the sacrifice of a lamb
could not carry away the people’s sin,
however much they tried.
It was not strong enough
to smash the weight of it, nothing was.
And then Jesus came,
who was led meekly but not weakly
to the cross,
for he knew that in his quiet death,
he would lift the weight
of an entire world of sin,
lift it as an anchor from the sea floor,
and allow his precious world
to b r e a t h e
for the first time,
without the weight of sin.
‘Look! There he is—God’s Lamb! He takes away the sin of the entire world!’
John 1:29
Footnote to ‘takes away’ in The Passion translation: Or “lift off” (the burden). The Greek word used here is often used for “lifting up and away” an anchor from off the ocean floor.
elisabeth pike 