Daily Devotional • March 6
A Reading from John 1:29-34
29 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! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 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.’ 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Chosen One.”
Meditation
On Tuesday we read John the Baptizer’s testimony about his own identity and mission. Today we receive his testimony about Jesus’ identity and mission.
John spots Jesus and calls out, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” A lamb was a standard sacrifice offered for cleansing from sin, but this offering is the person of Jesus here said to be “of God.”
Though John previously pointed to Jesus as one coming after him, John now explains that Jesus “ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” John was born first, and yet he insists that Jesus predates him. The language that Jesus “was” before John links back to the language from the beginning of John 1, that the Word “was” in the beginning with God. These are indicators to us of Jesus’ divinity.
John explains that he is able to recognize Jesus due to a divine revelation. “The one who sent [John] to baptize with water said to [him], ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’” Because John has seen this, John identifies Jesus as “the Chosen One,” likely a reference to Isaiah 42:1:
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.”
Some Christians talk more about individual sin than about corporate justice and vice versa. But the God to whom John testifies is a God deeply concerned with both. This God is so concerned with cleansing individual persons that he sends his Son as a sacrificial offering for each and every one of us. At the same time, this Son also is the Messiah in whom God promises to heal our life together, who can bring justice to our nations. In both individual and corporate cases, it is God who brings about deliverance and restoration. It is God upon whom we can and must rely.
Laura Howard is a writer from Dallas, TX, now based in Wheaton, IL, where she works in Student Wellness at her alma mater, Wheaton College. Laura’s portfolio of writing, teaching, and artwork can be found at letmebeheavy.substack.com.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
Church of the Ascension, Chicago
The Diocese of Makurdi – The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
