One of the things I've been doing lately that helps me a lot with passages like this that I have read over and over is to try to imagine what the 1st century Israelites actually heard (as opposed to what I with my 21st century mind hear).
John the Baptist announces to everyone present "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" when he sees Jesus approaching. If you've grown up in the church, this is a very familiar title used when talking about Jesus. But it would have been an unfamiliar and possibly puzzling phrase to the ears of the 1st century Jews.
They were very familiar with the sacrifice of a lamb as a sin offering. The law of Moses lays out in great detail all the many occasions where the sacrifice of a lamb (or other animal) is required as an act of worship as a sin offering, purification offering, etc. All of it stemming from the very first sacrifice of lambs during the very first Passover - when the angel of death, sent by God to slay all the Egyptians' firstborn, passed over the Israelites because they had smeared the blood of the sacrificed lamb on their door posts.
What on earth does this phrase "Lamb of God" mean, anyway? Remember, Jesus death on the cross was a future event at this point.
He then says (referring to seeing the Holy Spirit rest upon Jesus at His baptism) "I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God". Now, the thing is, the Jews were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their Messiah. But they expected the Messiah to be a very powerful human deliverer-king. One who would restore the Israelites proper place in the world, punish their enemies, and ensure peace and safety for them all. Someone along the lines of another David or Solomon. There is no direct reference in the Jewish Scriptures (the Torah, and the Psalms and Prophets) that Messiah will be the son of God.
John the Baptist's declaration must have been nothing less than shocking.
God had left the Jewish people hints, but only those with eyes to see would recognize Jesus for who He really was.
"but only those with eyes to see would recognize Jesus for who He really was." -- and over 2000 years later, that still holds true. My faith is constantly evolving. My essential understanding of Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice remains unchanged, but as I mature His ministry and His messages conveyed in scripture seem so much clearer for me. I suppose it depends on where you are personally. When I came back to church as an adult, I was eager to be a Christian, but not so eager to study the bible. I relied on more mature Christians to interpret what the Bible was saying. This was sufficient for awhile, but then I began to question if what they were telling me was accurate. I'm not suggesting that anyone purposefully told me the wrong thing, but sometimes interpretations can be colored by our own life experiences and what we WANT things to mean. For example, many people will quote OT scripture and get in an uproar about tattoos. I honestly don't have an opinion on them one way or another except to say that I feel it is very easy for us to make false idols of just about anything, including getting tats and body piercings. (I'm sorry, that's another rabbit trail.) My point is, when I started over, went back to the Gospels of Christ and read other scriptures based upon my understanding of Jesus's ministry and teachings, I think (hope) many of the scriptures I had previously misinterpreted began to make more sense.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's been awhile since I've read your blog, and I'm glad I stopped by because I just finished re-reading John. Take care. I'll be back.