In today’s Gospel we see John the Baptist acknowledge Jesus as the ‘lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Here we see the scripture passage that is the basis of one of the prayers we use just before receiving Holy Communion — Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb. The response to it is another scripture reference when the centurion whose daughter is sick says to Jesus that he is not worthy to have Jesus ‘enter under his roof’. It is a great example of how the texts that we use for prayers in the liturgy are rooted in scripture linking us with the early church and showing that our expression of our faith goes back a long way.
For John the Baptist Jesus is the one who will baptise with the Spirit and he is the one who has seen and who bears witness that Jesus is the Chosen One of God.