An Honor To Defend The Name Of Jesus

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐉𝐧 𝟐:𝟐𝟗-𝟑:𝟔

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟗𝟖:𝟏, 𝟑-𝟔 “𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟏:𝟐𝟗-𝟑𝟒

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐛 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟗) 

         There are at least three significant points in this Gospel passage for today which brings to the fore not only who Jesus was but this has some bearing on the three different times under which people live

         I, we and others live through three different time zones – the past, present and future and we are given a looksee into the life of Jesus who like us will also go through these three time frames beginning with his baptism by John the Baptist, the revelation of his true identity and what he will become from then on.

        To know the background of Jesus is fairly important as it would provide us with a clearer understanding of our faith since it is only in knowing who Jesus was and is that we can truly believe and love him and appreciate our nature as “𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝! 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐦.” (𝟏 𝐉𝐧 𝟑:𝟏)       

        The first point I’d like to make is when Jesus appeared before John the Baptist at the Jordan River and John cried out: “𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐛 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝” (𝐯.𝟐𝟗). Here we see a progression that links all three points in this passage. Acknowledged as the last of the great prophets, the title used by John in calling Jesus as the Lamb of God was prophetic in a sense because it defines the role of Jesus in the redemption of the world.

         The question that some may raise is how come John called Jesus to be the Lamb of God if he himself “𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐦” (𝐯.𝟑𝟏). Was John thinking of the practice in those days when a lamb was sacrificed each morning and every evening at the Temple for the sins of the people?

         Or was John thinking of Jesus as the Passover Lamb the blood of which delivered the Israelites in Egypt from death and perhaps this was the same thought that ran through the mind of Paul who wrote: “𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐛 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝” (𝟏 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟓:𝟕). To be called the Lamb of God was indeed a tremendous title because of the way the Jews associate the lamb with the practice of their faith.

         It would also have been impossible for John not to know Jesus (𝐯.𝟑𝟏)because they were blood relations. What John meant, however, was not that he didn’t know who Jesus was, but he didn’t know what Jesus was and it was only at that moment when John saw and realized who Jesus really was.

         And this brings us to the second point of this passage. Indeed, John didn’t know who Jesus was but at that moment when he saw Jesus appear at the River Jordan the Holy Spirit provided him with the knowledge as to the real identity of Jesus. And here we see for the first time the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the life of John and Jesus in the form of a dove.

         The Jews refer to the Holy Spirit as the Ruah which means wind and to the Jews the Spirit of God means power and life which is beyond human comprehension and even the Jews believed then that the coming of the Spirit was the coming of God. Even the great prophets defer to the Spirit as coming from God: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬” (𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟔𝟏:𝟏).        

         Many of us may have gone through what are called spasmodic experiences which come with dazzling illumination in the Life in the Spirit Seminar but these moments come and go. When John said in (𝐯.𝟑𝟐) that he saw the Spirit remain on him it meant that the Spirit took up residence in Jesus which also means that the power of God was and has always been in and with Jesus from the beginning of time.

         The third point in this Gospel passage was the use of the word baptize in (𝐯.𝟑𝟑) when John said Jesus will baptize men with the Holy Spirit. Again, what John meant was that Jesus alone can bring the Spirit of God to us that when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, our lives are immersed and filled with the Spirit who takes possession of our nature.

         Hence, this indwelling of the Holy Spirit should illumine, strengthen and purify our lives for it is only by the power of the Spirit that we can do things beyond our human comprehension: “𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡.” (𝐀𝐜 𝟏:𝟖)        

         As with John, our primary task is to testify not for our own self but to stand as witness for Jesus Christ. We are not to draw attention to our own person, but we are to point others to Christ.

         With the uncertainties and upheavals in the environment we are in, the people in the world today as with the Jews in the time of John are looking for someone to provide them security in an unsecure world. Our role as Christian disciples is to point them to Christ and to show that he is the only one who can give us peace and security.

        And we can only do this by the power of the Holy Spirit who makes Christ known to us through the gift of faith because it would be difficult to lead others to know Christ if we have not known him first.

        God fills us with his Spirit so that we may comprehend the great mystery and plan of God to unite all things in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (𝐄𝐩𝐡 𝟏:𝟏𝟎). As the mission of John was to be the herald of Christ, we too are being mobilized to follow after John and point others to Christ.

         As we step into 2026, let us not forget that we are being called to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth in pursuit of our calling as the alter Christus in accord with our faith as baptized Christians.

          To do this, we need to go through the three phases of our lives so that we can respond in faith to the call of Christ and the Church to go out and proclaim the Gospel with joy. We need to leave the past and be reconciled with Our God so that we can live in the present in faith that we have been created in the image and likeness of God, with the hope that like Jesus the gifts of the Holy Spirit will be manifest in our present lives and, look forward to the future that God’s love will bring us to our eternal inheritance.

          Indeed, there never was a time in the history of the only Christian nation in Asia when the Holy Name of Jesus has been so desecrated as today with our social and political environment getting flooded with immoral pieces of legislation and unabated incidence of graft and corruption which has seeped into every corner of the government and the private sector, and it now rests upon our shoulders as disciples of Christ to come to the defense of our Christian Catholic faith. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘑𝘢𝘯. 3, 2026)