…and as he watched Jesus walk by he exclaimed, “Look,
here is the Lamb of God!” (John
1:36)
You
have to give John the Baptist kudos. For all his wild rhetoric—and John could
get pretty wild—he really was a very humble dude. John understood his job was
to bear witness to someone else. He was the advance man for a guy he might not
even have known who would be, in his own words, ranking before him. We know
from the gospels that John had a following and even some disciples, but in the
gospel reading for Epiphany 2, Year A (John 1:29-42) he’s actually willing to
tell his followers, “See that guy Jesus over there? You should go and follow him
now.” I’m always impressed that John was willing to step out of the spotlight
when Jesus came along.
I
wonder what John’s disciples were looking for. What attracted them to John?
Perhaps he was just a voice of hope in a world that seemed to be a giant
dumpster fire. The country these guys lived in was run by greedy, arrogant
plutocrats in a city which was over two thousand miles away by land. They ruled
through vicious, corrupt thugs like Herod and Pilate. Guys like Barabbas and
other Zealots were starting riots and plotting insurrection. The ruling
religious authorities were totally compromised. What did John have to offer?
Only the promise that God would do a new thing for anyone who was willing to
receive it.
And
then John recognizes Jesus. He feels the Holy Spirit of God alighting on this
man, and he knows this is the one. This is the Lamb of God. So, he tells
his posse to follow Jesus.
I’ll
bet Andrew and the other disciple (whoever he was) must’ve been pretty thrown
off when John pointed them in that direction. Nevertheless, they trusted John.
They accept that Jesus is a teacher. They go to him and ask him where he hangs
out. That’s kind of an important question because it means they may have to
relocate. In typical Jesus fashion, he doesn’t tell them. Throughout the Fourth
Gospel Jesus will turn questions back on the questioner. He’s not one for
simple answers. He makes people work for insight. “Come and see,” he
says to them. And they go. And he invites them to stay with him (It was about
dinner time, after all.).
What’s
happening here? There’s faithful obedience to John’s direction. There’s a
faithful willingness to trust in Jesus. There’s Jesus’ invitation and
hospitality to two guys he’s never met before, a welcome embrace to the
strangers. And there’s something which happens to the two disciples when they
encounter Jesus which convinces them that he’s the one they’ve been waiting
for. Andrew is so moved by this encounter that he’s got to go find his brother
Simon and drag him to meet Jesus.
Can
you imagine what that fellowship with Jesus must’ve been like? How do you
experience Jesus? Think about that for a moment.
In
this gospel reading, John calls Jesus the Lamb of God. Whenever I’ve heard of
someone being called a “lamb,” I always think that person has a sweet
disposition and is kind and generous and loving. It’s significant that Jesus is
God’s lamb and not God’s lion. Sheep are not, by nature, predators. They are
communal, they are docile, and they serve humans very well. In Genesis 22 it’s
a ram caught in a thicket which is sacrificed by Abraham in place of Isaac. In
Exodus it’s the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of the homes of the Hebrews
which saves them from the Angel of Death and allows them to be free from
Pharoah’s bondage. Isaiah speaks of the nation as a servant which
…was
oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like
a lamb that is led to the slaughter
and like a sheep that before its shearers
is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.[i]
The
lamb is not mighty, but gentle. It does not come to rule but to serve. And yet
in that gentleness and sacrifice is a powerful presence which doesn’t need
coercion or bombast. In its very weakness is a strength which is irresistible.
What would it be like to be in the company of such goodness, righteousness,
love and acceptance?
When
I was younger, I would direct most of my prayers to Our Father God. Yet the
older I get I find I have a greater need to be in the company of Jesus the Lamb
of God. I feel a bit like those disciples of John the Baptist must’ve felt—like
the whole world is a dumpster fire. I need Jesus to show me how to be strong
but compassionate, how to be calm in the midst of chaos, how to be
understanding and forgiving and generous and loving, and how to navigate
through this freak show of a world in love and not in fear or anger.
What
is it about Jesus? He says to us all “Come and see.” What are you seeing? What
do you need to see?
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