A Sermon preached on Epiphany II 18 January at St. Augustine’s, Wiesbaden
Isaiah 49:1-7, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, John 1:29-42
“John saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29) We use the phrase “Lamb of God” in our worship almost every week, in the Agnus Dei that we and/or the choir sing right after the Fraction. But it is a rather strange way to introduce someone, so what might John mean when he refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God?
Some years ago, a friend of mine was at seminary in the US. Her Field Education placement, so her practical training, was in a progressive parish and one of their specialties was to use “real bread” (rather than wafers) at communion. They had no special recipe, instead people were simply invited to bring what they wanted. So, one day around Easter she found herself at the Altar confronted by a loaf of sweet brioche bread, with raisins, in the form of an Easter Lamb! That is taking the phrase Lamb of God far too literally!
The first thing that perhaps the first disciples, and certainly early Christians would have thought of when they heard the phrase Lamb of God, would have been the Passover Lamb of Exodus chapter 12. This was a lamb without blemish that was slaughtered at twilight on the day of the Exodus. The blood marked the doorposts and the lintel of the houses of the Israelites and later that same night the lambs were eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs as food for the journey. The Passover Lamb stands therefore for salvation and protection: “The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:13) And the lamb stands for liberation from oppression and tyranny: the sacrifice was the beginning of Israel’s flight from Egypt and long journey to the promised land.
What the first disciples did not know, but the early Christians did, was that in John’s chronology Jesus is put to death just as the lambs are being slaughtered for Passover. That makes the connection even stronger. In the Old Testament all sorts of animals were sacrificed, not just lambs. But they always had to unblemished and spotless. This too is something connects the Lamb of God and Jesus who is one “who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin,” he was morally pure so that his sacrifice had the power to redeem us from sin. Proclaiming Jesus as the Lamb of God is to identify him as the one who will fulfil the prophecies and sacrificial rituals of the Old Testament.
A second connection would be to the Suffering Servant of the Prophet Isaiah, a figure that Christians see as foreshadowing Jesus. In Isaiah chapter 53:7 the servant is described explicitly as “oppressed, and … 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.” The prophecies describe the servant as one who would bear the iniquities of others and bring about reconciliation with God. This would fit well with Jesus’s mission and help explain his Passion. Today’s reading from Isaiah is also about the suffering servant, even if the suffering is only indirectly referenced in the verse “But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity.” (Isaiah 49:4) What is clear from this readings however is the role of the servant not only in saving and restoring Israel, but as “a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (49:6) That is another layer of meaning that connects this figure with Jesus.
And finally, we have the triumphant or victorious Lamb, an image and idea that will only become clear to the first disciples after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Mostly depicted as standing with a banner with a cross on it, this lamb represents the risen Christ triumphant over death. It is the official symbol of the Moravian Church, with the words “Our Lamb has conquered. Let is follow him” around it. We encounter this Lamb in the Book of Revelation: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!’ (Rev. 5:12) And “the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (7:17)
Christ, the Lamb of God, is therefore both suffering and triumphant, he is both sacrifice and high priest, both servant and leader, both lamb and shepherd. The lamb’s sacrificial death conquers sin and death, offering salvation to humanity. I think it is very important to note that in John’s Gospel the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world, not the sins (plural), or our sins. (The Fraction Anthem unfortunately wrongly uses the plural form). The redemption is not about individual sins but the world’s sinful condition, the original sin of separation from God. The sin that lives on in our desire for power and wealth at the cost of others. The sin that lives on in the distortion and rejection of the image of God in all other human beings. Paul does not use the term “lamb of God” in his letters, but he too describes Christ’s role in annulling the original sin in his concept of the new and old Adam. In Romans 5:18 he writes, “Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.” And in 1 Corinthians 15:22, “for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.”
Calling someone a lamb may seem a strange way of introducing them, but it is a fitting symbol for our Lord whose victory comes through sacrifice and service. This is not to deny the power of God in Christ; we rely on it! But it is a gentle power, a power that expresses itself in love and reconciliation, and in a simple but compelling invitation: “Come and see.” And so we pray:
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: grant us peace. Amen.
