Gospel Notes by Michael Whelan SM
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”.
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:15-16 & 21-22 – NRSV)
Introductory notes
General
“With the baptism preached by John, Luke’s narrative begins to follow his main written source, the Gospel of Mark. …. However important John’s own message, Luke follows Mark in defining John’s role primarily as the precursor to the Messiah. Luke has him explicitly eschew that designation for himself, and point to a stronger than himself whose baptism would be in spirit and fire (3:16), a literary prophecy that will reach fulfillment only in Luke’s account of Pentecost. John describes himself as an unworthy servant of the one to come (3:16). Most of all, by having John imprisoned before Jesus’ public emergence, Luke establishes a sequence between the prophets. Jesus’ anointing with the Spirit is perceived by the reader as following after John’s ministry rather than overlapping it” (Luke Timothy Johnson, The Gospel of Luke, The Liturgical Press, 1991, 66-67).
Specific
the Messiah: “Luke’s comment implies that there were Palestinian Jews who awaited the coming of a messiah, i.e. an “anointed” agent of Yahweh sent for the restoration of Israel and the triumph of God’s power and dominion (see p. 197 above). From at least the beginning of the second century b.c. there had crystallized in Palestinian Judaism such an expectation. It developed out of the David-tradition in Israel, especially as this was presented in the Deuteronomist: David as the zealous worshiper of Yahweh, “chosen” by him to rule over Israel in place of Saul (2 Sam 6:21) and favored not for himself alone, but insofar as his kingly role would affect all Israel. The oracle of Nathan (2 Sam 7:14–17) and the “last words of David” (2 Sam 23:1–17) reveal Yahweh’s promise of a dynasty and explicitly refer to the historical David as “the anointed” (māšîaḥ) of the God of Jacob. That title of David is repeated in the Psalms (18:50; 89:39, 52; 132:10, 17).
“Jeremiah, who confronted the last of the Davidic kings before Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion, announced that Jehoiakim would “have none (i.e. no heir) to sit upon the throne of David” (36:30); but he was also the prophet who uttered the promise of a “new covenant” (31:31) and proclaimed the divine assurance that the people of Israel would “serve Yahweh their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them” (30:9). This “David” was no longer the historical David, but a future occupant of the throne to be raised up by Yahweh. This ideal king will be a “David” (Jer 33:15; Ezek 37:23–24). But in all these promises of a future, ideal “David,” the title māšîaḥ is strikingly absent. The title occurs but twice in all the prophetic books: once applied to Cyrus, the Persian monarch (Isa 45:1); once to the reigning king of Israel, or perhaps to Israel itself (Hab 3:13). Though reference be made to the oracle of Nathan, “the coming of a messiah” is never the phraseology used to announce the hope of a restored kingdom of David. The same absence is noted in the postexilic rewriting of the David story (compare 2 Sam 7:12, 16 and 1 Chr 17:11, 14).
“The first clear mention of māšîaḥ in the sense of a future anointed agent of Yahweh in the Davidic line is found in Dan 9:25, “from the going forth of the Word to restore and build Jerusalem to (the coming of) an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks.” (We prescind here from the problems of interpretation—to whom this would refer; we note only the implied future context in which the title appears.) This Danielic usage, along with various references to “anointed figures” in Qumran literature (1QS 9:11; 1QSa 2:14, 20; CD 20:1; 4QPBless 2:4; 4QFlor 1:11–13; 4QpIsaa 8–10:11–17), which attest the Essene expectation of Messiahs of Israel and Aaron, and the (probably Pharisaic) Psalms of Solomon (17:23, 36; 18:6, 8) reveal a clear Jewish expectation of the coming of a messiah (or messiahs) in the period prior to the emergence of Christianity. See further J. A. Fitzmyer, Concilium 20 (1967) 75–87; ESBNT, 115–121. This evidence indicates how the OT theme of a coming David as an anointed agent of Yahweh developed into an explicit expectation of a Messiah (with a capital M), or of several of them” (Joseph A Fitzmyer SJ, The Gospel according to Luke I–IX: introduction, translation, and notes (Vol. 28), Yale University Press, 2008, 471–472).
I baptize … : The Greek verb baptein means “to immerse or wash”. Both notions – immersion and washing – are present in the Christian understanding of baptism, though with very specific intent.
“Many religions in antiquity practised different washings and baths. This holds true for the mysteries of Eleusis, of Mithras, and of Isis; the OT prescribed several ablutions to be performed, rules which were observed by Jews also in NT times (John 2:6); the Qumran community laid a particular stress on them, and Bannus (Joseph. Life. 10) and John the Baptist were not alone in practising baptisms outside of mainstream Judaism; other baptismal movements also appeared in the Transjordanian/Syrian area. Sometime during the 1st century c.e. proselyte baptism was introduced in Judaism, and when baptism received a central place in Mandeism, the rite as such was certainly no novelty, regardless of whether it should be regarded as pre-Christian or not. One should beware of assigning the same or even similar meanings to these rites. As rites they are open to several interpretations; in each case it is to be expected that the meaning of the rite is provided by the ritual context or otherwise through instruction or tradition.” (L Hartman, “Baptism,” in D. N. Freedman (Ed.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, Volume 1, Doubleday, 1992, 583.)
Scholars tell us that the descriptions of John the Baptist and his preaching in the Gospels echo the prophet Malachi 3:1: “…. this means adducing a text which illustrates the spiritual climate in which John appeared. There, in the perspective of the coming Day of Yahweh, we encounter the following motifs: a messenger sent before God (3:1), God’s coming (3:1–2, 5), the coming of the Day (3:2; 3:19, 23), purification through fire (3:2–4), burning (3:19), returning to God (3:7) from sins against fellowmen (3:5) and against God (3:8–9, 13–15), the sending of Eliah before the Day comes (3:23).” (Op cit, 584.)
Jesus’ baptism by John is certain. And it contains a subtle but profound significance. Given that John is preaching repentance and the forgiveness of sin, and that this is symbolised in the baptism he offers, we must ask why does Jesus – the sinless one – allow John to baptize him? The answer lies in the identity of Jesus as “the suffering servant” – see Isaiah 42:1-4 & 53:1-12. Matthew’s Gospel reminds us: “He took our sicknesses away and carried our diseases for us”. Matthew is citing Isaiah 53:4. John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus “is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” – see John 1:29 & 36. With this in mind we can understand a little better the words spoken by Jesus later in Luke’s Gospel: “There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress until it is over” – Luke 12:50.
Thus St Paul says starkly: “For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God” (2Corinthains 5:21). Jesus heals the broken world from within. In his life, death and resurrection Jesus gives us the victory over sin and death. We are “baptized into his death” (Romans 6:3). Our baptism is an immersion in Christ – we become one with him – and it is a purification and healing – we share in his victory over sin and death.
Being in love
In today’s Gospel – Luke 3:15-16 & 21-22 – we have a remarkable revelation that can easily be lost amidst the drama portrayed. Luke has set the scene a few verses earlier: “The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God”’” (3:1-6). Something big is about to happen: “The people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah.” From the midst of this excitement a voice is heard: “‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’”
This is a moment of great tenderness and intimacy. It is as if we glimpse in an instant the deepest reality of God. It tells us much about who Jesus is and why he is with us. It is not surprising therefore, when this same revelation is heard again at the transfiguration, with a command added: “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (9:35).
When Jesus returns to Nazareth his announcement in the synagogue shows that he is aware of his mission to share that love of the Father with people everywhere: “‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor’” (4:18).
This is what the Incarnation is about. This is where we may begin to grasp the meaning of our baptism – our being baptized into the one baptized by John (Romans 6:3). We are invited into this relationship of tenderness and intimacy through him, with him and in him. Christianity is truly about being in love – literally, being in love.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical on hope, reminds us of a very concrete and practical truth: “We cannot … ‘merit’ Heaven through our works. Heaven is always more than we could merit, just as being loved is never something ‘merited’, but always a gift. However, even when we are fully aware that Heaven far exceeds what we can merit, it will always be true that our behaviour is not indifferent before God and therefore is not indifferent for the unfolding of history. We can open ourselves and the world and allow God to enter: we can open ourselves to truth, to love, to what is good” (Spe Salvi, #35).