Musings and Contemplations

Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.[1]

The Lamb of God Revealed

John 1:29-34 NRSV
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

Warren Wiersbe
John’s announcement is the answer to Isaac’s question, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7). The Passover lamb in Exodus 12 and the sacrificial lamb in Isaiah 53 point to Christ. There were many lambs slain in Old Testament history, but Christ is the Lamb of God, the unique one. The blood of lambs slain in the tabernacle or temple merely covered sin (Hebrews 10:1–4), but Christ’s blood takes away sin. The lambs offered in the Old Testament days were for Israel alone, but Christ died for the sins of the whole world.^[2]

Matthew Henry
It is our duty, with an eye of faith, tobehold the Lamb of God thus taking away thesin of the world. See him taking away sin, and let that increase our hatred of sin, and resolutions against it. Let not us hold that fast which the Lamb of God came to take away: for Christ will either take our sins away or take us away. Let it increase our love to Christ,who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (Revelation 1:5.) Whatever God is pleased to take away from us, if withal he take away our sins, we have reason to be thankful, and no reason to complain.^[3]

Sharing the Light of Christ

John 1:35-42 NRSV
The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came 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 who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Only Jesus can quench our deepest thirsts, bolster our weaknesses, shield our fears, and find us when we are lost.[4]

The Gospel Way Catechism Question #44
Why do we tell people about Jesus?
We tell others about Jesus because of love: love for God who gave his only Son as the only Savior, love for our neighbors whose salvation we desire, and love for the Gospel that reveals the truth about our world.[5]

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen.[6]

Jesus Strong and Kind

From the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.[7]

[1] Isaiah 60:3 ESV
^[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1992), 212.
^[3] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 1920–1921.
[4] The Sing! Hymnal, 2025, p. 928.
[5] Trevin Wax and Thomas Watson, The Gospel Way Catechism, 2025, p. 157.
[6] Prayer for the second Sunday of Epiphany, Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019.
[7] Malachi 1:11 ESV