Behold, the Lamb of God, Who Takes Away the Sin of the World

01-18-2026Weekly ReflectionFr. Manasseh lorchir, VC

During the Season of Advent when we prepared for the coming of Jesus at Christmas, we had two weekends when the Gospel passages focused on the person and mission of John the Baptist, the forebearer of Christ, who came to prepare Israel for the coming of the awaited Messiah. On Christmas Day, the Gospel passage for the Mass during the day, which was taken from the prologue of St. John’s Gospel, took a sudden break at some point to introduce John the Baptist and distinguish him from the Christ whose arrival John prepared Israel for.

“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.” (John 1:6-8) In the liturgical year “A”, the weekend following the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord tells the story of how John the Baptist identified and pointed Christ out to his own disciples.

John identified Jesus as the “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” In this statement, John acknowledged the humility of Christ who humbled Himself not just to assume human form, but to become more humble by accepting a shameful death on the cross, like the Old Testament lamb, in order to restore us to a righteous relationship with God. (John 1:12). He became man to take away, not just the consequence (punishment) of sin, but the sin of the world. What this means is that, apart from paying the price for the restoration of humanity to the righteousness and innocence we lost as a consequence of Original Sin, Jesus also came to teach us how not to sin and to remain in grace. It is therefore a contradiction to be saved and still live in sin. The redeemed Christian ought to strive to avoid sinful habits in order to remain coheir with Christ in the Kingdom of God which Christ’s coming guaranteed for all who believe.

John further testified that he saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Him at His baptism at the river Jordan which led him to testify that Jesus is not just the humble servant of God from the Davidic dynasty but in fact the Son of God. This testimony of John came from “knowing Christ” through encounters like the revelation at His baptism. This is the revelation that the Church prays should happen in each and every one of us. A revelation that emanates from life changing encounters with Christ that lead us to freely testify that He is the Son of God who became man in order to make the children of men sons and daughters of God.

May God continue to reveal Himself to us through Jesus Christ and may we like John, convicted by evidence of Christ’s redemptive work in our lives and around us, be emboldened by the Holy Spirit to point Him out to others as the unblemished lamb of God who saves all who believe in Him from sin and leads them back into the Father’s loving embrace.

Please be kind and may God bless you.

Fr. Manasseh Iorchir, VC