A Way Of Seeing
[John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). – John 1:29-32
Dear Friends,
According to the church calendar, this is the season of Epiphany. The word comes from the Greek and it means “to reveal”. The season of Epiphany begins every year on January 6 which is called the “Day of Epiphany”. The season of Epiphany lasts until Ash Wednesday.
The first Sunday after Epiphany is celebrated as the Baptism of Jesus. At Jesus’ Baptism, he is revealed (epiphany) to be the Son of God.
The second Sunday after Epiphany Jesus is revealed (epiphany) to be the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”.
Above is one of the readings for the second Sunday of Epiphany. It is recorded in the Gospel of John, chapter one, verses 29-42. You will notice I have highlighted several words from this reading. Each word highlights an instance of “seeing” used in the passage. There are 13 instances in these 14 verses. That’s a lot of “seeing”.
Not all the “seeing” words are the same words in the original language of ancient Greek.
One Greek word is used five times in the passage and means “to see, behold”.
Another Greek word is used four times and means “to see, look”.
Still another Greek word is used two times in the passage and means “to gaze upon, discern with the eyes”.
Two Greek words are used once each. One means “set in a clear light, manifest, display”. The other word means “to seek, look for”.
My point is that this passage has quite a bit of “looking” and “seeing”.
There is a great small booklet written years ago by a Lutheran pastor named Daniel Erlander. The title is “Baptized We Live”. Chapter One in the book is entitled, “A Way Of Seeing”. In this chapter Erlander writes:
“This Symbol (the cross) is central because we confess, ‘It is here, on the cross, that God meets us.’ Here God makes himself present: hidden in weakness, vulnerable, suffering, forsaken, dying.” (Baptized We Live. Daniel Erlander. ©1981. Page 4)
What did people see in John 1? They saw the “Lamb of God”. The “Lamb of God” would take away the sin of the world not through massive displays of power, not through coercion, not through running away from suffering. Instead, the “Lamb of God” would take away the sin of the world through vulnerability, through weakness, through death on a cross. This changes the entire way we see the world.
Come and see, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Peace,
Ricky Adams
Pastor
Peace Lutheran Church
Mill Valley, California