Hearing The Word

A weekly newsletter delivering context and insight into the Sunday Gospels.

6

January 18, 2026

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

John 1:29-34

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

He is the one of whom I said,

‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me

because he existed before me.’

I did not know him,

but the reason why I came baptizing with water

was that he might be made known to Israel.”

John testified further, saying,

“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven

and remain upon him.

I did not know him,

but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,

‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,

he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

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The Lamb of God

~Dr. Kelly Anderson S.S.L., Ph.D

Associate Professor of Biblical Studies for the Major Seminary,

Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary + Ambler, Pa.

John’s testimony about Jesus takes place after the baptism and temptation, just as Jesus is beginning his public mission. I’ll only concentrate on John’s marvelous acclamation: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

A uniquely Johannine description of Jesus is that he is the “Lamb of God.” This startling depiction has deep roots in the Old Testament, recalling various lambs: first is the sacrificed Passover lamb whose blood saves the Israelites from death; second is the suffering servant of Isaiah 53:6–7 who vicariously bears the sins of the people and dies in their place; and third, is the daily temple sacrifices which are offered for atonement. Jesus is therefore the summation of the all the lambs in the Old Testament and brings them to fruition. He is God’s own victim who bears the sins of the people, atones for them, and suffers death for them.

The verb “takes away” (αἴρων) is in the present tense, meaning that Jesus’ removal of sins is ongoing and continuous. The Lamb, sacrificed once, continually bears the sins of the world in his wounded, marked body, and this wounded, sacrificed, cleansed body is given to us in the sacraments where it never ceases to purify us. And the faithful are privileged to proclaim this ongoing reality at every Mass: “Lamb of God, you take away…”

This Lamb takes away the “sin of the world” (the Agnus Dei follows 1 John 3:5 in saying “qui tollis peccata [sins] mundi”). The world (κόσμος) refers to the totality of all that is, and so the freedom from sins that the Lamb brings is more pervasive and profound than just freeing the human heart. The Lamb’s sacrifice affects all of creation, reaching to the angelic realm where the rebellion against God began, and even piercing Sheol, the land of the dead, where the crucified Lamb enters in triumph and frees those enslaved in death and despair.

The Spirit Continues to Come

~Conor Donnelly

Saint Maron's Parish + South Philadelphia, Pa.

Sometimes we are blessed and notice an element of the Gospel that we haven’t quite seen before. Every day at Mass we have the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist — but we begin Mass with an introduction that leads us to a Penitential Rite — and I think that is what we have just heard in this first chapter of John’s Gospel. Before we hear the Scripture stories and before we receive the Body of Christ, we are first called to repentance. In the life of John the Baptist is that call to repentance before the coming of God as man. John baptized with water to prepare people for one much greater than himself.

If the Penitential Rite reminds us of John the Baptist, then what follows in the Mass is very much the coming of the Spirit like in the Gospel. The Holy Spirit who inspired the human authors of Scripture; the Holy Spirit who descends to the altar to receive our gifts of bread and wine that become the Body and Blood in anticipation of us receiving the Lord in Holy Communion. We are so blessed as Catholics that the descent of the Holy Spirit is not limited to the action of the Spirit in the wilderness of Judah. Every day we have the opportunity to repent for our sins in preparation for the descent of the Spirit so that we might receive the Body of Christ — the Son of God.

Hearing this Gospel also brings back fond memories from seven years ago when I started my journey as a theology student in a class with Dr. Kelly Anderson that began with John’s Gospel.