Who is Jesus? The beloved Son.
Mark 1:4-11
So, why are we reading about John the Baptist again? Isn’t it only a few weeks since we lit a candle in the Advent wreath to remember John and, the week before that, read these verses from Mark’s gospel where we hear about John preaching in the desert? Well, yes – and no. A relatively modern tradition in the western church names this Sunday ‘The Baptism of Christ’ –– as we segue from the birth of Jesus and the events of the Epiphany to his adult life and his ministry. And the lectionary gives us a few more verses now than we read in December – as the focus shifts from John himself to Jesus. So, we continue to consider the question I highlighted last week; who is Jesus – and, specifically, who is Jesus for you?
“the one who is more powerful than I”; this is John’s claim about Jesus as he turns the spotlight away from himself and onto his cousin. John has attracted a following – from the town and from the country, Mark even says “all the people of Jerusalem” – he is a charismatic figure, albeit a rather strange one. The events in the US this week led me to reflect once again on how Donald Trump ever came to be President – and how dangerous some of his followers are. From all that I have seen of Trump, I would never describe him as charismatic – he is often lampooned, seen as a figure of fun, in the British media – and yet he has attracted people to him and that has made him one of the most powerful men on earth. Quirky and unconventional can be attractive.
But I wouldn’t take the comparison between Trump and John the Baptist any further than to say they are both strange characters who manage to draw a crowd. John came in humility, dressed and lived simply, and called others to the humble act of baptism, a sign of repentance. His power lay in the authority with which he spoke, convincing people that they needed to return to God and begin again; but, unlike Trump, he was more than willing to lay down his power as he pointed to the one who was coming after him. “I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals”, he says in true humility. Don’t look at me, look at Jesus.
Whenever I do look at John the Baptist, I have a sense that the church is still called to his ministry. It is certainly the ministry that both Peter and Paul picked up in the early church. Don’t look at me, look at Jesus. Because we are human beings, we can so easily make church life about us, what we want, how we feel. But what if it isn’t meant to be like that? What if we are called to say, don’t look at me, look at Jesus? Should we, like those John called to him, repent of the attitudes that distract us from seeing Jesus in the life of the church, remember our baptism and make the new start that is available to us every day?
John handed over his power, becoming less as Jesus became more; and he pointed to the true source of power as he made the comparison between his baptism, in water, and the baptism Jesus would offer – “with the Holy Spirit”. When we feel that we can’t do what we have been called to do, when the life of the church seems to be all about buildings and balance sheets, when our Christian brothers and sisters let us down, when we let them down, we need to remember that we weren’t meant to do this on our own. As Jesus will say to his friends before he leaves them, “the Father… will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth…” (John 14.16-17a)
John the Baptist says, “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit is the source of our strength when we know, like John, that we cannot do this in our own strength. But, as we shall see now and in the story that unfolds again over the coming weeks, the power that Jesus demonstrates and shares with us is a very different power from the worldly power of a man like Trump.
And so, our focus shifts very clearly, encouraged by John, to Jesus himself, no longer the child in Bethlehem but a young man who steps out of the shadows and begins his ministry in the world. In Mark’s account there is no debate before Jesus steps into the river and is baptised by John – the action is simple and clear. Jesus identifies himself with us, a human as we are human, and with the sinful state of the world into which he had been born. As Jesus begins his ministry, the work for which he came, he is drenched in the same river as us, and he makes a new start. There is no theological debate here about whether he is sinless, what it might be that he has to repent for, whether John should be baptised by him (as John suggests in Matthew’s gospel). Jesus comes like one of us, simply and humbly – even though we know already that John considers him to be powerful and worthy of respect, even worship.
This is the paradox that is the very nature of Jesus. Who is Jesus? He is both a humble carpenter and a charismatic preacher. He is servant, but he is also lord. He offers healing, an act of love and care, but he does so with power and authority. He will always be the baby in Bethlehem, a vulnerable human being whose life will be cut short on the cross; but he is also this energetic and compelling young man who, at baptism, is also revealed to be divine.
For, as he emerges from the water it is not only John’s spotlight that shines on him, but God’s. This is a scene that is often painted with light streaming down from sky as, in Mark’s words, “the heavens” are “torn apart”, the Spirit comes down on him, dove-like, and the Father’s voice is heard, declaring “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Who is Jesus? We have it on the best authority – announced from heaven – that he is God’s son. With this reference, we know that we must take him seriously. He comes highly recommended. The words from heaven affirm Jesus in his calling, as his ministry begins, but they also act as an invitation to us to take him seriously. At the beginning of his public ministry, before he has uttered a word, Jesus is already proclaimed as God’s son, “the Beloved”.
Is this who Jesus is for you? As he identified himself with us, will you identify yourself with him? You may have already been baptised, as a child or as an adult, and maybe confirmed as well (when we pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit). But will you, today, remember Jesus’s baptism and also turn away from the things that separate you from God and from other people? Claim your baptism, John’s baptism, the baptism of repentance and a new start. And receive your baptism, Jesus’s baptism, in the Holy Spirit, and be strengthened in your Christian life and ministry. In the name of Jesus. Amen.