v 29. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Here is a second strand in the tale John is telling – this magnificent love of Jesus is a relationship-restoring love.
God’s creation was, and is still, spoilt by human wilfulness. It was love that in the first place endowed humanity with freedom – the freedom to choose a way of life. Sadly – and the story is oh-so-familiar – bad choices have been made. The universal, self-centred humanity-affecting virus of sin has put every single person out of kilter with the God of Grace and Kindness. No human effort can deal with it, no cure or vaccine can eliminate it, and it ends in eternal death and separation from God.
In a word, it is humanity’s most serious problem, far outweighing climate change, racial tension and economic greed. Sin is the big killer. Sin speaks of destruction and self-centred loneliness. John’s story of Grace-Love has no meaning apart from the parallel story of Sin-Death.
That is why John announces the big action-theme of the story, sin is going to be dealt with and be taken away. Jesus is embarked on a radical mission of love that will remove the guilt, the power and the consequences of sin that would otherwise totally engulf us. Without this intervention from Heaven itself, by the Word-Made-Flesh living and dying among us, there would be no hope for humanity. As Jesus died on the cross His final exclamation “It is finished!” (John 19:30) is not a statement about the end of His life but a shout of triumph – Job Done! Sin dealt with once for all, and the prospect is opened up of life lived in a harmonious relationship with God.
Now that is quite story for us to be reflecting on in the weeks ahead!
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