Quotes & Notes on:
John 1:29
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John Wesley's Notes:
He seeth Jesus coming and saith, Behold the Lamb-Innocent; to be
offered up; prophesied of by Isaiah, Isa 53:7, typified by the paschal
lamb, and by the daily sacrifice:
The Lamb of God-Whom God gave, approves, accepts of;
who taketh away-Atoneth for;
the sin-That is, all the sins:
of the world-Of all mankind. Sin and the world are of equal extent.
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge:
* Behold. Joh 1:36; Ge 22:7,8; Ex 12:3-13 Nu 28:3-10; Isa 53:7; Ac 8:32;
1Pe 1:19; Re 5:6,8,12; 6:1,16 Re 7:9,10,14; 12:11; 13:8; 14:1,4; 15:3;
17:14; 19:7,9 Re 21:9,14,22,23; 22:1-3
* which. Isa 53:11; Ho 14:2; Mt 20:28; Ac 13:39; 1Co 15:3; 2Co 5:21; Ga
1:4 Ga 3:13; 1Ti 2:6; Tit 2:14; Heb 1:3; 2:17; 9:28; 1Pe 2:24; 3:18 1Jo
2:2; 3:5; 4:10; Re 1:5
* taketh. or, beareth. Ex 28:38; Le 10:17; 16:21,22; Nu 18:1,23
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Catechism
of the Catholic Church, (Missouri: Liguori, 1994) ¶408
This expression [sin of the world] can also refer to the negative influence
exerted on people by communal situations and social structures that are
the fruit of men's sins.
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Catechism
of the Catholic Church, (Missouri: Liguori, 1994) ¶608
Jesus is at the same time the suffering Servant who silently allows himself
to be led to the slaughter and who bears the sin of the multitudes, and
also the Paschal Lamb, the symbol of Israel's redemption at the first Passover.
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Catechism
of the Catholic Church, (Missouri: Liguori, 1994) ¶1505
On the cross Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took
away the "sin of the world," of which illness is only a consequence.
By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to
suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with
his redemptive Passion.
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D.D. Whedon, Commentary
on the Gospels, Vol. Luke-John, p. 236
The term Lamb here used must have been full of meaning to the men of Jerusalem,
who were accustomed every day to see two lambs taken to the great alter
and sacrificed, one in the morning and one at evening. ...This lamb of
God, not of man, takes away sin in reality; as the lamb of man's
providing did in symbol.
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Reginald H. Fuller, Preaching
the Lectionary, p. 111
Jesus' mission as a servant will include his bearing (or taking away) the
sin of the world (Isaiah 53).
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Donald Guthrie, New
Bible Commentary, Revised (1970): John, p. 933
The impression is at once created of a universal redemptive mission
of the most far-reaching kind.
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A.J. Macleod, New
Bible Commentary (1954): John, p. 868
The conception of the Messiah as the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the
world involves a view of his death which embraces sacrificial, vicarious, and
redemptive aspects.
- Massey H. Shepherd, Jr., Interpreter's
One-Volume Commentary: John, p. 711
[The Lamb] is this figure that dominates Revelation, the Lamb who
stands in heaven as one that was slain, the Lamb who stands on Mt. Sinai
with the hosts of his saints, the Lamb who overcomes the armies of the
evil beasts, the Lamb who summons the redeemed to the marriage supper with
his bride -- the King of kings and Lord of lords.
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1599 Geneva Bible Notes
The body and truth of all the sacrifices of the law, to make
satisfaction for the sin of the world, is Christ. (n) This word "the" which is
added has great force in it, not only to set forth the worthiness of Christ, and
so to separate him for the "lamb" which was a symbol of him, and from all other
sacrifices of the law, but also to remind us of the prophecies of Isaiah and
others. (o) This word is in the present tense, and signifies a continuous act,
for the Lamb rightfully has this power both now and forever to take away the
sins of the world. (p) That is, that root of sins, namely, our corruption, and
so consequently the fruits of sins, which are commonly called in the plural
number, sins.
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- Adam Clarke, Commentary
Behold the Lamb of God, &c.] This was said in allusion to what was spoken Isa
53:7. Jesus was the true Lamb or Sacrifice required and appointed by God, of
which those offered daily in the tabernacle and temple, Ex 29:38,39, and
especially the paschal lamb, were only the types and representatives. See Ex
12:4,5; 1Co 5:7. The continual morning and evening sacrifice of a lamb, under
the Jewish law, was intended to point out the continual efficacy of the blood of
atonement: for even at the throne of God, Jesus Christ is ever represented as a
lamb newly slain, Re 5:6. But John, pointing to Christ, calls him emphatically,
the Lamb of God:-all the lambs which had been hitherto offered had been
furnished by men: this was provided by GOD, as the only sufficient and available
sacrifice for the sin of the world. In three essential respects, this lamb
differed from those by which it was represented. 1st. It was the Lamb of God;
the most excellent, and the most available. 2nd. It made an atonement for sin:
it carried sin away in reality, the others only representatively. 3rd. It
carried away the sin of the WORLD, whereas the other was offered only on behalf
of the Jewish people. In Yalcut Rubeni, fol. 30, it is said, "The Messiah shall
bear the sins of the Israelites." But this salvation was now to be extended to
the whole world.
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Family Bible Notes
Lamb of God; him who is to be offered as an atoning sacrifice
for the sins of men. Ex 12:3; 29:38-46; Isa 53:7; 1Co 5:7; 1Pe 1:18-21; Isa
53:4. Taketh away; expiates it and removes the penalty of it from man by bearing
it in his own body on the tree. 1Pe 2:22-25.
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Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole
Bible He does this by taking it upon himself. He is the Lamb of God, that bears
the sin of the world; so the margin reads it. He bore sin for us, and so
bears it from us; he bore the sin of many, as the scapegoat had the sins
of Israel put upon his head, Le 16:21.
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People's New Testament Commentary:
The next day John seeth Jesus. Here Jesus first appears, in
person, in John's account, who omits all the details given by Matthew
and Luke of his earlier life. He was now thirty years old, and came from
Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John. This interview was after the
baptism (Joh 1:33), and probably after the Temptation.
Behold the Lamb of God. Innocent like the lamb, to be offered as a lamb,
"led as a lamb to the slaughter" (Isa 53:7). The lamb was commonly used
as a sin offering (Le 4:32), and when John points to Jesus as "the" Lamb
of God he can only mean that God had provided him as a sacrificial
offering.
The sin of the world. Not of Jews only, but of Gentiles. John points to
Jesus as the world's Savior.
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Robertson's Word Pictures:
On the morrow (têi epaurion). Locative case with
hêmêrâi (day) understood after the adverb epaurion. "Second day of this
spiritual diary" (Bernard) from verse Joh 1:19. Seeth Jesus coming (blepei
ton Iêsoun erchomenon). Dramatic historical present indicative (blepei)
with vivid present middle participle (erchomenon). Graphic picture.
Behold the Lamb of God (ide ho amnos tou theou). Exclamation ide like
idou, not verb, and so nominative amnos. Common idiom in John (Joh 1:36;
3:26, etc.). For "the Lamb of God" see 1Co 5:7 (cf. Joh 19:36) and 1Pe
1:19. The passage in Isa 53:6 is directly applied to Christ by Philip in
Ac 8:32. See also Mt 8:17; 1Pe 2:22; Heb 9:28. But the Jews did not look
for a suffering Messiah (Joh 12:34) nor did the disciples at first (Mr
9:32; Lu 24:21). But was it not possible for John, the Forerunner of the
Messiah, to have a prophetic insight concerning the Messiah as the
Paschal Lamb, already in Isa 53:1ff., even if the rabbis did not see it
there? Symeon had it dimly (Lu 2:35), but John more clearly. So Westcott
rightly. Bernard is unwilling to believe that John the Baptist had more
insight on this point than current Judaism. Then why and how did he
recognize Jesus as Messiah at all? Certainly the Baptist did not have to
be as ignorant as the rabbis. Which taketh away the sin of the world (ho
airôn tên hamartian tou kosmou). Note singular hamartian not plural
hamartias (1Jo 3:5) where same verb airô, to bear away, is used. The
future work of the Lamb of God here described in present tense as in 1Jo
1:7 about the blood of Christ. He is the Lamb of God for the world, not
just for Jews.
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Albert Barnes' Commentary:
The next day. The day after the Jews made inquiry whether
he was the Christ.
Behold the Lamb of God. A lamb, among the Jews, was killed and eaten at
the Passover to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt, Ex 12:3-11. A
lamb was offered in the tabernacle, and afterward in the temple, every
morning and evening, as a part of the daily worship, Ex 29:38,39. The
Messiah was predicted as a lamb led to the slaughter, to show his
patience in his sufferings, and readiness to die for man, Isa 53:7. A
lamb, among the Jews, was also an emblem of patience, meekness,
gentleness. On all these accounts, rather than on any one of them alone,
Jesus was called the Lamb. He was innocent (1Pe 2:23-25); he was a
sacrifice for sin--the substance represented by the daily offering of
the lamb, and slain at the usual time of the evening sacrifice (Lu
23:44-46); and he was what was represented by the Passover, turning away
the anger of God, and saving sinners by his blood from vengeance and
eternal death, 1Co 5:7.
Of God. Appointed by God, approved by God, and most dear to him; the
sacrifice which he chose, and which he approves to save men from death.
Which taketh away. This denotes his bearing the sins of the world, or
the sufferings which made an atonement for sin. Comp. Isa 53:4; 1Jo 3:5;
1Pe 2:24. He takes away sin by bearing in his own body the sufferings
which God appointed to show his sense of the evil of sin, thus
magnifying the law, and rendering it consistent for him to pardon. See
Barnes for Ro 3:24, See Barnes for Ro 3:25.
Of the world. Of all mankind, Jew and Gentile. His work was not to be
confined to the Jew, but was also to benefit the Gentile' it was not
confined to any one part of the world, but was designed to open the way
of pardon to all men. He was the propitiation for the sins of the whole
world, 1Jo 2:2. See Barnes for 2Co 5:15.
{f} "Lamb of God" Ex 12:3; Isa 53:7,11; Re 5:6
{g} "which" Ac 13:39; 1Pe 2:24; Re 1:5
{3} "taketh" or, "beareth" Heb 9:28
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Jamieson-Faussett Brown:
seeth Jesus--fresh, probably, from the scene of the temptation.
coming unto him--as to congenial company (Ac 4:23), and to receive from
him His first greeting.
and saith--catching a sublime inspiration at the sight of Him
approaching.
the Lamb of God--the one God-ordained, God-gifted sacrificial offering.
that taketh away--taketh up and taketh away. The word signifies both, as
does the corresponding Hebrew word. Applied to sin, it means to be
chargeable with the guilt of it (Ex 28:38; Le 5:1; Eze 18:20), and to
bear it away (as often). In the Levitical victims both ideas met, as
they do in Christ, the people's guilt being viewed as transferred to
them, avenged in their death, and so borne away by them (Le 4:15;
16:15,21,22; and compare Isa 53:6-12; 2Co 5:21).
the sin--The singular number being used to mark the collective burden
and all-embracing efficacy.
of the world--not of Israel only, for whom the typical victims were
exclusively offered. Wherever there shall live a sinner throughout the
wide world, sinking under that burden too heavy for him to bear, he
shall find in this "Lamb of God," a shoulder equal to the weight. The
right note was struck at the first--balm, doubtless, to Christ's own
spirit; nor was ever after, or ever will be, a more glorious utterance.
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Spurgeon Commentary:
This was a true gospel note. Jesus is the great victim sacrificed for
human guilt, not a lamb but the Lamb, and the Lamb of
God--"God-ordained, God-given, God-accepted." The sin of the world is
viewed as one huge burden which he takes away as a sacrifice. This verse
is the substance of the gospel message, and is the burden of all true
preaching.
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William Burkitt's Notes:
This is John the Baptist's third testimony concerning Christ; in which
he points out Christ as the true Sacrifice for the expiation of sin.
Behold the lamb of God: the Lamb of God's appointing, to be an expiatory
sacrifice; the Lamb of God's election; the Lamb of God's affection; the
Lamb of God's acceptation; the Lamb of God's exaltation; who, by the
sacrifice of his death, has taken away the sin of the world.
The sin, not sins, (in the plural number,) to denote original sin, as
some think; or, as others, to show, that Christ hath universally taken
upon himself the whole burden of our sin and guilt. And there seems to
be a secret antithesis in the word world. In the Levitical sacrifices,
only the sins of the Jews were laid upon the sacrificed beast; but this
Lamb takes away the sin both of the Jew and the Gentile. The Lord has
caused to meet on him the iniquity of us all.
And the word, taketh away, being in the present tense, denotes a
continued act, and it intimates to us thus much, viz. That it is the
daily office of Christ to take away our sin, by presenting to the Father
the memorials of his death. Christ takes away from all believers the
guilt and punishment of their sins, the filth and pollution of them, the
power and dominion that is in them: as St. John called upon the Jews, to
behold this Lamb of God with an eye of observation; so it is our duty to
behold him now with an eye of admiration; with an eye of gratulation;
but especially with an eye of faith and dependence, improving the fruit
of his death to our own consolation and salvation, Look unto me, and be
saved. Isa 14:22.
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Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary:
John saw Jesus coming to him, and pointed him out as the Lamb of God.
The paschal lamb, in the shedding and sprinkling of its blood, the
roasting and eating of its flesh, and all the other circumstances of the
ordinance, represented the salvation of sinners by faith in Christ. And
the lambs sacrificed every morning and evening, can only refer to Christ
slain as a sacrifice to redeem us to God by his blood. John came as a
preacher of repentance, yet he told his followers that they were to look
for the pardon of their sins to Jesus only, and to his death. It agrees
with God's glory to pardon all who depend on the atoning sacrifice of
Christ. He takes away the sin of the world; purchases pardon for all
that repent and believe the gospel. This encourages our faith; if Christ
takes away the sin of the world, then why not my sin? He bore sin for
us, and so bears it from us. God could have taken away sin, by taking
away the sinner, as he took away the sin of the old world; but here is a
way of doing away sin, yet sparing the sinner, by making his Son sin,
that is, a sin-offering, for us. See Jesus taking away sin, and let that
cause hatred of sin, and resolutions against it. Let us not hold that
fast, which the Lamb of God came to take away. To confirm his testimony
concerning Christ, John declares the appearance at his baptism, in which
God himself bore witness to him. He saw and bare record that he is the
Son of God. This is the end and object of John's testimony, that Jesus
was the promised Messiah. John took every opportunity that offered to
lead people to Christ.
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The Fourfold Gospel:
On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him. Jesus had just
returned from the temptation in the wilderness. This is his first
appearance in John's Gospel. The fact that John leaves out all the early
history of Jesus shows that he wrote many years after the other
evangelists, when all these facts were so well known as to need no
mention by him.
And saith, Behold, the Lamb of God. Lambs were commonly used for
sin-offerings (Le 4:32), and three of them were sacrificed in the
cleansing of a leper (Le 14:10). A lamb was also the victim of the
morning (9 A.M.) and evening (3 P.M.) sacrifice (Ex 29:38)--the hours
when Jesus was nailed to the cross and when he expired. A lamb was also
the victim at the paschal supper. The great prophecy of Isaiah, setting
forth the vicarious sacrifice of Christ (Isa 53:1-12) depicts him as a
lamb, and in terms which answer closely to the words here used by John.
The Jews to whom John spoke readily understood his allusion as being to
sacrificial lambs; but they could not understand his meaning, for they
had no thought of the sacrifice of a person. Jesus is called the Lamb of
God because he is the lamb or sacrifice which God provided and accepted
as the true and only sin-offering (Heb 10:4-14; 1Pe 1:19).
That taketh away the sin of the world! The present tense, "taketh," is
used because the expiatory effect of Christ's sacrifice is perpetual,
and the fountain of his forgiveness never fails. Expiated sin is this
spoken of as being taken away (Le 10:17; Ex 34:7; Nu 14:18). Some,
seeking to avoid the vicarious nature of Christ's sacrifice, claim that
the Baptist means that Jesus would gradually lift the world out of sin
by his teaching. But lambs do not teach, and sin is not removed by
teaching, but by sacrifice (Heb 9:22; Re 5:9). Jesus was sacrificed for
the world, that is, for the entire human family in all ages. All are
bought, but all do not acknowledge the purchase (2Pe 2:1). He gives
liberty to all, but all do not receive it, and some having received it
return again to bondage (Ga 4:9). The Baptist had baptized for the
remission of sins. He now points his converts to him who would make this
promise good unto their souls. A Christian looks upon Christ as one who
has taken away his past sin (1Pe 2:24), and who will forgive his present
sin (1Jo 1:9).
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Agnus
Dei 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.
