John 1:29-34 NRSVue
29The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33I 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.’ 34And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Chosen One.”
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Reflection on John 1:29-34
Inspiration from 2026-01-18 Daily Prayer
Even though many people turned to John the Baptist for leadership and inspiration, he made it his business constantly to point the way forward for others, but not in a way that made them dependent on him or that cast him in a particularly favourable light. He was like a good teacher who opens up new areas of growth for us and brings our talents to their very highest level.
Further reflection
Although he prepared the way for Jesus, John acknowledges that he did not know who to expect. As I do my best, in my way, to prepare the way for Jesus, I cannot always know just what to be ready for
John remained active and vigilant. I pray that I may find the balance between keeping occupied in God’s service without letting my occupations overwhelm me.
"Lamb of God" stirs biblical overtones: of the Passover lamb, and of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah, led like a lamb to the slaughter, bearing our sins.
Lord, whenever I hear of some atrocious barbarisms by one of our race, and of the injustice and pain which people suffer through others' wickedness, I remember that this is the world you entered, the burden you took on yourself. You had a strong back to carry the evil that is in the world.
John wanted to reveal Christ to people, to make him known. This is a knowledge based on love. We can have head-knowledge, knowing all about a person but not really knowing the person. We can list dates of birth, marriage and death, height and weight, nationality and religion. There is another knowledge - heart-knowledge when we know how others feel about what's important in life, how they relate to people and we know them from the inside. That's what revelation can mean, and what John wanted to do for Jesus. We can make a prayer that we can know Jesus from the inside and reveal a God of love and life to others.