On Line Bible Study - For the Week September 19-25, 2011

Lesson 511

John 1: ³⁵ The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶ When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

³⁹ “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. ⁴⁰ Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹ The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). ⁴² And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).

Who you know ... matters. The decisions you make with regard to whom you choose to listen to are important ones.

There is an interesting Video that chronicles how a "lone nut" becomes a "Leader". It also speaks to the issue how a fad becomes a movement. Derek Sivers says "it takes two..."

Is John the Baptist crazy? or is he a leader? The Gospel of John doesn’t say anything about the Baptist’s appearance or diet. It doesn’t offer up outbursts of offensive religious rhetoric, at least not of the sort we find in the Synoptic Gospels.[1] What we do find in John’s Gospel is a more dramatic and insistent transfer of disciples (and power) from John to Jesus. The Baptist’s followers become Jesus’ first disciples.

You might recall the line: Look, the Lamb of God! – it has already occurred in the Gospel in 1:29. We discussed the implications of this phrase in the previous lesson. When John repeats the line on this occasion (…the next day…) two of his disciples heard him. The two leave John and begin to follow Jesus.

What does it take today to “speak” of Jesus such that others would want to follow him? What do people need to see or hear in order to inspire us to live as Jesus has taught, to love as Jesus loves, to forgive as Jesus forgives?

We have reason to believe that people in John the Baptist’s day and context were looking for a messiah. John’s message is, in a sense, custom tailored to the needs of the Jewish people of his day. We know that ultimately many rejected Jesus as the long hoped-for Messiah; but first John – and then Jesus – didn’t start a fad. The fact that many turned away does not change the reality that a movement had begun. It hasn’t always been faithful to its Master, but the Spirit of it continues to inspire, to convict, and to offer comfort and hope to millions. Do you see the Lamb of God? The movement continues …

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[1] Mark 1:6; Matthew 3:4, 7ff; Luke 3:7ff.

On Line Bible Study - For the Week September 12-18, 2011

Lesson 510

John 1: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ³³ And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

A Word - Look!

A Phrase - God's Chosen One.

A Title - the Lamb of God.

A Word: John the Baptist is portrayed here as calling attention to Jesus. The King James, American Standard and New American Standard Bible use the English: Behold ... Only in the Gospel of John do we find this very specific call - an imperative, really - to Look at this One who is coming. The Evangelist seems to have two reasons for this invitation / command. First, this underscores the fact that John is not the Christ. Second, it places the authorizing words regarding Jesus on the lips of John. We are left with no doubt who John is not, and no doubt with regard to who Jesus is.

A Phrase: This phrase - God's Chosen One - is most often translated Son of God. (See the KJ, the NKJ, American Standard, New American Standard.) The manuscript evidence for Son of God is very strong. However, several critical manuscripts have God's Chosen One. Son of God tells us little about the ministry of Jesus. God's Chosen One leads us to ask the question: Chosen .... for what purpose? The synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke) each make the reference to Jesus as "my (God's) beloved Son", so why shouldn't we translate it this way in John as well? This is one of those times when it seems more likely that editors would change from "Chosen One" to "Son of God" rather than vice versa.

A Title: Lamb of God, while easy to understand in one sense, presents us with a challenge in another sense. Father Raymond Brown lifts up three ways of understanding this title. The Lamb has apocalyptic connotations. The Lamb shepherds (leads) the people - Revelation 7:17. The Lamb wins the battle over evil in Revelation 17:14.
The Lamb also has Suffering Servant implications. Acts 8:32 quotes the passage from Isaiah 53:7 - He was led like a lamp to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. This is the text being read by an Ethiopian, and he questions Philip: Tell me, who is the prophet talking about?
A third way understand the this title is in relation to the paschal lamb. There are a number of references to the Passover in John's Gospel, one of which is the method by which wine was lifted to Jesus to offer him a drink when he was on the cross. Hyssop was used to raise the sponge full of wine. Hyssop was also used to smear the blood of the passover lambs on the doorposts of the people of Israel (Exodus 12:22.)

The Evangelist wants to leave little doubt that John the Baptist had little doubt as to who Jesus truly was! The Gospel wants to erase any doubts we might have as well.