1:29 {13} The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold {n} the Lamb of God, which {o} taketh away the {p} sin of the world.
(13) The body and truth of all the sacrifices of the law, to make satisfaction for the sin of the world, is Christ.
(n) This word the which is added has great force in it, not only to set forth the worthiness of Christ, and so to separate him for the lamb which was a symbol of him, and from all other sacrifices of the law, but also to remind us of the prophecies of Isaiah and others.
(o) This word is in the present tense, and signifies a continuous act, for the Lamb rightfully has this power both now and forever to take away the sins of the world.
(p) That is, that root of sins, namely, our corruption, and so consequently the fruits of sins, which are commonly called in the plural number, sins.
1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus. Here Jesus first appears, in person, in John's account, who omits all the details given by Matthew and Luke of his earlier life. He was now thirty years old, and came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John. This interview was after the baptism (Joh 1:33), and probably after the Temptation.
Behold the Lamb of God. Innocent like the lamb, to be offered as a lamb, led as a lamb to the slaughter (Isa 53:7). The lamb was commonly used as a sin offering (Le 4:32), and when John points to Jesus as the Lamb of God he can only mean that God had provided him as a sacrificial offering.
The sin of the world. Not of Jews only, but of Gentiles. John points to Jesus as the world's Savior.
1:29 He seeth Jesus coming and saith, Behold the Lamb - Innocent; to be offered up; prophesied of by Isaiah, Isa 53:7, typified by the paschal lamb, and by the daily sacrifice: The Lamb of God - Whom God gave, approves, accepts of; who taketh away - Atoneth for; the sin - That is, all the sins: of the world - Of all mankind. Sin and the world are of equal extent.
1:29-36 John saw Jesus coming to him, and pointed him out as the Lamb of God. The paschal lamb, in the shedding and sprinkling of its blood, the roasting and eating of its flesh, and all the other circumstances of the ordinance, represented the salvation of sinners by faith in Christ. And the lambs sacrificed every morning and evening, can only refer to Christ slain as a sacrifice to redeem us to God by his blood. John came as a preacher of repentance, yet he told his followers that they were to look for the pardon of their sins to Jesus only, and to his death. It agrees with God's glory to pardon all who depend on the atoning sacrifice of Christ. He takes away the sin of the world; purchases pardon for all that repent and believe the gospel. This encourages our faith; if Christ takes away the sin of the world, then why not my sin? He bore sin for us, and so bears it from us. God could have taken away sin, by taking away the sinner, as he took away the sin of the old world; but here is a way of doing away sin, yet sparing the sinner, by making his Son sin, that is, a sin-offering, for us. See Jesus taking away sin, and let that cause hatred of sin, and resolutions against it. Let us not hold that fast, which the Lamb of God came to take away. To confirm his testimony concerning Christ, John declares the appearance at his baptism, in which God himself bore witness to him. He saw and bare record that he is the Son of God. This is the end and object of John's testimony, that Jesus was the promised Messiah. John took every opportunity that offered to lead people to Christ.
