Today’s Scripture Readings

Gospel Reading

NRSV

— 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’

John says that Jesus ranks ahead of him because he was before him. Though John is older, he knows that Jesus precedes him in some way. He also calls him “the Lamb of God”. Curiously, in Revelation 13:8, Jesus is described as “the lamb slain since the foundation of the world”. The foundation of the world definitely came before John’s time, and Jesus is also identified as a lamb, so John’s description is certainly apt. But why a lamb that is slain?

Well, Jesus’ name means, “God Saves”. And how does God save us? Not by coming like a lion to conquer our enemies, but by taking the place of the sacrifice, the place of the lamb. But again, how does this possibly save us?

Well, our propensity to sacrifice others in place of ourselves has also been around since the foundation of the world. We human beings are experts at identifying others as suitable sacrifices, as scapegoats, whose expulsion or death temporarily restores peace. This unjust, violent mechanism is the great lie that lurks at the heart of most human systems of order.

And Jesus came to expose that lie. He came to offer a different model for peace. But to do this, he had to show the emptiness and futility of violence—he had to be “revealed to Israel” and to the world by willingly standing in the place of sacrifice as an innocent victim.

This revelation, the revelation of the Christ, overthrows the old lie. It places a new model before us, a new pattern for our imitation. In Christ, we see sacrifice willingly embraced so that the very idea of sacrifice would be forever subverted. This greatest act of mercy is how God saves us. This is the deep truth of the Holy Name of Jesus.