January 14th, 2017

It is a good thing to connect some parts of the church’s liturgy to the writings of the bible. When someone says the same phrase over and over again, it’s pretty important that those words are not just some words that someone made up quite quickly. As those words point us to the bible, the bible points us to God, and that’s an important place to be.
The phrase ‘Lamb of God’ is in the text for this Sunday. It’s actually in the text twice (John 1:29, 36). It’s a short phrase. It’s also known in Latin (Agnus Dei). And it has a lot in it.
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You might think this a bit strange, but I’ve been thinking about the word ‘of’. It’s also a short word. But it’s also an important one.
You might think that this is a bit strange as well, but there are two main divisions of that tiny word. Generally speaking, it can be used to define something, or it can be used to show a separation from something. In the first case, it still has the meaning of ‘of’, but in the second, it could mean something like ‘from’.
I noticed that scholars have written several articles written about this phrase, and I can only imagine the variety of opinions. This is literally an amazing thing to have such a strong confession so early within a gospel account. (That topic must be saved for another time.)
And perhaps you may differ, but I think that, with this confession being so close to the beginning of the account, and with the progression of the introduction going from the Word being with God, to the Word being God, and then to the Word dwelling with us, I am leaning towards an understanding of the word ‘of’ as a separation. This Lamb of God is the Lamb from God.
Actually, either way, the phrase is an amazing gift. For God to have a lamb seems to be a normal thing; everything really belongs to him! But for that lamb to be a man is a true miracle, and on the basis of that miracle, it looks like more miracles are headed our way.


It is a good thing to connect some parts of the church’s liturgy to the writings of the bible. When someone says the same phrase over and over again, it’s pretty important that those words are not just some words that someone made up quite quickly. As those words point us to the bible, the bible points us to God, and that’s an important place to be.


The phrase ‘Lamb of God’ is in the text for this Sunday. It’s actually in the text twice (John 1:29, 36). It’s a short phrase. It’s also known in Latin (Agnus Dei). And it has a lot in it.
You might think this a bit strange, but I’ve been thinking about the word ‘of’. It’s also a short word. But it’s also an important one.
You might think that this is a bit strange as well, but there are two main divisions of that tiny word. Generally speaking, it can be used to define something, or it can be used to show a separation from something. In the first case, it still has the meaning of ‘of’, but in the second, it could mean something like ‘from’.
I noticed that scholars have written several articles written about this phrase, and I can only imagine the variety of opinions. This is literally an amazing thing to have such a strong confession so early within a gospel account. (That topic must be saved for another time.)
And perhaps you may differ, but I think that, with this confession being so close to the beginning of the account, and with the progression of the introduction going from the Word being with God, to the Word being God, and then to the Word dwelling with us, I am leaning towards an understanding of the word ‘of’ as a separation. This Lamb of God is the Lamb from God.
Actually, either way, the phrase is an amazing gift. For God to have a lamb seems to be a normal thing; everything really belongs to him! But for that lamb to be a man is a true miracle, and on the basis of that miracle, it looks like more miracles are headed our way.
It is a good thing to connect some parts of the church’s liturgy to the writings of the bible. When someone says the same phrase over and over again, it’s pretty important that those words are not just some words that someone made up quite quickly. As those words point us to the bible, the bible points us to God, and that’s an important place to be.


The phrase ‘Lamb of God’ is in the text for this Sunday. It’s actually in the text twice (John 1:29, 36). It’s a short phrase. It’s also known in Latin (Agnus Dei). And it has a lot in it.
You might think this a bit strange, but I’ve been thinking about the word ‘of’. It’s also a short word. But it’s also an important one.
You might think that this is a bit strange as well, but there are two main divisions of that tiny word. Generally speaking, it can be used to define something, or it can be used to show a separation from something. In the first case, it still has the meaning of ‘of’, but in the second, it could mean something like ‘from’.
I noticed that scholars have written several articles written about this phrase, and I can only imagine the variety of opinions. This is literally an amazing thing to have such a strong confession so early within a gospel account. (That topic must be saved for another time.)
And perhaps you may differ, but I think that, with this confession being so close to the beginning of the account, and with the progression of the introduction going from the Word being with God, to the Word being God, and then to the Word dwelling with us, I am leaning towards an understanding of the word ‘of’ as a separation. This Lamb of God is the Lamb from God.
Actually, either way, the phrase is an amazing gift. For God to have a lamb seems to be a normal thing; everything really belongs to him! But for that lamb to be a man is a true miracle, and on the basis of that miracle, it looks like more miracles are headed our way.