These words are also an example of an Epiphany, a word meaning appearance or manifestation from the Greek words meaning "to shine upon". We ascribe the label "Epiphany" on the feast on which we remember the visit of the magi to the baby Jesus but there are actually many "epiphanies" in the Gospels, occasions in which it is being made manifest that Jesus is the Son of God. The Baptism of the Lord, the many miracles of Jesus, the events occurring around the death of Jesus and his resurrection and ascension are all epiphanies.

But what does John mean when he describes Jesus as the "Lamb of God"? Today, we see lambs as cute barnyard animals that we like to see in petting zoos. In Jesus’ agrarian/pastoral society, lambs represented food and shelter and sacrifice; their wool being used for clothing, blankets and tents and their flesh as food. Even their skins were used as parchment and for carrying water or wine. Lambs represented the wealth of a family or community and as such, were proper sacrificial offerings to God. The sacrificial Lamb of God was especially important during the time of Passover when thousands would be sacrificed at the Temple of Jerusalem for the seder meal, the blood sprinkled on the altar and smeared on the lintel of the door as a sign of the Covenant of the Jewish people with God. Jesus is singled out as the Lamb of God whose sacrifice will be a sign of the New Covenant for all who believe in his. In this New Covenant, we are identified as children of God, washed and signed in his blood and for whom he sacrificed himself on the cross. Like John the Baptist, Andrew and Peter, we point to Jesus as Messiah by the way in which we live our lives.