Restores My Soul

Historical Context

John’s Gospel places this scene at Bethany beyond the Jordan. John the Baptist was baptizing there. Officials sent from Jerusalem had questioned him, asking whether he was the Christ, or Elijah, or the prophet they were expecting. He told them plainly that he was none of these. When they pressed him on why he baptized at all, he said someone was already standing among them whom they did not know, and added that he was not worthy to untie that man’s sandal.

Exactly where this Bethany stood is no longer known. The text says only that it was across the Jordan. It was there, the next day, that John saw Jesus coming toward him. John had just spent a whole conversation explaining who he was not. Now the one he had been pointing to was walking toward him.

Reflection

John’s words point at Jesus and name him as the one who takes away the sin of the world. What image John had in mind is not settled. Some hear an echo of the lamb offered every morning and evening at the temple. Others hear the lamb of the Passover meal, the one that marked Israel’s escape from Egypt. Still others hear the suffering figure described in Isaiah. The text does not say which one John meant, and it may be more than one at once.

What is clear is what John does with the moment. When Jesus walked toward him, John used his voice for someone else’s sake, not his own. You could take a cue from that: when you are certain about someone worth pointing to, say so plainly, and let the attention land on them instead of you.