The Lamb
The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look—the one who takes away the world’s sin! He’s the one I told you about, the one coming after me who is greater than I am, because he existed before me. I didn’t fully know him before, but God sent me to baptize with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
John also testified, “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and rest on him. I didn’t know him at first, but God told me, ‘The one you see the Spirit resting on—that is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen this happen, and I testify that he is God’s chosen Messiah.”
Behold the Lamb, Not the Strongman
John the Baptist stands waist-deep in the Jordan, soaked in dust and repentance, when history bends toward him. He does not point to himself. He does not crown a ruler. He does not flatter the crowd. He points—and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
Not the lion of empire.
Not the builder of towers.
Not the strongman who promises order through fear.
The Lamb.
The Lamb Draws A Line Through History
John’s proclamation is a line drawn through history. It separates true divinity from counterfeit power. It exposes every attempt—ancient or modern—to confuse domination with God.
John declares, “A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.” This is not a campaign slogan. This is not nostalgia. This is a confession of preexistent divinity.
Christ does not emerge from the will of the crowd. He is not lifted by polls, protected by courts, or sustained by spectacle. Christ is—before nations, before borders, before flags learned to demand allegiance.
Trump claims greatness by conquest, humiliation, and threat.
Christ claims nothing—and yet holds everything.
How the Spirit Reveals the Lamb
John admits twice, “I did not know him.” He does not recognize Jesus by proximity to power or usefulness to the state. He recognizes him only when the Spirit descends and remains.
And the Spirit does not descend on cruelty.
The Spirit does not remain where the poor are treated as enemies, where protest is met with force, where cities are spoken of as problems to be subdued rather than communities to be healed.
Minneapolis and the Cry That Exposed Empire
This brings us to Minneapolis.
Minneapolis has become a symbol—not because of chaos, but because it dared to cry out. It dared to name death. It dared to refuse silence.
And what has Trump done with Minneapolis? He has treated it not as a wound to be bound, but as a threat to be crushed. He has spoken of it as something to be dominated, occupied, disciplined—rather than mourned, listened to, or loved.
This is not accidental. This is how false gods respond to lament.
The Theology of Donald Trump
When people cry out for justice, the strongman reaches for force. When communities expose violence, the idol demands loyalty. When truth disrupts the myth of order, the empire sharpens its sword.
But John tells us what the Spirit-marked Christ will do: “He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.”
What Holy Spirit Baptism Is Not
Not with tear gas.
Not with troops.
Not with threats of punishment for dissent.
Holy Spirit baptism does not create submission—it creates transformation. It does not silence pain—it gives it voice. It does not protect systems of death—it dismantles them.
Pharaoh’s Logic, Caesar’s Theology, Trump’s Logic
Trump’s vision for Minneapolis—and for any city that resists him—is a vision of control. Control of bodies. Control of streets. Control of narrative. Control of fear.
That is not divine authority. That is Pharaoh’s logic. That is Caesar’s theology.
The Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world. He does not deny it. He does not exploit it. He does not punish the wounded for bleeding in public.
Christ moves toward the places where blood cries out from the ground.
What The Lamb’s Baptism Was/Is For
John says, “The reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” Not so that the nation might appear righteous. Not so that power might be preserved. But so that God’s true character might be revealed.
And God’s character is not revealed through domination.
The Idolatry of Trump
When Trump speaks of Minneapolis as a problem to be solved by force, he reveals not strength but fear. When he frames protest as treason and suffering as disorder, he reveals not leadership but idolatry. When churches bless this posture, they betray the Jordan and kneel at the throne of empire.
Let Us Be Clear
There is no divinity in punishing the poor.
There is no holiness in threatening cities.
There is no Christ in baptizing violence with religious language.
The Spirit Rests on the Slain Lamb
John says, “On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one.” The Spirit remains on the Lamb who will be slain—not on the ruler who demands others be sacrificed to preserve his image of order.
Trump demands loyalty. Christ demands repentance.
Trump promises security through force. Christ offers freedom through love.
Trump punishes dissent. Christ is crucified by it.
The Final Testimony of The Lamb
And John’s final testimony rings like a hammer against every false messiah: “Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
Not the son of America.
Not the savior of whiteness.
Not the embodiment of law-and-order mythology.
The Son of God.
The Church’s Choice: The Lamb or The Trump
The church does not exist to stabilize the strongman. The church exists to bear witness to the Lamb.
When Minneapolis cries out, the church must not echo threats—it must echo God’s grief. When power reaches for weapons, the church must reach for truth. When empire calls violence “peace,” the church must say no.
Behold The Lamb—and Reject The Trump
So today, like John, we point.
We point away from the false divinity of Trump.
We point away from the worship of force.
We point away from the fear that calls itself order.
Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
And reject every idol that demands blood instead of repentance, silence instead of justice, and power instead of love.
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