John 1: 29 - 42

On 16 January at TFG we looked together at John 1 verses 29 to 42.

I commented that with the Fourth Gospel you almost need to be a detective to get to the heart of what John is saying, and even then of course because of the great cultural differences between first century Palestine and twenty-first century Britain some of the meaning may still escape us. That doesn't mean that we should give up, though! I wondered whether the mention of time – the next day, the next day, about four o'clock in the afternoon, was simply a passion for accurate recording on John's part, or whether, as so often in this gospel it's almost as if he's playing a little game with us – why am I writing this?

As to “the next day” is it John reminding us that time us short and that we too, like the people in this extract have to decide whether we want to “come and see” and then follow the Lamb of God? And four o'clock in the afternoon? An unimportant detail or a reminder that that's the end of daylight, and dark is coming and we have to decide whether to stay in the light of Christ, or like Judas, live in the dark?

The main themes of these verses are the titles applied to Jesus, e g Messiah, Rabbi, and above all Lamb of God – lambs having deep significance for the Jews (above all at Passover) and witnessing – John the Baptist, Andrew, all pointing to Jesus. Questions: what titles can we apply to Jesus that will resonate with our own generation, and how do we witness effectively to Jesus in a broken world that, though it refuses to recognise this, stands in desperate need of his message of reconciling love?

EDWARD BRYANT