Paper #4, Theo 64103, “Lamb of God” by
Hugh O’Donnell, November 29, 2005
John’s Gospel has Jesus replacing the
Jewish temple, it feasts, and its cultic objects.
Professor Neyrey says a major theme in
John is Jesus replacing the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Neyrey also sees John replacing the water
(rain) of Tabernacles with Jesus as the drink of eternal life (4:14, 7:38) and the
sunlight of Tabernacles with Jesus as the light of the world (1:8,8:12, 9:5).
Another central replacement theme in John is Jesus replacing Passover. Exactly in what sense does John portray Jesus
as Passover replacement? Does John see Jesus replacing the Paschal lamb more
than the Passover meal?
When John the Baptist referred to Jesus
as the “Lamb of God” twice to start John’s Gospel (1:29, 1:36), was the
author giving us an opening indication a major theme would be Jesus replacing
the Jewish Passover lamb? It was Jewish
custom to sacrifice the Passover lamb on the 14th day of Nisan, the
Day of Preparation for Passover, and then eat the Passover meal at sundown on
the 15th of Nisan. Did Jesus
merely replace the Passover meal with Eucharist as some who read the synoptics
commonly think or was Jesus more uniquely replacing the Passover lamb, the
Paschal Lamb of Moses’ Exodus?
In addition to replacing Jewish feasts,
John’s Gospel has Jesus replacing Jewish Prophets associated with these feasts.
Jesus replaces Abraham (8:58), Jacob (4:12, the Good
Shepherd David (8:42) as well as
Moses (5:46). Jesus is
what all these people point toward. In
the case of the prophet Moses, Jesus replaces Moses’ Paschal lamb and he
replaces other Exodus nourishments such as bread (Manna), water, and wine with
the spiritual nourishment of his own flesh and blood (6:48-58).
John’s gospel depicts Jesus celebrating
3 Passovers during his public life (2:13, 6:4,
13:1). The synoptics describe only one
Passover. John tells us Jesus had his
last supper with them before Passover (13:1) and that he died on the Day of
Preparation for Passover (19:14). The synoptics tells us Jesus had Passover
supper (Mt 26:17, Mk 14:12, Lk 22:8) and
died on the Day of Preparation for Sabbath (Mt 27:62, Mk 15:42, Lk 23:54). Was there a difference explaining the lamb
emphasis of John?
Robert Cronin
suggests that in the year Jesus died (31AD), Wednesday (14th Nisan) was
Day of Preparation for Passover (19:31), Thursday
was High Day Sabbath, Friday was Day of Preparation for Sabbath, and Saturday
was Sabbath. According to Cronin, Jesus
was in the tomb three nights and three days more closely matching scripture (Mt
12:40) in that
Jesus was to spend three days and three nights in a tomb, like Jonah. Now there
were two Sabbaths that week. The first Sabbath, the one immediately after
Jesus’ death Wednesday, was a High Day, that is, an annual Holy Day, the First
Day of Unleavened Bread. It was not the
weekly Sabbath. Asking Pilate to break
legs before this Sabbath (19:31) is ironic
reference to Jesus as Paschal Lamb; a lamb which was not to have any bones
broken (19:33).
Interestingly, 3 of the 7 main miracles
(Neyrey)
in Chapters 1-11 of John occur near Passover.
The first was the wedding feast of Cana where Jesus
made water wine while Passover was at hand (2:13). The second was the multiplication of loaves
performed while another Passover was at hand (6:4). The third was Jesus walking
on water during the same Passover as the multiplication of loaves (6:19).
In Chapter 2 of John’s gospel, while
the Passover of the Cana wedding was still at hand, Jesus goes to Jerusalem taking
a hand whip to the worship items in the temple (2:17). Destroy this temple and in three days I will
raise it up (2:19). The temple of Jesus’ body
replaces the Jerusalem temple. Next,
Jesus reminds Nicodemus in Chapter 3 that he must be lifted up like Moses’ Exodus
serpent for eternal life to be possible (3:14,15). In Chapter 4, Jesus tells the Samaritan women,
he provides the drink that wells up eternal life (4:14). He replaces her mountain worship place and Jerusalem temple
worship with worship to the Father in spirit and truth (4:21). Jesus goes on to reminds his disciples he has a
powerful replacement for food which they do not know (4:32). Then
Jesus goes back again to Cana, where he replaced
water with wine, and gives life to the son of an official (4:46). In Chapter
5, disregarding the Sabbath (5:9), Jesus
replaces the water by the Sheep’s Gate pool giving new life to a man (5:2-9)
and then reminds the Jews he replaces John of Baptist (5:36), the one who
identified him as Lamb of God (1:29,36).
John ends Chapter 5 clearly telling the Jews he replaces Moses (5:46).
Chapter 6 begins as Jesus’ second
Passover is near (6:4). Now Jewish Passover centers on a celebratory meal
marking Moses’ freedom from Exile in Egypt. During Moses’ Exodus, a lamb was killed and
blood from the lamb smeared on the gates of Jewish homes protecting them from
dark death as they ate a final meal of wine (mixed with water) and unleavened
bread. It’s interesting that the miracle
at Cana is like water
mixing to wine. Chapter 6’s miracle of
loaves (6:11) and miracle
of walking on water (6:19) is like
Exodus manna (6:49) and the
miraculous escape of the Jews from slavery in Egypt when they “walked”
across the parted waters of the Red Sea.
Chapter 7 opens with the Jews trying to
kill the Paschal Lamb, Jesus, during the feast of Tabernacles. Here Jesus tries to replace Moses’ law (7:33). In Chapter 8, a bookend to the same
Tabernacle feast of Chapter 7, the Jews
again try to kill Jesus for replacing Abraham (8:56-59).
So it comes as no surprise in Chapter 19
to see Jesus sacrificed during the third mentioned Passover feast. John
describes the sacrifice of Jesus’ body on the cross occurring on the Day of
Preparation for Passover (19:14); the same day Jews kill the paschal lamb in preparation
for the Passover meal the next day. As
Jesus dies, blood and water pour from Jesus’ side (19:34). And just like the paschal lamb, not a bone
was broken (19:36). Moses,
the prophet who gained physical freedom and life for the Israelites with water,
from the side of a rock, and manna, like rain from heaven, is replaced by Jesus
who gives up his flesh and blood so we can gain spiritual freedom and eternal
life. Jesus’ blood covers our sheep gate
protecting us from scatter (16:32) by the evil one
(17:15) and by those
that would steal our life (10:10).
Jesus indeed is spiritual replacement
for the physical nourishment of Passover.
Drink my Passover blood and eat my flesh and you will have spiritual
freedom and eternal life (6:49). Jesus is indeed the Paschal Lamb, mentioned
twice by John the Baptist (1:29, 1:36), out of whose heart flows rivers of living water (7:38) so we might
have freedom from slavery and the darkness of this world (17:12, 17:15). Jesus is truly the life saving sunlight and
spiritual rain celebrated in Tabernacles.
Jesus is also the Passover
Lamb. He replaces much more than a
Passover meal. Jesus is the ironic Lamb
of God who brokers our exodus from the hate of this world (15:18-19) provided we remain in the vine (15:5)
marked with his blood. The custom of
celebrating Passover as a Jewish remembrance
meal is now a celebration of Jesus’ Hour
(13:1); The Hour in which the “Lamb” is
really the Good Shepherd voluntarily
laying down his life for his sheep (10:11, 18).
We celebrate “The Hour” Jesus sacrificed his body in Jerusalem to purify (11:55) us, the real
lambs, who otherwise would be led to slaughter. It is no longer important which “Day” during Passover
week this “Hour” took place.