The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
About this verse Candy writes: "verse 29 Jesus takes away the sins of anyone who will let Him. There is nothing else one must do to be saved. Jesus paid it all. Jesus is our perfect sacrificial Lamb, whose sacrifice pays for ALL of our sins."
And theden at VTC responds: "I think where Candy messes up is that she says that there is "nothing else one must do to be saved."It doesn't say that in the text (or in Scripture). We must participate in our salvation (through the grace of God.)"
Huh? Let me rephrase verse 29. Q: Who takes away the sin of the world? A: The Lamb of God.
It's not about what we do or don't do, it is about what HE did. He took away the sin of the world. Period.
Rewind to verses 12 & 13:
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
From the Concordia Study Bible: "1:12 Membership in God's family is by grace alone-the gift of God....It is never a human achievement, as v. 13 emphasizes."
Today's Vocabulary Lesson: (thanks to dictionary.com)
eisegesis - an interpretation, esp. of Scripture, that expresses the interpreter's own ideas, bias, or the like, rather than the meaning of the text.
I am really looking forward to chapter 6. :)
6 comments:
Well, my guess at theden's guess at Candy's interpretation is that theden meant you can't just accept Jesus and then sit back content that you've got your name down for one 1st class ticket to heaven.
Candy has already interpreted John 6 in a previous Q & A. Look through the VtoC archives in October 2007.
Kelly
I see a problem with the very first sentence: "Jesus takes away the sins of anyone who will let Him." Um, no. The text is clear - the sin of the world. You are correct, this is a clear case of eisegesis.
Yes!! And this is where the two sides agree. By letting Jesus take away one's sins (if such a thing were possible) one would participate in one's own salvation. Logically, only a faithful person would "let" Jesus take away his sins, therefore it would be an act of faith (cooperating with grace).
Candy says,"There is nothing else one must do to be saved. Jesus paid it all." But it should be: "There is nothing one must do to be saved. Jesus paid it all."
BTW, Agnus Dei is one of my favorite parts of the Lutheran liturgy. :-)
Thanks, Kelly,
I forgot all about the October post. I even wrote a reply to it. (duh)
Oh, me too! But I prefer the "old" Agnus Dei from TLH (it is also now in LSB) over the "new" one in LW. "Oh, Christ Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us!"
Our church will be switching to the LSB this year. Hopefully we'll use the old red book service from time to time. I am sure many of the older members would enjoy it (including me).
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