19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 They said to him then, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
01: 29–34: The Lamb of God; The Chosen One of God
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 And John bore witness, “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. 33 I 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.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
EXPLANATION
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
“And” — This is the beginning of St. John’s Gospel. The previous eighteen verses formed the Prologue, introducing the Gospel. To commence a book with the word “and” is very strange. Here in this Gospel, it is meant to show that there is an essential connection between Prologue and Gospel. John the Evangelist is informing that he has written the Prologue and now he will follow on from what was said there and give the “testimony of John” the Baptist.
“this is the testimony of John” — This begins an inclusio with verse 34. An inclusio means that two verses say the same thing in the same or almost the same words and everything included between them is an explanation of, in this case, the witnessing of the Baptist. Both verses speak of the testimony or witnessing of John the Baptist.
In the Prologue to John’s Gospel, John the Baptist was described as “a man sent from God whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light” (Jn. 1: 6–8). The testimony that John will give will be by the example of his life of penance in the desert and the witness of his words of humility before his interrogators.
This is the first day recorded in John’s Gospel which opens with this testimony being the purpose of the opening scene (Jn 1: 19–28). The next scene, identifying Jesus, the one to whom he will witness, will take place on the second day (Jn. 1: 29–34). The first scene of witnessing is negative; John tells us that he is not the Messiah or an expected prophet. In the second scene he is positive, telling us who Jesus is.
“when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’” — The author of this Gospel is John the Evangelist and here he is speaking about John the Baptist. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem had heard that the Baptist was baptizing in the river Jordan and they wanted to know who he was. There was a mood in the country that the appearance of the promised Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, was imminent and these Jewish authorities wanted to be the first to know. They sent a high–powered delegation, consisting of priests and Levites, the experts in ritual, and therefore in the baptismal rite that John was performing, to investigate.
This question “Who are you?”, put to John the Baptist to learn if he might be the Messiah, will dominate the whole Gospel as “the Jews”, that is the Jewish authorities, will not accept Jesus and will vehemently oppose him (Jn. 5: 15–18; 8: 43–59; 9: 22; 15: 24; 16: 2–4) until eventually they succeed in crucifying him.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives a very good explanation of Jesus’ relations with “the Jews”: “Many of Jesus’ deeds and words constituted a “sign of contradiction”, but more so for the religious authorities in Jerusalem, whom the Gospel according to John often calls simply “the Jews”, than for the ordinary People of God. To be sure, Christ’s relations with the Pharisees were not exclusively polemical. Some Pharisees warn him of the danger he was courting; Jesus praises some of them, like the scribe of Mark 12:34, and dines several times at their homes.” (CCC, 575).
“He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’” — In these words, John the Evangelist expresses, in a very strong manner, John the Baptist’s denial that he was the long–promised Messiah who was coming to redeem Israel.
“I am not” is the negation of “ego eimi”, the Greek for “I am”, which are the words used by God when he revealed his name to Moses (Ex. 3: 13-15). By using these words Jesus claimed to be divine. John the Baptist uses them negatively to deny that he was divine and so was not the Messiah.
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 They said to him then, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said. 24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
“And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’” — Elijah the prophet had ascended into heaven in his body, without dying (II Kgs. 2: 1-18). He was expected to return to earth before the appearance of the Messiah to proclaim the Day of the Lord and prepare for that coming (Mal. 3: 1, 23).
John denied that he was Elijah. If he had claimed to be Elijah that would have identified Jesus as the Messiah.
“‘Are you the prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No’” — The “prophet” they refer to is the one mentioned by Moses: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren — him you shall heed — just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the Lord said to me, ‘They have rightly said all that they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.’” (Dt. 18: 15–18; I Mac. 4: 45–46; 14: 41; Jn. 6: 14; 7: 40).
“They said to him then, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’” — The delegation that had come was no wiser and was getting anxious. The members needed a good answer for the authorities that sent them.
“He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness’” — During the Exodus from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land the Israelites were being prepared to become the People of God. John claims to be “the voice” sent by God to prepare a new People of God who are to be led into the ‘Promised Land’ of the Kingdom of Heaven after their redemption by the Messiah.
“‘“Make straight the way of the Lord,” as the prophet Isaiah said.’” — John has been sent by God because he was the divinely appointed prophet to prepare for the Messiah by having people change their sinful lifestyles.
“Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.” — The Pharisees, coming from the religious authorities in Jerusalem, would accept an argument such as provided, coming from the Sacred Scriptures.
25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
“They asked him, ‘Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’” — The purpose of this question was to explain, to the Church contemporary with John the Evangelist at the end of the first century, that the baptism of John the Baptist was temporary, until Jesus would introduce baptism with the Holy Spirit. That had already taken place when John wrote his Gospel but the disciples of the Baptist, many of whom were still alive and active, were continuing to baptise with his baptism and John the Evangelist wished to teach them that they should stop.
“John answered them, ‘I baptize with water;’” — To bring out that the Baptist’s baptism was temporary, the Evangelist has the Baptist give this answer. He baptised with water which is a temporary cleansing that is repeated, as any cleansing with water is. However, the definitive baptism of the Messiah, who would baptise with the Holy Spirit, brings new birth and new life and this should not be repeated.
For centuries the Jews practised a baptism by immersion in water as a rite of legal purification. John’s baptism was a sign of repentance for sins as an indication of being prepared to express an interior conversion from a sinful way of life as one followed the way of the Messiah. It did not have the power to absolve sins.
“but among you stands one whom you do not know, even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.’” — John the Baptist will identify the Messiah in verse 33. Until then those listening do not know him. John acknowledges that he knows him but he is not worthy to be even his slave doing such a menial act as putting on or taking off his sandals. After the Last Supper Jesus will wash the feet of his disciples, another task performed by slaves (Jn. 13: 4–5).
“This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” — After the Prologue (Jn. 1: 1–18), John’s Gospel opens but he does not say where. We know that a delegation came from Jerusalem to where John was baptising. That means that he was in Transjordania, beyond the Jordan River. Later there will be mention of “Bethany” without distinguishing that there were two places by that name, one only three kilometers from Jerusalem that is mentioned frequently and the other in Transjordania. This latter is the “Bethany” mentioned here. He will visit the other Bethany near Jerusalem when Lazarus dies (Jn. 11).
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
“The next day” — This is the second day recorded by John. For him it is important to document the days. As we progress, he will record seven days, a new creation, which he will liken to the first creation. These days will be listed from Jn. 1: 19 to 2: 11.
“he saw Jesus coming toward him” — John saw Jesus “coming towards him”, and identified him in a rather strange manner. We are not told to whom John the Baptist was speaking. The previous verse closed the scene with the Pharisees and this, with verse 22, implied that they had gone back to Jerusalem (Jn. 1: 28).
“and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” — “Behold” is a word that occurs before a revelation (Jn. 1: 35–37; 47–51; 19: 24–27). We are alerted to a new revelation.
The new revelation is that Jesus is identified as a lamb used in sacrifice for sins. This title will be repeated in verse 36 where there will be two witnesses to it.
The singular, “sin”, implies the condition of sinfulness that includes all sins.
“This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.” — This sentence was in the Prologue (Jn. 1: 15). We have not been told when this quotation was first pronounced.
John says that Jesus was born “after him” but held a higher ranking because he was from eternity.
“I myself did not know him;” — John “did not know him” because he needed a special divine revelation to recognise him. This will be given at the appropriate time. No one recognised Jesus as being the Messiah, the Son of God or any other title. It was John’s vocation to reveal Jesus to Israel. That John did not know him will be repeated in verse 33.
“but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.’” — John’s baptism with water was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins in preparation for the coming of Jesus the Messiah. When Jesus baptises with the Holy Spirit people will recognise him as the Messiah.
32 And John bore witness, “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. 33 I 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.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
“And John bore witness” — Witnessing is John’s function. He will now say to what he is witnessing.
“‘I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him.” — Only at the baptism of Jesus did John see “the Spirit descend as a dove” and that was when he first recognised Jesus as the Messiah, as he will now explain. This was a special revelation to the Baptist.
“As a dove” recalls the first creation when the Spirit hovered as a dove over the waters (Gn. 1: 2). The dove is normally the symbol of love so we can interpret the Spirit hovering over the waters of creation and baptism as the Spirit of love.
The dove is also a messenger, bringing the olive branch to inform Noah that the flood had receded (Gn. 11). The Holy Spirit came down on Jesus at his baptism to let John know that Jesus is the Messiah, and that this would be the sign.
“Remain” or “abide”, depending on the translation, is a word that John the Evangelist uses frequently. Here it is used in verses 32 and 33. Because the Spirit “remains” and “abides” with Jesus he has the fulness of the Spirit and is empowered to distribute the Spirit. (cf. Jn. 1: 33; 3: 5, 34; 7: 38–39; 14–16; 20: 22).
“I myself did not know him” — John repeats (Jn. 1: 31) that he did not know Jesus as the Messiah; he required a special revelation.
“but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me” — The prologue tells us who this is who told the Baptist: “there was a man sent from God” (Jn. 1: 6). God told him though we are not told when or where.
“He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain” — John’s role was that of witnessing to the Messiah. The Father revealed the Messiah when John saw the Spirit descend, which was an anointing, the English translation of ‘Messiah’, which is ‘Anointed One’.
“this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” — When the Messiah comes, there will be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
“And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.’” — In the Prologue to John’s Gospel we read, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. (John bore witness to him, and cried, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.’”) And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.” (Jn. 1: 14–18).
I “have borne witness” is the second part of the inclusio mentioned in verse 19, indicating that all the passage between these two verses treats of John the Baptist’s testimony.
“The Son of God” — Jesus is identified as “the Son of God”.
This concludes the witness of the second day. Jesus has been pesented under six titles as: the “Lamb of God” (v. 29), “the preexistent one” (v. 30), the One on whom the Spirit descended (v. 32), the fulfilment of a divine promise (v. 33), the one who baptises with the Holy Spirit (v. 33) and “the Son of God” (v. 34).
APPLICATION
Jesus really put John the Baptist on a pinnacle when he said that John was the greatest person ever born of a woman in the history of the world (Mt. 11: 11). John the Evangelist wrote of John in his Prologue to the fourth Gospel and identified him as one who “came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light but was to bear witness to the light”. (Jn. 1: 7-8).
In the Gospel chosen for this Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, following on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, John bears witness to Jesus whom he identified. John the Baptist’s first words, when Jesus came towards him, were “Behold, the Lamb of God”. He then added another five titles or functions of Jesus, the one who pre-existed me; “ranks before me”; the one on whom the Spirit descends and remains; the Messiah and, finally, the “Son of God”.
The title “lamb of God” is unique to St. John, occurring only here and in the following scene (Jn. 1: 36). It also is mentioned twenty-nine times in the Book of Revelation (see in particular, Rv. 5: 6-10; 7: 13-17), John’s other publication.
This title is introduced by “Behold!”, a technical word in the Bible to make an intensive examination of a new revelation that follows. It normally describes a particular person’s mission and that is the sense as used here.
The mission of Jesus is to be “the Lamb of God”. There are three possible references to explain:
(i) The first could be to the Passover or Paschal Lamb (Ex. 12: 3-28), one selected by each family, the blood of which was smeared on the doorposts to protect that house from the avenging angel of the Lord. This lamb prefigured Christ whom St. Paul referred to as “our Paschal Lamb” (I Cor. 5: 7).
(ii) The second could be to the “Servant Lamb” of Isaiah 53: 7 – “He 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”.
(iii) The third could be the “Messianic Lamb” of Revelation 6: 6 who is described as a slain lamb that is victorious in the glory of heaven (Rv. 5: 6, 14; 7: 9-10, 14; 14: 1-5).
John calls the lamb the “Lamb of God”. What makes it special is “of God”. This means that it is not a ritual lamb, offered regularly in atonement, but one which takes away the sins and sinfulness of the world in a single definitive, sacrificial act. The title implies the lamb is perfect with the spotless innocence of the Redeemer (I Pt. 1: 18-20; I Jn. 3: 5).
The Baptist further testified that Jesus is “the Son of God” or “the Chosen One of God”, “the Servant of God”, as some translations record. John is testifying who Jesus is and wishes no misunderstanding. He is perfectly clear what Jesus intends to do.
John’s testimony was for all those whom he was preparing to accept Jesus. Testifying to the “Lamb of God” means that he was bearing witness for all those who were and are prepared to accept his testimony. That includes us. With our acceptance, we are prepared to become prophets also, a theme frequent with Pope Francis. Our task is to share the Good News of Jesus with others and invite them to become committed to Jesus, “the Lamb of God”, God’s own Son in the flesh, who is the sacrifice that took away our sinfulness.
Each Mass we attend, our ritual sacrifice, reminds us of this Gospel passage and our prophetic role. Immediately before receiving Holy Communion, we are reminded by the priest, as he holds the glorious crucified body of Jesus our Saviour on high before us, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb”.
Commentary on 2nd Sunday of the year (A) 15.01.2023
TEXT: John 1: 19-34
01: 19–28: John the Baptist is not the Messiah
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 They said to him then, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
01: 29–34: The Lamb of God; The Chosen One of God
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 And John bore witness, “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. 33 I 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.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
EXPLANATION
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
“And” — This is the beginning of St. John’s Gospel. The previous eighteen verses formed the Prologue, introducing the Gospel. To commence a book with the word “and” is very strange. Here in this Gospel, it is meant to show that there is an essential connection between Prologue and Gospel. John the Evangelist is informing that he has written the Prologue and now he will follow on from what was said there and give the “testimony of John” the Baptist.
“this is the testimony of John” — This begins an inclusio with verse 34. An inclusio means that two verses say the same thing in the same or almost the same words and everything included between them is an explanation of, in this case, the witnessing of the Baptist. Both verses speak of the testimony or witnessing of John the Baptist.
In the Prologue to John’s Gospel, John the Baptist was described as “a man sent from God whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light” (Jn. 1: 6–8). The testimony that John will give will be by the example of his life of penance in the desert and the witness of his words of humility before his interrogators.
This is the first day recorded in John’s Gospel which opens with this testimony being the purpose of the opening scene (Jn 1: 19–28). The next scene, identifying Jesus, the one to whom he will witness, will take place on the second day (Jn. 1: 29–34). The first scene of witnessing is negative; John tells us that he is not the Messiah or an expected prophet. In the second scene he is positive, telling us who Jesus is.
“when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’” — The author of this Gospel is John the Evangelist and here he is speaking about John the Baptist. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem had heard that the Baptist was baptizing in the river Jordan and they wanted to know who he was. There was a mood in the country that the appearance of the promised Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, was imminent and these Jewish authorities wanted to be the first to know. They sent a high–powered delegation, consisting of priests and Levites, the experts in ritual, and therefore in the baptismal rite that John was performing, to investigate.
This question “Who are you?”, put to John the Baptist to learn if he might be the Messiah, will dominate the whole Gospel as “the Jews”, that is the Jewish authorities, will not accept Jesus and will vehemently oppose him (Jn. 5: 15–18; 8: 43–59; 9: 22; 15: 24; 16: 2–4) until eventually they succeed in crucifying him.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives a very good explanation of Jesus’ relations with “the Jews”: “Many of Jesus’ deeds and words constituted a “sign of contradiction”, but more so for the religious authorities in Jerusalem, whom the Gospel according to John often calls simply “the Jews”, than for the ordinary People of God. To be sure, Christ’s relations with the Pharisees were not exclusively polemical. Some Pharisees warn him of the danger he was courting; Jesus praises some of them, like the scribe of Mark 12:34, and dines several times at their homes.” (CCC, 575).
“He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’” — In these words, John the Evangelist expresses, in a very strong manner, John the Baptist’s denial that he was the long–promised Messiah who was coming to redeem Israel.
“I am not” is the negation of “ego eimi”, the Greek for “I am”, which are the words used by God when he revealed his name to Moses (Ex. 3: 13-15). By using these words Jesus claimed to be divine. John the Baptist uses them negatively to deny that he was divine and so was not the Messiah.
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 They said to him then, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said. 24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
“And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’” — Elijah the prophet had ascended into heaven in his body, without dying (II Kgs. 2: 1-18). He was expected to return to earth before the appearance of the Messiah to proclaim the Day of the Lord and prepare for that coming (Mal. 3: 1, 23).
John denied that he was Elijah. If he had claimed to be Elijah that would have identified Jesus as the Messiah.
“‘Are you the prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No’” — The “prophet” they refer to is the one mentioned by Moses: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren — him you shall heed — just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the Lord said to me, ‘They have rightly said all that they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.’” (Dt. 18: 15–18; I Mac. 4: 45–46; 14: 41; Jn. 6: 14; 7: 40).
“They said to him then, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’” — The delegation that had come was no wiser and was getting anxious. The members needed a good answer for the authorities that sent them.
“He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness’” — During the Exodus from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land the Israelites were being prepared to become the People of God. John claims to be “the voice” sent by God to prepare a new People of God who are to be led into the ‘Promised Land’ of the Kingdom of Heaven after their redemption by the Messiah.
“‘“Make straight the way of the Lord,” as the prophet Isaiah said.’” — John has been sent by God because he was the divinely appointed prophet to prepare for the Messiah by having people change their sinful lifestyles.
“Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.” — The Pharisees, coming from the religious authorities in Jerusalem, would accept an argument such as provided, coming from the Sacred Scriptures.
25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
“They asked him, ‘Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’” — The purpose of this question was to explain, to the Church contemporary with John the Evangelist at the end of the first century, that the baptism of John the Baptist was temporary, until Jesus would introduce baptism with the Holy Spirit. That had already taken place when John wrote his Gospel but the disciples of the Baptist, many of whom were still alive and active, were continuing to baptise with his baptism and John the Evangelist wished to teach them that they should stop.
“John answered them, ‘I baptize with water;’” — To bring out that the Baptist’s baptism was temporary, the Evangelist has the Baptist give this answer. He baptised with water which is a temporary cleansing that is repeated, as any cleansing with water is. However, the definitive baptism of the Messiah, who would baptise with the Holy Spirit, brings new birth and new life and this should not be repeated.
For centuries the Jews practised a baptism by immersion in water as a rite of legal purification. John’s baptism was a sign of repentance for sins as an indication of being prepared to express an interior conversion from a sinful way of life as one followed the way of the Messiah. It did not have the power to absolve sins.
“but among you stands one whom you do not know, even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.’” — John the Baptist will identify the Messiah in verse 33. Until then those listening do not know him. John acknowledges that he knows him but he is not worthy to be even his slave doing such a menial act as putting on or taking off his sandals. After the Last Supper Jesus will wash the feet of his disciples, another task performed by slaves (Jn. 13: 4–5).
“This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” — After the Prologue (Jn. 1: 1–18), John’s Gospel opens but he does not say where. We know that a delegation came from Jerusalem to where John was baptising. That means that he was in Transjordania, beyond the Jordan River. Later there will be mention of “Bethany” without distinguishing that there were two places by that name, one only three kilometers from Jerusalem that is mentioned frequently and the other in Transjordania. This latter is the “Bethany” mentioned here. He will visit the other Bethany near Jerusalem when Lazarus dies (Jn. 11).
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
“The next day” — This is the second day recorded by John. For him it is important to document the days. As we progress, he will record seven days, a new creation, which he will liken to the first creation. These days will be listed from Jn. 1: 19 to 2: 11.
“he saw Jesus coming toward him” — John saw Jesus “coming towards him”, and identified him in a rather strange manner. We are not told to whom John the Baptist was speaking. The previous verse closed the scene with the Pharisees and this, with verse 22, implied that they had gone back to Jerusalem (Jn. 1: 28).
“and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” — “Behold” is a word that occurs before a revelation (Jn. 1: 35–37; 47–51; 19: 24–27). We are alerted to a new revelation.
The new revelation is that Jesus is identified as a lamb used in sacrifice for sins. This title will be repeated in verse 36 where there will be two witnesses to it.
The singular, “sin”, implies the condition of sinfulness that includes all sins.
“This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.” — This sentence was in the Prologue (Jn. 1: 15). We have not been told when this quotation was first pronounced.
John says that Jesus was born “after him” but held a higher ranking because he was from eternity.
“I myself did not know him;” — John “did not know him” because he needed a special divine revelation to recognise him. This will be given at the appropriate time. No one recognised Jesus as being the Messiah, the Son of God or any other title. It was John’s vocation to reveal Jesus to Israel. That John did not know him will be repeated in verse 33.
“but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.’” — John’s baptism with water was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins in preparation for the coming of Jesus the Messiah. When Jesus baptises with the Holy Spirit people will recognise him as the Messiah.
32 And John bore witness, “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. 33 I 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.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
“And John bore witness” — Witnessing is John’s function. He will now say to what he is witnessing.
“‘I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him.” — Only at the baptism of Jesus did John see “the Spirit descend as a dove” and that was when he first recognised Jesus as the Messiah, as he will now explain. This was a special revelation to the Baptist.
“As a dove” recalls the first creation when the Spirit hovered as a dove over the waters (Gn. 1: 2). The dove is normally the symbol of love so we can interpret the Spirit hovering over the waters of creation and baptism as the Spirit of love.
The dove is also a messenger, bringing the olive branch to inform Noah that the flood had receded (Gn. 11). The Holy Spirit came down on Jesus at his baptism to let John know that Jesus is the Messiah, and that this would be the sign.
“Remain” or “abide”, depending on the translation, is a word that John the Evangelist uses frequently. Here it is used in verses 32 and 33. Because the Spirit “remains” and “abides” with Jesus he has the fulness of the Spirit and is empowered to distribute the Spirit. (cf. Jn. 1: 33; 3: 5, 34; 7: 38–39; 14–16; 20: 22).
“I myself did not know him” — John repeats (Jn. 1: 31) that he did not know Jesus as the Messiah; he required a special revelation.
“but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me” — The prologue tells us who this is who told the Baptist: “there was a man sent from God” (Jn. 1: 6). God told him though we are not told when or where.
“He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain” — John’s role was that of witnessing to the Messiah. The Father revealed the Messiah when John saw the Spirit descend, which was an anointing, the English translation of ‘Messiah’, which is ‘Anointed One’.
“this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” — When the Messiah comes, there will be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
“And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.’” — In the Prologue to John’s Gospel we read, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. (John bore witness to him, and cried, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.’”) And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.” (Jn. 1: 14–18).
I “have borne witness” is the second part of the inclusio mentioned in verse 19, indicating that all the passage between these two verses treats of John the Baptist’s testimony.
“The Son of God” — Jesus is identified as “the Son of God”.
This concludes the witness of the second day. Jesus has been pesented under six titles as: the “Lamb of God” (v. 29), “the preexistent one” (v. 30), the One on whom the Spirit descended (v. 32), the fulfilment of a divine promise (v. 33), the one who baptises with the Holy Spirit (v. 33) and “the Son of God” (v. 34).
APPLICATION
Jesus really put John the Baptist on a pinnacle when he said that John was the greatest person ever born of a woman in the history of the world (Mt. 11: 11). John the Evangelist wrote of John in his Prologue to the fourth Gospel and identified him as one who “came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light but was to bear witness to the light”. (Jn. 1: 7-8).
In the Gospel chosen for this Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, following on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, John bears witness to Jesus whom he identified. John the Baptist’s first words, when Jesus came towards him, were “Behold, the Lamb of God”. He then added another five titles or functions of Jesus, the one who pre-existed me; “ranks before me”; the one on whom the Spirit descends and remains; the Messiah and, finally, the “Son of God”.
The title “lamb of God” is unique to St. John, occurring only here and in the following scene (Jn. 1: 36). It also is mentioned twenty-nine times in the Book of Revelation (see in particular, Rv. 5: 6-10; 7: 13-17), John’s other publication.
This title is introduced by “Behold!”, a technical word in the Bible to make an intensive examination of a new revelation that follows. It normally describes a particular person’s mission and that is the sense as used here.
The mission of Jesus is to be “the Lamb of God”. There are three possible references to explain:
(i) The first could be to the Passover or Paschal Lamb (Ex. 12: 3-28), one selected by each family, the blood of which was smeared on the doorposts to protect that house from the avenging angel of the Lord. This lamb prefigured Christ whom St. Paul referred to as “our Paschal Lamb” (I Cor. 5: 7).
(ii) The second could be to the “Servant Lamb” of Isaiah 53: 7 – “He 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”.
(iii) The third could be the “Messianic Lamb” of Revelation 6: 6 who is described as a slain lamb that is victorious in the glory of heaven (Rv. 5: 6, 14; 7: 9-10, 14; 14: 1-5).
John calls the lamb the “Lamb of God”. What makes it special is “of God”. This means that it is not a ritual lamb, offered regularly in atonement, but one which takes away the sins and sinfulness of the world in a single definitive, sacrificial act. The title implies the lamb is perfect with the spotless innocence of the Redeemer (I Pt. 1: 18-20; I Jn. 3: 5).
The Baptist further testified that Jesus is “the Son of God” or “the Chosen One of God”, “the Servant of God”, as some translations record. John is testifying who Jesus is and wishes no misunderstanding. He is perfectly clear what Jesus intends to do.
John’s testimony was for all those whom he was preparing to accept Jesus. Testifying to the “Lamb of God” means that he was bearing witness for all those who were and are prepared to accept his testimony. That includes us. With our acceptance, we are prepared to become prophets also, a theme frequent with Pope Francis. Our task is to share the Good News of Jesus with others and invite them to become committed to Jesus, “the Lamb of God”, God’s own Son in the flesh, who is the sacrifice that took away our sinfulness.
Each Mass we attend, our ritual sacrifice, reminds us of this Gospel passage and our prophetic role. Immediately before receiving Holy Communion, we are reminded by the priest, as he holds the glorious crucified body of Jesus our Saviour on high before us, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb”.