“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 ESV
Reflection: how is Jesus taking away sin from your life?
The statement “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29b ESV by John the Baptist has intrigued me for as long as I can remember. What did John mean by saying that Jesus “takes away” or “removes” sin? We mostly talk about Jesus atoning for our sins, and forgiving our sins. But he didn’t say “forgives”; he said “takes away”. To take away sin, versus forgiving sin are clearly very different actions, right? As the question I posed to reflect on today, how is Jesus removing sin from our lives?
Since we still see sin all around us, how is Jesus removing the sins of the world?
John used a word that generally is translated to “takes away” in Greek was “airō”. It is a pretty common word, used over 100 times in the New Testament, and according to the Blue Letter Bible tool has three general meanings in a biblical context: 1) to raise up, elevate, lift up, 2) to take upon one’s self and carry what has been raised up, to bear, and 3) to bear away what has been raised, carry off. John’s usage here is mostly translated into the third variation, and explains further “by Hebraism to expiate sin:—away with, bear (up), carry, lift up, loose, make to doubt, put away, remove, take (away, up)”.
Perhaps the most common way to think of Jesus removing sin is the fact that he took upon himself our sins, carried them on the cross. Paul writes “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14 ESV. But, I think there is more here. Because, while Jesus atoned for sin through his sacrifice, the meeting with Jesus changes us.
For instance, when Jesus healed the paralyzed man by the pool. We read “Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”” John 5:14 ESV. And we also might remember Jesus exchange with Mary Magdalene, “Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”” John 8:10-11 ESV. So we read this theme, in the meeting with Jesus of two things combined,
forgiveness and of change
Paul explains “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:5-11 ESV
Jesus is the Lamb of God, who sacrificed himself to atone for our sins. Who carried our sins to the cross. And we are therefore set free from the bondage of sin. It has no claim on us, so that we live in it. No longer having to live in guilt and shame, away from the Lord. And by every sinner turning to Jesus, no longer living in sin, there is less sin in the world. Jesus forgives, and removes the sins of the world. He tells us today, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”