Jesus is the GOAT

So why did John call him a Lamb?

There is something interesting going on in John the Baptist’s recognition of Jesus. Let’s take a short but meaningful deep dive into lambs and goats.

For Christians who’ve read these verses many times over, hearing John call Jesus "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" is probably quite familiar. Jesus is called a lamb many times in the New Testament. Peter’s first epistle does it (calling Jesus a lamb without blemish or defect), and John’s own book of Revelation uses the image heavily.

But in Jewish practice, it is not a lamb that takes away the sin of the world! The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) provides that two goats be used in the atonement for sin: one, a scapegoat which is sent away, carrying the sins of the nation, and two, a goat that was sacrificed to bring purity to the people.

The best-known lamb in Jewish practice is the Passover lamb. It was killed to be eaten on Passover, but more strikingly, for the use of its blood around the doorposts of the home as a sign to the angel of death not to come upon the house. In this way, the lamb of God would be the animal that covered people as a protection. If it had anything to do with sin, the blood of the lamb kept people from destruction. It did not save people from their own sins (the most common Christian understanding of Jesus serving as a lamb).

In this way, John’s declaration is quite powerful. It is also a rather new development. It is a juxtaposition of these rich Jewish stories and imagery.

Jesus is the Lamb of God whose coming sacrifice will do a number of things. Yes, it will serve as a deliverance from our own personal culpability for sin. But it will also be a protection from the destruction of death, a cloak that provides for people a deliverance from the sinfulness of others.

Consider: How does understanding Jesus as both the sacrificial lamb and a protective covering change your view of his role in your life? In what ways can you seek both personal forgiveness and protection from the world's sinfulness through Jesus?

The implications are rich.

John 1:29-51

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is really greater than me because he existed before me.’ Even I didn’t recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be made known to Israel.” John testified, “I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it rested on him. Even I didn’t recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit coming down and resting is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and testified that this one is God’s Son.”

The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus walking along he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard what he said, and they followed Jesus.

When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, “What are you looking for?”

They said, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying?”

He replied, “Come and see.” So they went 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 disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Christ ). He led him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

The next day Jesus wanted to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.”

Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?”

Philip said, “Come and see.”

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here is a genuine Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are God’s Son. You are the king of Israel.”

Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these! I assure you that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up to heaven and down to earth on the Human One.”

Prayer

God,

Thank you for the protection of Jesus. I confess I don’t always see Jesus in this way. I have leaned heavily into the deliverance he provides from the guilt and shame of my own sin. But I want all the more, Lord, to receive the deliverance he gives from the sinfulness of the world. Help us realize the safety he provides from the effect of sin! I know that sin exists and that it’s powerful…that evil hitchhikes itself upon our destructive practices like a plague. But don’t let my heart be destroyed by such things, God.

Give me the protective covering of Jesus, and help me live in the assurance of His deliverance. May Your Spirit guide me to embrace both aspects of Jesus' sacrifice and to live in the fullness of His protection and atonement.

By your spirit & in his name,
Amen.