take away the sin of the world

That Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world stands as a key concept in Christianity. During the season of Lent, we begin the period of preparation for celebrating the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus at Easter. At this time, we focus on sacrifice and repentance to prepare ourselves to receive with Christ the gifts offered to us in his Resurrection.

In the Gospel According to John 1:29 (NABRE), John says of Jesus: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” is a line we repeat in the Mass. In English, however, it’s easy to misunderstand what John is writing. When we think of taking something away, we easily can think about it just being gone or not around any more. The Greek αἴρω (hairo), by contrast, means “to take up or to carry.” Jesus is removing our sins from us by taking them upon himself.

How does this distinction change the way you think about your sins?

you also may like our study of the Gospel According to John
The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, a 25-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines the Fourth Gospel’s view of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with special emphasis on the institution of the sacraments of the Church as the means by which Christians are purified and made holy. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary, and takes a closer look at the way in which Jesus relates to individual men and women. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.

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