John – Chapter 1:29-34
Introduction: The Baptism of Jesus – The testimony of Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” is unique to John (1:29; 1:36) and worth our detailed consideration. It is in the sacrifice of the Lamb that God comes into the world in order to take away sin, cleanse it from disobedience, and bestow the Holy Spirit that we live the life of righteousness. Note that narrated by John the Baptist narrates Jesus’ baptism. It has already taken place. So, there is no voice from the Father proclaiming His sonship but rather this comes from the Baptist (v.34). The Baptist attests to the Father’s testimony of the promise of the Spirit in baptism (v.33). But this narration is in the context of 1:29 and v.36, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” v. 29 “on the next day” – In Jn 1:19-51, there are four days delineated, Jn 1:19-28, 29-34, 35-42, 43-51, with John 2:1 being the sixth day (and also the “third day”). Only in John’s Gospel do we receive such an explicit sequence of days. The Evangelist also uses other expressions to denote time, e.g. “after these things” (5:1; 6:1; 7:1) and “then” (12:3). The Evangelist here is evoking the sequence of Genesis (1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31) and is continuing the New Creation narrative. John also indicates the sixth day was also the “third day” in 2:1. He is superimposing two ideas upon each other. On the sixth day God created man and brought about the completion of His work (Gen 1:26-31, esp 2:2). And at the time of Jesus’ death, the sixth day, all was “completed” (Jn 19:28, 30) and the new creation of a new humanity has come. The third day is associated with the giving of the Law on Sinai (Ex 19:10-11): “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.” And, “Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain” (Ex 19:16). The third day is also a beacon towards the sacrifice of Isaac, “Then on the third day Abraham lifted his…