Q. John the Baptist called Jesus “The Lamb of God” when he first introduced Him to his own disciples (Jn 1:29), which seems to be important as he repeated it again the next day (Jn 1:36-37). Except for a clause in the prophetic Book of Isaiah of a suffering Messiah (Isa 53:7), this was not a popular concept then. However, they seemed to immediately follow Jesus the next day. But when they spread the news to other disciples, Nathaniel appeared to expect a powerful Messiah instead of a suffering one (Jn 1:46). This is more logical as viewed from their expectation later in their walk with the Lord. So the question is:
(a) Why did John the Baptist introduce Jesus as “The Lamb of God” to his disciples? What was on his mind?
(b) How did his disciples understand this term? Were they expecting a suffering Messiah or a powerful one?
John the Baptist did not say why he called Jesus “the Lamb of God,” so commentators have speculated since then. The full title “the Lamb of God” appears only twice in the NT, both from John himself:
- Jn 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
- Jn 1:36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
However, John the Apostle addressed Jesus by the abbreviated title “the Lamb” 27 times in Revelation, three times specifying that He was slain:
- Rev 5:6 And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
- Rev 5:12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”
- Rev 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.
This is significant with OT prophecies.
OT prophesy on the suffering Messiah referenced that He was like a lamb led to the slaughter:
- Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. This is the passage the Ethiopian eunuch was reading in Acts 8:32.
- Jer 11:19 But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; And I did not know that they had devised plots against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, And let us cut him off from the land of the living, That his name be remembered no more.”
While the title “the Lamb” was not common during Jesus’ days, the lamb offered in sacrifices, and the Passover lamb was well-known:
- Lev 4:35 Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar, on the offerings by fire to the Lord. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven.
- Ex 12:21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb.
This would be familiar to John the Baptist whose father Zacharias was a priest (Lk 1:5).
Based on the evidence available – the Lamb taking away the sin of the world, and that He was slain and led to slaughter – I believe John the Baptist was thinking of the sacrificial lamb when he called Jesus “the Lamb of God.” He was not referring to the “meekness and gentleness of Christ” (2 Co 10:1), like a lamb, as some commentators suggested.
Regarding your second question, “how did his disciples understand this term?” whose disciples were you referring to? John’s or the Lord’s? The Bible was silent on how well either party understood this title. You noted Nathaniel’s reaction at the beginning of His ministry:
- Jn 1:46a Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
They misunderstood a lot of things throughout His ministry, e.g.
- Mt 16:11 How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Also Mk 8:17, 21)
- Mk 9:32 But they did not understand this statement [His death and resurrection], and they were afraid to ask Him. (Also Lk 9:45)
- John 12:16 These things His disciples did not understand [His triumphal entry] at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him and that they had done these things to Him.
- John 20:9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
Even after His death, some disciples did not understand His mission:
- Lk 24:21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.
- Acts 1:6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
So, my opinion is that neither the disciples of John nor the Lord understood John calling Him “the Lamb of God” early on. They were expecting a military deliverer, not a spiritual one. The correct understanding came only after Pentecost.
RayKLiu 