. Without this no new and eternal kingdom of God
can be founded.

4. The Baptist pointed to Jesus as "the Lamb of God, that taketh away
the sin of the world." That by this title he meant only to designate
Jesus as a person full of gentleness and innocence is out of the
question. The second clause forbids this. He is the Lamb that takes away
sin. And there is only one way in which a lamb can take away sin, and
that is, by sacrifice. The expression no doubt suggests the picture in
the fifty-third of Isaiah of the servant of Jehovah meekly enduring
wrong. But unless the Baptist had been previously speaking of this
chapter, the thoughts of his disciples would not at once turn to it,
because in that passage it is not a lamb of sacrifice that is spoken of,
but a lamb meekly enduring. In the Baptist's words sacrifice is the
primary idea, and it is needless to discuss whether he was thinking of
the paschal lamb or the lamb of morning and evening sacrifice, because
he merely used the lamb as the representative of sacrifice generally.
Here, he says, is the reality to which all sacrifice has pointed, the
Lamb of God.

5. The Baptist proclaims Jesus as "the Son of God." That he should do so
need not greatly surprise us, as we read in the other Gospels that Jesus
had been thus designated by a voice from heaven at His baptism. Very
early in His ministry, not only His disciples, but also the demoniacs
ascribe to Him the same dignity. In one sense or other He was designated
"Son of God." No doubt we must bear in mind that this was in a rigidly
monotheistic community, and in a community in which the same title had
been freely applied to Israel and to Israel's king to designate a
certain alliance and close relation subsisting between the human and the
Divine, but of course not suggesting metaphysical unity. But considering
the high functions which clustered round the Messianic dignity, it is
not unlikely that the Messiah's forerunner may have supposed that a
fuller meaning than had yet been recognised might be latent in this
title. Certainly we are safe in affirming that by applying this title to
our Lord, the Baptist intended to indicate His unique personality, and
to declare that He was the Messiah, God's Viceroy on earth.

Whether we can add to this testimony the thoughts contained in the
closing paragraph of the third chapter may be doubted. The thought of
the passage moves within the circle of ideas familiar to the Baptist;
and t