would startle many peoples (rabbim) and would strike their kings with astonishment. And who, then, were these many individuals (rabbim) whom, according to Isa 53:11, this same Servant was to justify, after Israel had rejected Him (Joh 1:1)? Comp. also the wonderful prophecy, Isa 19:24-25, where the Assyrians, the Egyptians and Israel are represented as forming the three parts, perfectly equal in dignity, of the kingdom of God. Could Isaiah have surpassed in clearness of vision the Baptist, who was not only a prophet, but the greatest of the prophets? This expression the world says no more, in reality, than that threatening or promise which the Synoptics put into the mouth of the forerunner: Even of these stones God will raise up children to Abraham. Let us also recall that first word of the Lord to Abraham (Gen 12:3): All the families of the earth shall be blessed (or shall bless themselves) in thee.
The forerunner, after having described the work of Jesus, designates Him Himself as the one to whom, notwithstanding His humble appearance, his declaration of the day before applies:
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Verse 29
This language seems unequivocally to represent the Redeemer to us in the light of a great sacrifice offered for sin.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
1:29 {13} The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold {n} the Lamb of God, which {o} taketh away the {p} sin of the world.
(13) The body and truth of all the sacrifices of the law, to make satisfaction for the sin of the world, is Christ.
(n) This word “the” which is added has great force in it, not only to set forth the worthiness of Christ, and so to separate him for the “lamb” which was a symbol of him, and from all other sacrifices of the law, but also to remind us of the prophecies of Isaiah and others.
(o) This word is in the present tense, and signifies a continuous act, for the Lamb rightfully has this power both now and forever to take away the sins of the world.
(p) That is, that root of sins, namely, our corruption, and so consequently the fruits of sins, which are commonly called in the plural number, sins.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. John the Baptist’s open identification of Jesus 1:29-34
John the Baptist continued his witness to Jesus’ identity by identifying Him publicly as the Lamb of God. This witness is a crucial part of the writer’s purpose to promote faith in Jesus.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The very next day John saw Jesus approaching him-they had been together before (Joh 1:26; Joh 1:32-33)-and publicly identified Jesus as the Messiah. "Behold" or "Look" (Gr. ide) is a favorite expression of John’s. Of its 29 New Testament occurrences, John used it 15 times. Probably his questioners had returned to Jerusalem by this time. The title "Lamb of God" presented Jesus as the Lamb that God would provide as a substitute sacrifice for people’s sins (Isa 53:7; cf. Gen 4:4; Gen 8:20; Gen 22:8; Gen 22:13-14; Exo 12:3-17; Isa 53:12; 1Pe 1:19).
"It [the title "Lamb"] combines in one descriptive term the concepts of innocence, voluntary sacrifice, substitutionary atonement, effective obedience, and redemptive power like that of the Passover lamb (Exo 12:21-27)." [Note: Tenney, "John," p. 37.]
"The question in the Old Testament is, ’Where is the lamb?’ (Gen 22:7) In the four Gospels, the emphasis is ’Behold the Lamb of God!’ Here He is! After you have trusted Him, you sing with the heavenly choir, "Worthy is the Lamb!’ (Rev 5:12)" [Note: Wiersbe, 1:287.]
John spoke of ’sin,’ not sins (cf. 1Jn 1:9), by which he meant the totality of the world’s sin rather than a number of individual acts. [Note: Morris, p. 130.] John seems to have had the common understanding of Messiah that his contemporaries did. This was that He would be a political liberator for Israel (cf. Mat 11:2-3; Luk 7:19). However, he understood, as most of his contemporaries did not, that the scope of Jesus’ ministry would be spiritual and universal. He would take away the sin of the world, not just the Jews. [Note: See Christopher W. Skinner, "Another Look at ’the Lamb of God’," Bibliotheca Sacra 161:641 (January-March 2004):89-104, for a review of nine views of the referent behind the "Lamb."]