Gospel: St John the Baptist Publicly Recognizes Jesus as Lamb of God

Today is the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, and the Gospel reading will be taken from the narrative of St John (tap here for the complete Mass readings from USCCB).

Although the liturgical season of Ordinary Time has already begun, today's reading continues with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord (which concludes the Christmas season). Today's reading from the Gospel according to St John immediately follows St John the Baptist's testimony about Jesus and his identification of Jesus as Lamb of God. Having been baptized by St John the Baptist, Jesus begins to gather some followers. The first followers sought out Jesus because of the testimony and witness of St John the Baptist.

We are familiar with the title that St John the Baptist uses for Jesus -- Lamb of God. We hear it weekly at the fraction rite during Mass. For those who heard St John the Baptist, however, this title recalled key themes from the Old Testament. It alludes to the paschal lamb offered as a sacrifice when God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, the event that is commemorated by the Jewish Passover celebration. The designation also recalls the prophet Isaiah's description of the suffering servant of Israel. In using this name for Jesus, St John the Baptist predicts Jesus' passion and death and the new interpretation of Passover that will begin in Jesus's Last Supper.

We learn in today's reading how Jesus's first followers gathered. The first two, St Andrew and another man, were followers of St John the Baptist. After hearing the testimoy about the Lamb of God, they became followers of Jesus. During their time with him, the details of which are not specified, St Andrew and the other follower came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. St Andrew then brings his brother, Simon (St Peter), to Jesus. Immediately, Jesus gave Simon a new name, calling him "Peter," which means "rock" in Greek. The renaming of Simon to Peter is reported in all four of the Gospels.

In exchange between St Andrew, the other disciple, and Jesus, we see an example of the usual pattern for first-century usual rabbinical schools. Jews sought out rabbis and established themselves as desciples of a particular rabbi. Jesus appears to have been unique in that he sought out individuals, inviting them to be his followers. In the passage that follows, St John's Gospel tells us how Jesus took the initiative in calling St Philip and St Bartholomew (Nathaniel).

Jesus asks St Andrew and the other disciple, "What are you looking for?" This is a telling question, and one that we might often ask ourselves. St John the Baptist testified to Jesus's identity, the Lamb of God, using the framework of the Old Testament. St Andrew, St Peter, and the other first disciples were looking for the Messiah, whom they also came to know as the Son of God. What do we look for and what do we find in Jesus?

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The Gospel is sponsored by Valentino.