THIS IS THE LAMB OF GOD
The next day he
saw Jesus coming toward him, and John said,
“BEHOLD, THE
LAMB OF GOD, WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD!
30This is He of
whom I said,
‘After me
comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’
31I myself
did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he
might be revealed to Israel.”
32And John bore
witness:
“I saw the
Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
33I myself
did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me,
‘HE ON WHOM
YOU SEE THE SPIRIT DESCEND AND REMAIN, THIS IS HE WHO BAPTIZES WITH THE HOLY
SPIRIT.’
34And I
have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
JOHN 1:29-34
COMMENTARY
This version of
the baptism of Lord JESUS, and the testimony of his relative, John the Baptist;
is unique in this gospel, because the event seems to have happened before the
actual baptism of our Lord and not after, like in the synoptics, and if this
assumption is correct, it would throw light into the amount of knowledge John
had before he baptized Jesus, about his own mission and our Lord’s identity.
But regardless, John
acknowledged publicly and without delay that JESUS was the Messiah who had come
to give his own life for the atonement of the sins of all humanity, which
indicates, regardless whether this scene happened before or after Jesus’s baptism,
that the Baptist had a very clear idea of the redemptive mission of the Messiah,
whoever he was.
This knowledge,
John the Baptist reveals, was prepared for him even before he met Jesus in
person, so that when they eventually meet, John just would recognize the
Messiah by the sign of the Holy Spirit over Him, and that JESUS was the promised
Messiah from the Torah and the Prophets.
Finally, John
the Baptist also mentioned that Jesus was the Son of God, and that Jesus would
impart the Spirit of GOD over those who believed in Him.
This knowledge,
impossible to obtain by a common man, unless he or she hear it from Jesus himself,
or someone close to Him, is also a divine sign of God’s approval of John the
Baptist’s ministry, which at the same time, approved Jesus public ministry and
mission.
Omar Flores.
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