"Behold, the Lamb of God..." - John 1:29 and 36
"He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which means Christ)." - John 1:41
I was intrigued at first by John the Baptist's reaction to seeing Jesus. I imagine he was walking through town with a crowd of disciples when they saw Jesus buying pears or something. John, known by all for being dramatic and eccentric, stops in his tracks and with wide eyes, points to Jesus. "There he is," he shouts with joy. "The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" He is nearly in tears from the excitement. The savior stands before him, the one not only he preaches about, but the ENTIRE Old Testament foretells of. The existence of man, of all creation, culminates in the body of this son of a carpenter buying pears. John just can't help himself, he's so giddy with the good news living among them in the flesh. He turns to his disciples, he jumps up and down to get the attention of the townspeople. "Don't you get it? This is the one I've been telling you about! The one to come and save us all! He's here, that's him!"
This seems to be the regular reaction of John to Jesus' presence. Even in the womb, he danced and kicked when Mary, pregnant with the Christ, came to visit his mother. The Holy Spirit in him knew exactly who Jesus was, understood the weight of that truth, and it was overwhelmingly good. John couldn't help but have a little party every time he saw Jesus or spoke of him. It came across as craziness sometimes, most of the time, but he didn't care because... well, Jesus was there - all was right with the world!
How do we respond to the Christ approaching? He comes to mind, in conversation, we see him appear in miracles, and we see him in brothers and sister around us. What do we do with this then? Do we get excited, near insanity, as did John the Baptist? First, I fear we do not recognize the Christ today, even when he stands before us. Second, I fear we do not know in our hearts how to respond when we do know him. Yet, we have a priceless example right here in scripture. He saved the world, he is saving the world. His goodness and power - HE - is greater than anything else we can fathom. He is King, Creator, Father! It is because of him that we can even get excited in the first place - he is the reason we even exist, and the reason we continue to exist. Upon encountering him, as we can every day if we pay attention, we should naturally praise and proclaim him with joy unbelievable! "There he is, the Lamb of God!"
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