John calls Jesus the Lamb of God (John 1:35-36)

ife is deceptive much of the time. We move throughout our day doing one thing after another always knowing that there is something else we must accomplish. We accept the busy part of our life as necessary activity and tell ourselves that we will eventually take that long awaited vacation or we will eventually reach retirement when we can finally enjoy life. Most people look forward to the weekend. But when we get there, the weekend is often filled with necessary activities for the house or for the children. Rarely do we have time to just stop. When is the last time that you asked yourself, “Why am I doing all of this? What am I seeking? What do I want to accomplish with my life?” If we are honest, life is not what most of us want it to be. So when John the Baptist arrived declaring that someone great was coming, people were interested. They were looking for someone who would bring meaning into their lives and change their world.

Behold The Lamb! When we arrive at this passage of our study, John the Baptist is somewhere south of the Sea of Galilee on the east side of the Jordan River. John 1:35 opens by telling us that this is another day. We believe the day is Saturday. Why do we know that it is Saturday?

The first clue is found in John 2:1 where we are told that Jesus had travelled for three days to a wedding in Cana of Galilee. The wedding probably occurred on a Wednesday, since according to Jewish custom virgins were married on Wednesday. Widows were married on Thursdays.

The second clue is found in John 1:43 where we are told that Jesus visited Philip after the events that started in John 1:35. Then all that we have to do is count four days backward from John 2:1 and we discover that John is standing on a Sabbath day, a Saturday, when Jesus approaches him.

Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” (NASB) John 1:35-36