"Behold the Lamb of God!"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The disciples of John the Baptist knew all about the lambs.

There were stories of one-time sacrifices, like the story of Abraham and Isaac where the son was nearly killed. You know the story: Abraham and Isaac climbed that mountain together, with Isaac innocently asking where the sacrifice was. Abraham, unable to speak the truth, uttered those famous words, "God will provide for Himself the lamb" (Gen. 22:8). And so it was: Just as Abraham lifted the knife to sacrifice his only son, the Lord pointed him to a ram, caught by his horns in a thicket. The ram was sacrificed that day. Isaac was delivered because God provided the lamb.

There were the annual sacrifices, too, like the Passover Lamb. Every year, the people of Israel were to remember the Exodus by the sacrifice of a lamb for Passover dinner. They were to recall how the Lord saved the firstborn of each family because the angel passed over the doors marked by the blood of the lamb. The lamb died; the firstborn sons lived.

And then there were the twice-daily sacrifices, too, still going on at the temple: Morning and evening, a lamb was sacrificed to God by the priests, in accordance with God's command: "One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight" (Deut. 29:39). Two lambs every day, offered to the Lord. So long as the Temple was intact, the shedding of lambs' blood continued.

The Boundary of History

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Twice in today's Gospel lesson, John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God. The first time is to the Jews, and the second to John's disciples. But what does it mean that John repeatedly identifies Jesus with this title? What does it signify that John points to Jesus with this particular phrase, over and over again?

In this lesson, we see a condensed version of all of sacred history. Our lesson today picks up mid-conversation, as John the Baptist is speaking to the Jews about the coming Messiah. Just as the last and greatest prophet is declaring the Word of the Lord to the people of God, the Word of God Incarnate appears in their midst. This is the first day of history.

Then, the next day, John identifies Jesus in the same way to his disciples. John points to the One whom He had said would be greater than he. This is the second day of history.

Finally, on the third day of sacred history, John is not there to point to Jesus, but there is no need, for the whole world sees Jesus high and lifted up upon the cross. This is the third day, the rest of history.