There is (Moffatt, New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible “look, there is”; Goodspeed “there is”) represents a formula (Greek ide) used several times in the Gospel of John in this same sense (1.36,47; 19.26,27). The force of this expression is to focus attention on the person referred to and to follow with some description of that person.
Both the background and the precise meaning of the phrase the Lamb of God are difficult. These difficulties are compounded by the fact that scholars disagree as to whether the statement is intended to reflect the theology of John the Baptist or of John, the author of the Gospel. If this phrase is to be taken purely in the light of the thought of John the Baptist, then the best background seems to be the victorious lamb of Jewish apocalyptic, who would come and destroy the evil powers on the earth (see, for example, Rev 17.14). This picture is in harmony with the preaching of John the Baptist, as it is reflected in the other Gospels. Accordingly, the verb rendered takes away (so also New English Bible, Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible, Phillips “will take away”; Moffatt, Goodspeed “remove”) must be understood in the sense of “to do away with” (the meaning which this same verb appears to have in 1 John 3.5).
On the other hand, if one sees in this passage the reflection of Johannine theology, then the reference may be to the Passover lamb. According to John’s Gospel, Jesus was crucified at the same time that the Passover lambs were being put to death in the Temple (19.14). The fact that the soldiers did not break Jesus’ legs (19.33) is understood to be the fulfillment of Exodus 12.46, which prescribes that no bones of the Passover lamb should be broken (19.36). Originally, the Passover lamb was not looked upon as a sacrifice, but since the priests had taken over the responsibility of killing the lambs, it is probable that in New Testament times many people would look on it as a kind of sacrifice. Although the Passover lamb was not looked upon as a sin offering in Judaism, it is easy to see why Christians would view it this way, on the basis of their understanding of Christ’s death. If one understands the Lamb of God on the basis of Johannine theology, rather than on the basis of what seems to have been the thought of John the Baptist, the meaning would be something like “the lamb that God provides to forgive the sin of the world.” The decision between these two possibilities is not an easy one to make, but most commentators lean toward the second view.
In the present passage, as in most places in the Gospel, John refers to sin in the singular, and so the focus is on the sinful condition of the world, rather than on particular sinful deeds. For the singular see 1.29; [8.3]; 8.21,34 (twice), 46; 9.41 (twice); 15,22,24; 16.8,9; 19.11; the plural occurs only three times, twice in the same structure in 8.24 and once in 9.34.
As already indicated, one may interpret who takes away the sin of the world as a reference to the destruction of evil powers on the earth. Therefore an appropriate rendering might be “who destroys the evil in the world.” However, it seems preferable to translate this expression in accordance with Johannine theology, for example, “who causes the sin of the world to be forgiven.” In some languages one can use a singular for “sin” in the sense of “sinful condition” or “sin as a principle of behavior.” In other languages it is not possible, and therefore a plural must be used. Otherwise the readers might think that the function of the Lamb of God was merely to remove one single misdeed. If it is necessary to use an active relation in the verb “to forgive,” one can say “the Lamb by which God forgives the sin of the world” or “the Lamb by which God shows that he forgives the sins of the people in the world,” or “the Lamb who forgives sinners.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .