John 1:29

The next day John saw Jesus coming unto him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

Verse 28 Read Chapter 1 Verse 30

Augustine of Hippo

AD 430

If the Lamb of God is innocent, and John is the lamb, must he not be innocent? But all men come of that stock of which David sings sorrowing, Behold, I was conceived in wickedness. He then alone was the Lamb, who was not thus conceived; for Hewas not conceived in wickedness, nor in sin did His mother bear Him in her womb, Whom avirgin conceived, a virgin brought forth, because that in faith she conceived, and in faith received. For He Who took not sin from our nature, He it is Who takes away our sin. Some say, We take away the sins of men, because we are holy; for if he, who baptizes, is not holy, how can he take away the other’s sin, seeing he himself is full of sin? Against these reasoners letus point to the text; Behold Him Who takes away the sin of the world; in order to do away with such presumption in man towards man. He comes after me, because he was born after me: He is made before me, because He is preferred to me. Now when our Lord became known, it was unnecessary to prepare ... Read More

1 min1/14

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Clement Of Rome

AD 99

And the fat and unctuous food,-the delicacies abundant and sufficing of the blessed,-the fatted calf is killed; which is also again spoken of as a lamb (not literally); that no one may suppose it small; but it is the great and greatest. For not small is "the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world"

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Cyprian of Carthage

AD 258

Also in the Gospel: "On the next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, and behold Him that taketh away the sins of the world!"

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Cyril of Alexandria

AD 444

And saith, Behold the Lamb of God, Which taketh away the sin of the world. No longer has prepare ye the way fit place, since He at length is seen and is before the eyes for Whom the preparation is made: the nature of the thing began to need other words. It needed to explain, Who He is Who is come, and to whom He maketh His descent Who hath come to us from Heaven. Behold, therefore, saith he, the Lamb of God Which taketh away the sin of the world, Whom the Prophet Isaiah did signify to us, saying, He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb: Whom of old, too, saith he, the law of Moses typified, but then it saved in part, not extending mercy to all (for it was a type and shadow): but now He Who of old was dimly pictured, the very Lamb, the spotless Sacrifice, is led to the slaughter for all, that He |132 might drive away the sin of the world, that He might overturn the destroyer of the earth, that dying for all He might bring to nought death, ... Read More

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Cyril of Alexandria

AD 444

The next day he seeth Jesus coming to him. In a very little time, the Baptist is declared to be Prophet alike and Apostle. For Whom he was heralding as coming, Him now come he points out. Therefore, he bounded beyond even the measure of prophets, as the Saviour Himself saith when discoursing with the Jews concerning him, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A prophet, yea, I say unto you and more than a prophet. For they in their times prophesied that Christ should be revealed, but he, crying that He shall come, also pointed Him out come. For the next day, saith he, he seeth Jesus coming to him.

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George Leo Haydock

AD 1849

Behold the Lamb of God. John the Baptist let the Jews know who Jesus was, by divers testimonies. 1st, By telling them he was the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin, or sins of the world, who was come to be their Redeemer, and to free mankind from the slavery of sin; 2ndly, that he was greater than he, and before him, though born after him; 3rdly, that God had revealed to him that Jesus was to baptize in the Holy Spirit; 4thly, that he saw the Spirit descending upon him from heaven, and remaining upon him; 5thly, that he was the Son of God, ver. 34. (Witham) Who taketh away. It was only a being like Christ, in whose person the divine and human natures were united, that could effectually take away the sins of the world. As man, he was enabled to suffer; and as God, his sufferings obtained a value equal to the infinite atonement required. (Haydock)

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Glossa Ordinaria

AD 1480

Or by the sin of the world is meant original sin, which is common to the whole world: which original sin, as well as thesins of every one individually, Christ by His grace remits.

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Gregory The Dialogist

AD 604

But then only will sin be entirely taken away from the human race, when our corruption has been turned to a glorious in corruption. We cannot be free from sin, so long aswe are held in the death of the body. He explains the reason of this superiority, in what follows: For Hewas before me; as if his meaning was; And this is the reason of His being superior to me, though born after me, viz. that He is not circumscribed by the time of His nativity. He Who was born of His mother in time, was begotten of His Father out of time.

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Gregory The Dialogist

AD 604

I Extend Thy dread right hand, which Thou hast prepared for Thyself, and crown my head by Thy touch, in order that I may run the course before Thy kingdom, crowned like a forerunner, and diligently announce the good tidings to the sinners, addressing them with this earnest call: "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!"

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Hippolytus of Rome

AD 235

For after the return of the people from Babylon under the leadership of Jesus the son of Josedech, and Ezra the scribe, and Zerubbabel the son of Sala Thiel, of the tribe of David, there were 434 years unto the coming of Christ, in order that the Priest of priests might be manifested in the world, and that He who taketh away the sins of the world might be evidently set forth, as John speaks concerning Him: "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!". So Antichrist is also a king. The Saviour was manifested as a lamb;. After this, at the Jordan, seeing the Saviour with his own eye, he points Him out, and says, "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!"

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Irenaeus of Lyons

AD 202

Because He was prior to me: and of His fulness have all we received."

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John Chrysostom

AD 407

Or; Matthew relates directly Christ's coming to His baptism, John His coming a second time subsequent to His baptism, as appears from what follows: I saw the Spirit descending The Evangelists have divided the periods of the history between them; Matthew passing over the part before John’s imprisonment, and hastening to that event; John chiefly dwelling on what took place before the imprisonment. Thus he says, The next day John sees Jesus coming to him. But why did He come to him the next day after His baptism? Having been baptized with the multitude, He wished to prevent any from thinking that He came to John for the same reason that others did, viz. to confess His sins, and be washed in the river to repentance. He comes therefore to give John anopportunity of correcting this mistake; which John accordingly did correct; viz. by those words, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. For He Who was so pure, as to be able to absolve other men’s sins, evidently could n... Read More

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Tertullian of Carthage

AD 220

But withal, by pointing out "the Lamb of God". Then, again, when He is designated by John (the Baptist) as "the Lamb of God"

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Theophilus of Antioch

AD 184

He is called the Lamb of God, because God the Father accepted His death for our salvation, or, in other words, because He delivered Him up to death for our sakes. For just as we say, This is the offering of such aman, meaning the offering made by him; in the same sense Christ is called the Lamb of God Who gave His Son to die for our salvation. And whereas that typical lamb did not take away any man’s sin, this one has taken away the sin of the whole world, rescuing it from the danger it was in from the wrath of God. Behold Him Who takes away the sin of the world: he said not, who will take, but, Who takes away the sin of the world; as if He were always doing this. For He did not then only take it away when He suffered, but from that time to the present, He takes it away; not by being always crucified, for He made one sacrifice for sins, but by ever washing it by means of that sacrifice. Why does he say the sin of the world, not sins? Because he wished to express sin universally: just a... Read More

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