2nd Sunday of Epithany 18.01.26
FIRST READING: Isaiah 49.1-7
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1.1-9
GOSPEL John 1.29-42
We continue our faith journey in this wonderful season of Epiphany. A season where we celebrate God revealing his glory to people. In the New Testament, there are three incidents that are associated with the Epiphany of our Lord.
The first is what we celebrated, the visit of the three wise men to Bethlehem to worship and offer gifts to Jesus. The Second occasion when the glory of Jesus was revealed was at his Baptism, which is what we learnt last week. The third occasion associated with Epiphany is the Wedding at Cana of galilee. Jesus revealed his glory as he turned water into wine.
This morning, we heard in the gospel about a profound event from John’s Gospel. This is in continuation of the Baptism of Jesus. John the Baptist who was calling people to repentance by the river Jordon and baptising people also had his own disciples.
We see two sections in this text. In the first section John the Baptist humbles himself and exalts Jesus. John tells the crowd that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He also says that Jesus ranks higher than him.
In the second section John the Baptist is standing with two of his disciples and he directs them to Jesus and for the second time exclaims look the Lamb of God.
In the Old Testament times, the Lamb is used for sacrifice. When people commit sin, they will get a lamb and have the lamb sacrificed in the temple as an act of repentance. Interestingly John introduces Jesus as the Son of God and then as the Lamb of God. The Son of God is going to be slaughtered like a Lamb as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. While John exalts Jesus, he also tells the world that Jesus is going to be the sacrificial lamb.
It is really amazing because John not only tells us that Jesus is higher than himself and humbles himself before the people who think so high of him and for which reason they have come to him. He would also let his disciples leave him and follow Jesus. John presents Jesus to the world and also points Jesus to the world that it is him whom the people should follow. John had with him his disciples who were supporting him. He does something so wonderful, he does what is good for his disciples, pointing them to Jesus, the saviour of the world. He deliberately loses his disciples as they now begin to follow Jesus.
The two disciples call Jesus Rabbi and ask him, where do you live. The response of Jesus was ‘come and see’. Jesus invites the disciples of John to come see everything for themselves and experience.
We are reminded today that Jesus Christ whom we proclaim as our Lord is the Lamb of God who gave his life like a sacrificial lamb for our sins. The Lamb of God who was slaughtered is also the victorious Lamb in the book of Revelation.
We are invited to come and see. To follow him and to experience him in our lives. It’s about seeing for ourselves the presence and the power of Jesus in our lives as we follow him devotedly and prayerfully.
To be a Christian is not about adhering to a belief system, it is about experiencing life with Jesus.