A Study of John's Gospel

John 1:29: Behold, the Lamb of God

A study of John 1:29

"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭29‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Next Day: "epaurion", "ἐπαύριον"; adverb - the next day, on the morrow.

-Jesus: "Iēsous", "Ἰησοῦς"; proper masculine noun - Jesus = "Jehovah is salvation." Jesus, the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind.

-Behold: "ide", "ἴδε"; particle - at the beginning of sentences: as the utterance of one who wishes that something should not be neglected by another, or of one pointing out or showing.

-Lamb: "Amnos", "ἀμνός'; masculine noun - a lamb: consecrated to God. In these passages Christ is likened to a sacrificial lamb on account of his death, innocently and patiently endured, to expiate sin.

-Of God: "Theos", "θεός"; masculine noun - spoken of the one and only true God.

-Takes Away: "airō", "αἴρω"; verb - to remove; to remove the guilt and punishment of sin by expiation, or to cause that sin be neither imputed or punished.

-Sin: "hamartia", "ἁμαρτία"; feminine noun - collectively, the complex or aggregate of sins committed either by a single person or by many.

-World: "kosmos", "κόσμος"; masculine noun - the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family; the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ.

Observation/Summary(short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

The day after being questioned by the Pharisees as to his identity and purpose, John the Baptist (JB) saw Jesus coming and said something that at first glance might seem strange. He declared Jesus to be the "Lamb of God" who takes away the sin of the whole world.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

Most Biblical scholars agree this event took place after JB baptized Jesus, and after the 40 days of temptation Jesus endured in the wilderness. This means JB already met Jesus when he was baptized, heard the voice of God the Father from heaven and saw the Holy Spirit descend like a dove on Jesus (Matt. 3:13-17). We can imagine, after all of that, JB would have spent the previous 40 days or so in eager anticipation of what would happen next. So when he again saw Jesus, faithful to his calling, he said, "Behold!", or in other words, "Look everyone! This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" This was a prophetic message of the purpose Jesus would fulfill. From the beginning of His earthly ministry, the cross loomed large. Jesus did not come to be praised and lauded by the people of earth. He came to be slaughtered by them like a sacrificial lamb.

This imagery of the "Lamb of God" may at first sound strange to us, but this was a powerful image to the Jewish audience. The Old Testament is soaked with rules and ordinances of blood sacrifices required to atone for sins. But the first image that may have come to mind for most people is that of Abraham in Genesis 22, obediently taking his son Isaac to offer as a sacrifice in obedience to God's command. On the way to the place of sacrifice Isaac asked Abraham where the lamb for the offering was, and Abraham prophetically told him God would provide the lamb. As Abraham came near to the point of sacrificing Isaac, his only beloved son, God stopped him and provided a ram for a sacrifice, and praised Abraham for his willingness not to withhold even his only, long awaited son from Him. Notice though that God provided a ram, the Lamb had not yet come. Here, while Abraham's only son would not have been an all sufficient sacrifice for sin, God provided a Lamb, His only beloved Son, who is an all sufficient sacrifice for the sin of the whole world (1 John 2:2).

In addition to this and the familiarity they had with the sacrificial system, also in Isaiah 53:7 the Jews would have read or heard the prophecy which says of the coming Messiah, "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." This is also the exact passage the Ethiopian eunuch was reading in Acts 8:32 when Phillip led him to faith in Christ. Even more than that there is of course the animal killed in the garden of Eden to clothe the first sinners, the passover lamb from Exodus, the guilt offerings of the Levitical law and so on. So, this image of a sacrificial lamb was prevalent in Jewish society, and here JB declares something quite bold. That is, that this man you see here, Jesus, is the ultimate, all sufficient sacrificial Lamb of God. The lambs and other animals they had been sacrificing were insufficient to cover over sin, and had to be offered again and again until the One and only Lamb of God came to be a once and for all sacrifice for sin. All of the animal sacrifice in the history of Israel had been pointing to this One, ultimate sacrifice Who had finally come.

This is how JB heralded the coming of Jesus. He declared the purpose for which He came, which was to be a sacrifice for sin. And Jesus is the all sufficient sacrifice for sin. He "takes away" all of our sin and guilt. There is not a single ounce of God's righteous wrath left over for all who repent and place their faith in Jesus. He bore 100% of the punishment we deserve for our sin on the cross. He took away our sin, and gave us His righteousness and glory.

From this verse which says "the world" and from 1 John 2:2 which says "the whole world," it is clear Jesus Christ has borne the entirety of God's wrath for the sin of humanity. This does not mean all of humanity is saved though. To be saved from the penalty due our sins requires us to respond to Jesus' free gift of salvation. To be saved we must confess our sin, repent of it, believe in the power of Jesus' death to pay for sin, the power of His resurrection to raise us to life too, and confess and submit to Him as our one and only Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10). The fact that not all will do this makes the fact that Jesus still bore the wrath for the sin of the whole world all the more incredibly gracious. Even for those who would reject Him, He has paid the price so that if they would only reach out and take His hand, He would snatch them out of the fire. But sadly, many people will still choose to reject Him, and therefore reject His payment of their debt, and go to an eternity in hell where they must bear the righteous wrath of God for their sin themselves for eternity.

Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

From this verse we learn all of the Old Testament laws for sacrifice served to teach us blood is required to atone for sin. But also that none of those sacrifices were enough to cover over our sin. We need a greater sacrifice to atone for our sin or we are doomed to bear the cost ourselves. But God, because of His infinite love, mercy and grace, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ as the ultimate sacrificial Lamb to bear all of the punishment for not only our sin, but the sin of the whole world. As Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord."

We must now, behold Him by faith. We must think of Him as truly God who laid down His own life to give us life. We must act by responding to His free gift of salvation and accept it by faith, confessing our sin and confessing Him as our only Lord and Savior. And we must pray prayers of thanksgiving to Him for this incomparable gift we do not deserve, even as we pray for Him to open the eyes of our loved ones, friends and fellow mankind to behold Him, and fall at His feet in worship and adoration, accepting His free gift as well.

Self Reflection:

Have I "beheld" Jesus for who He truly is, that is, the Lamb of God who has taken the punishment for all of my sin?

Do I understand that I am a sinner, sin violates God's law and therefore, a violation against an infinite holy Being requires an justly infinite punishment?

How does the fact that Jesus, who is fully God, fully man, and the Infinite all creating One, took the infinite debt for my sin Himself, affect my understanding of His love for me? Is this a God worthy of my trust, life, and heart?

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