1/18/2026
Second Sunday after Epiphany Year A
John 1:29-42
Michael C Mitchell
IS JESUS’ LOVE STRONG ENOUGH
In 2023, the editor of Christianity Today, Russell Moore, wrote an article and did a series of interviews discussing an issue that numerous evangelical ministers began to bring to him. They were saying, that when they preached on the teachings of Jesus ( such as the Sermon on the Mountain in Matthew when Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” Mtt. 5: 43-45 NRSV), parishioners were starting to come to them and complain that Jesus’ teachings were too “woke” and too “weak” to be useful for the Church in today’s world of evil, that His teachings aren’t good enough anymore. I remember hearing this in the news and I got angry. While I was working on today’s sermon now three years later, I realized I was still angry at “those” Christians for abandoning Jesus.
But, Jesus was treated this way when he was on Earth in the First Century as Jewish leaders were looking for the Messiah who would raise a great army, and by force, push out the Romans and establish Israel as the center of God’s Kingdom on Earth. They didn’t like His love message then either.
In today’s Gospel reading, John the Baptist has just baptized Jesus, seen the Holy Spirit land on Jesus, and now proclaims who Jesus is. John says to John’s followers when Jesus walks by the next day, “Look, here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1 v.29 NRSV). John goes on to tell them Jesus existed long before John the Baptist was born and is “The Son of God!” He said he saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus and stay with Jesus. Earlier in this same chapter, the writer of the Gospel of John stated that Jesus is the very “Word of God” who created the whole Universe and all life, including us. So, this is the person walking by in front of them. John calls him the Lamb of God.
How did First Century people relate to Lambs and Sheep? They, first of all, depended on them for food and clothing, and they were of major importance in Jewish religious practice. But, for our purposes today, it’s what First century people knew of the qualities of sheep I want to explore. Sheep are gentle creatures, and communal. The mothers bond closely with their lambs, and family units stay close. Sheep are very intelligent, among the more intelligent animals on the planet. Sheep stay very close to the flock for nurturance, protection and love. Sheep do not seek to conquer or expand their territory. They enjoy being in their grazing space. Early followers of Jesus saw his love, patience, and gentleness and nicknamed him Lamb of God, for they understood these qualities.
Though it was looked for, Jesus did not come with an army. Violence is too weak to make the Kingdom of God on Earth. Violence may feel strong in a moment of fear and terror, but it always fails in the end to create safety or security. Jesus came demonstrating how God’s love works. God’s love heals broken hearts; it creates loving couples and loving marriages; God’s love makes human families. It creates churches and loving community. God’s love gives strength to people who struggle or to people who are afraid or lonely. God’s love encourages people to reach out to each other with helping hands. God’s love forgives unloving people and can transform them with loving kindness. God’s love can help us overcome being mistreated or betrayed. Love holds us in our darkest moments and comforts us. God’s love makes it possible for us to care for each other. This is the power that Jesus marches into the world with and teaches us how to be strong in the face of evil, not with violent intent, but with compassion and care. His central teaching is the commandment he gave us: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength;” and the second commandment is” you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12: 28-34).
I told you earlier that I reacted in anger toward some evangelical Christians who were abandoning Jesus’ teachings as too weak. It’s true that we can become frightened and want to lash out. Jesus warned his followers that that kind of behavior will never work. Only love and forgiveness works toward our enemies.
When was the last time you got scared or angry at people, or wanted to lash out at people whom you believe want to harm you? All I have to do is look at the news, and I’m there. We follow the Lamb of God, who in gentleness and love, takes away sin in our world and seeks to end violence and replace it with community. We gather in our churches because, among other things, learning to love like this requires a group effort. We need each other’s encouragement; we need to feel safe with each other when our faith is failing. We need to hear each other’s experiences being close to God and how it happened. We come here because we want to experience the gentle Lamb of God who is the power of God creating a loving Universe. We bring our pain and suffering and worry and fear and look for reassurance that we are loved and valued. But we also bring the beginnings of faith in God, and a desire to love as Jesus loves. Maybe some of us come here a little bewildered, and probably a little scared, but we learn here how faith works to transform us into real followers of the Lamb of God. God’s love in Jesus created the Universe and all life in it. This love is enough. As Jesus said to John’s disciples who wanted to know what he was about, he said to them and he says to us, “come and see.”
AMEN