Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them,

whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he.

Hey listeners, this is Nick from Scripture Central, and today's podcast addresses the question,

How does the Gospel of John reflect the Day of Atonement?

Many scholars have recognized within the Gospel of John deep connections to the temple and its rituals.

The emphasis throughout John's Gospel account depicts the way we can return to God's presence.

Thus, in several ways, John draws upon imagery of the main temple feast of ancient Israel

that celebrated and enabled this return to God's presence, the Day of Atonement.

Rabbinic writings have helped us understand how the Day of Atonement rights were practiced in the Second Temple period,

building upon how the Old Testament rights were initially performed.

These Jewish texts have likewise been helpful in understanding how Jesus and his immediate disciples

would have understood the Day of Atonement, and the Gospel of John appears to reflect many

of these themes.

Jackson and Pau has recently observed how this sacred feast is portrayed in the Gospel of John

throughout the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, primarily with four themes.

The first image that John employs in his gospel involves the declaration of John the Baptist,

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

While the image of Jesus as a lamb has clear connections to the springtime Passover sacrifice,

especially near the end of his life, scholars have noted that the paschal lamb has no

role in remitting sins. Rather, the only sacrificial animal that was understood to remit sins

were those offered on the Day of Atonement. Thus, Abhow notes that while Jesus is clearly connected

with the pascal lamb in other places in the Johanine narrative, the broader

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