John 1: 29-34

The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I’ve been talking about, ‘the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.’ I knew nothing about who he was—only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God.”

John clinched his witness with this: “I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who
authorized me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ That’s exactly what I saw happen, and I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: This is the Son of God.”

Gospel Reflection

A dramatic moment on the bank of the River Jordan! John declares Jesus to be the Lamb of God, innocent and vulnerable. Had he a sense that Jesus was destined to become the Passover Lamb of Sacrifice, “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7)?

Yet John must have gazed on Jesus with wonderment and great regard. Who could have anticipated that this sturdy young village craftsman, friendly and unassuming, was the Son of God? John fulfils his role of preparing the way of the Lord. Jesus was to say of him, “Among those born of women no one is greater than John” (Luke 7:28). Jesus’ own mission now begins.