Spiritual Baptism

Mark 1:4-11

For 1/8/2012

All Scriptures are from The Message Version
It is helpful to use this blog as a discussion starter for two or more people but it will also stimulate some thoughts if used by one reader. The material is used by a Sunday Study Group at Hamilton Christian Church in St. Louis, Missouri. Commentaries for Mark 1:4-11 can be found on Textweek.com through this link http://www.textweek.com/mkjnacts/mark1b.htm.

This Sunday’s liturgical calendar focuses our attention on Jesus’ baptism which is recorded in all four gospels and is the opening event in both Mark and John. There are many things we can learn about Jesus and baptism as well as taking time to reflect upon our own. Let us take a look at Mark’s version of the story which using the names of rulers in Luke’s Gospel place the event in 28 or 29 CE. The focus is on John the Baptizer who it is clear made an impact on the events of his time. The following background of John's impact is taken from Wikipedia:

In the Gospel accounts of John's death, Herod has John imprisoned for denouncing his marriage, and John is later executed by beheading. John condemned Herod for marrying Herodias, the former wife of his brother Philip, in violation of Old Testament Law. Later Herodias's daughter Salome dances before Herod, who offers her a favour in return. Herodias tells her to ask for the head of John the Baptist, which is delivered to her on a plate (Mark 6:14-29).
The first-century Jewish historian Josephus gives a slightly different account in his Antiquities of the Jews. Josephus writes that Herod had John arrested because John had so many followers that Herod feared they might begin a rebellion. Herod later had him executed (Ant. 18.116-118). It is possible that both accounts are true. Josephus writes about John's death in a section detailing some of Herod's political dealings. Herod regarded John as a threat, he spoke against Herod and had many followers, so Herod wanted to get rid of him. The Gospels recall the teaching of John, that he called for Israel to purify herself through baptism (Matthew 3:1-12). So the Gospels' description of John's death focuses on the final reason Herod had for arresting John, which was religious. So it may have been that Herod wanted John arrested because he was a political threat, and John's condemnations of Herod's marriage was "the final straw". See James D.G. Dunn, Jesus Remembered pp377–379.[2]

Let is begin the story with this account from Mark's Gospel:

Mark 1:4-6 John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life. John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild field honey.


• What picture does Mark give us of John, how do you envision him, what is his appearance and manner of speaking, is he charismatic, tall or short?
• What was the response to his offer of baptism? What does the response say about John and the people?
• What was the purpose of the baptism John was performing? Wikipedia is one source for some background on Jewish purification rites using water:

Although the term "baptism" is not used to describe the Jewish rituals, the purification rites (or mikvah - ritual immersion) in Jewish laws and tradition have some similarity to baptism, and the two have been linked[10] although their relationship is disputed. In the Jewish Bible and other Jewish texts, immersion in water for ritual purification was established for restoration to a condition of "ritual purity" in specific circumstances. For example, Jews who (according to the Law of Moses) became ritually defiled by contact with a corpse had to use the mikvah before being allowed to participate in the Holy Temple. Immersion is required for converts to Judaism as part of their conversion.

Mark’s Gospel continues:

Mark 1:7-8 As he preached he said, "The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I'm a mere stagehand, will change your life. I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism—a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit—will change you from the inside out."
9-11 At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God's Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him. Along with the Spirit, a voice: "You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life."

• What does Mark’s Gospel make clear that John’s place is in the story of Jesus? What is he sent to do and what is he offering?
• What does John tell us about the baptism he performs as opposed to what is coming? If Jesus’ baptism is our example, what happens when we are baptized “by the Holy Spirit”? What are the specific things Mark’s Gospel tells us occur after Jesus was baptized?
• What meaning do the following elements of baptism have for you as you think about your own:

- God’s Spirit came down on him

- You are mine

- Chosen

- My love

- Pride of my life

• Should we feel the impact of these words ourselves as we reflect upon the formal initiation of our own relationship with God? It truly seems to be something we should cherish and regularly revisit as part of invigorating and empowering our faith life.
• Why do you think that Jesus came to be baptized? Did he need a baptism of repentance or need to be invested with the Holy Spirit? Could he have been making a statement of the importance of baptism and being baptized by the Spirt?

John the Baptist had a large and devoted following as is clear from Josephus’ report we looked at earlier. John’s name, reports of his works and fate as well as the repeated mention of his disciples come up frequently in the Gospels. Each time it is made clear that Jesus is the one, the messiah and John the preparer of the way. But his influence lasted as we read in the book of Acts of an event that took place in Ephesus (now in Turkey) some 30 years later:

Acts 19:1-2 Now, it happened that while Apollos was away in Corinth, Paul made his way down through the mountains, came to Ephesus, and happened on some disciples there. The first thing he said was, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Did you take God into your mind only, or did you also embrace him with your heart? Did he get inside you?"
"We've never even heard of that—a Holy Spirit? God within us?"
3 "How were you baptized, then?" asked Paul. "In John's baptism." 4 "That explains it," said Paul. "John preached a baptism of radical life-change so that people would be ready to receive the One coming after him, who turned out to be Jesus. If you've been baptized in John's baptism, you're ready now for the real thing, for Jesus." 5-7 And they were. As soon as they heard of it, they were baptized in the name of the Master Jesus. Paul put his hands on their heads and the Holy Spirit entered them. From that moment on, they were praising God in tongues and talking about God's actions. Altogether there were about twelve people there that day.

• I guess that Paul might say to us, “you are now ready for the real thing”, all of the things that flow from the real sense of God’s Spirit with us. One exercise you might try is to do a Keyword Search for Spirit on Biblegateway.com http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/ (you can limit it to specific sections of the bible) to explore the topic.
• Do we place enough importance on baptism, both our own and that of others? What about baptism should make it more important?

Closing Prayer

God of power and of love, at Jesus’ baptism you called him your beloved Son and sent your Spirit upon him. May we, born of water and of the Spirit, know ourselves to be beloved by you. Help us to rejoice in the new life to which you call us. Amen.

Next Week’s Scriptures: Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18, 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20), 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, John 1:42-51

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