The
Proclamation of John the Baptist
1The
beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As
it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight” ’,
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight” ’,
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
My text this morning is
written in Mark 1 and verse 3:
“… the voice of one crying out in the
wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight” ’”
make his paths straight” ’”
Samuel Massey writes:
The message of Christ has raised up nations and brought them
low, launched and defeated armies, started large social movements and destroyed
others. Think of all that has been done in the name of Jesus Christ and how
inconspicuously the Gospel begins according to Mark. Here we find none of the
thunderous poetry used by John to describe the pre-existent Christ. We dream no
dreams and no angels visit with us. Caesar Augustus and Herod seem pretty far
away. No excuse here for Christmas trees or mob-ridden malls or long hours
putting together services of lessons and carols--thank God! All Mark offers to
us is John the Baptist, many people’s worst nightmare, smelling like a camel
and calling people to change their ways.
Most people agree
that the beginning of the Good News or Gospel
of Jesus Christ has the ministry of John the Baptist as the starting point. The
author of this wonderful record goes back to the Old Testament to show how John
was the fulfilment of prophecy and he is correct in stating in the first
instance that the message originally came from the prophet Isaiah. But the
reference to the messenger in verse 2
does not in fact come from Isaiah, but from Malachi 3.1. Professor Charlie
Moule explains: ‘The fact that the two quotations are both ascribed to Isaiah
may mean that they occurred side by side under a single heading in some
collection of prophecies.’ For me, it matters little; what does matter is that Jesus is indeed the fulfilment of the prophetic
hope for a saviour; a Messiah. In verses 2 and 3, therefore, we see how
Mark reminds his readers that the true Messiah would have been announced by a
forerunner, and that John the Baptist was the Elijah that the Jewish people
would have been waiting for. He also stresses that the people heard the
integrity of John’s announcement and his message that ‘... nothing less than a
national repentance would constitute the expected Messianic preparation.’
(Nineham)
It is not impossible that John had been a member of the Dead Sea
Scrolls community in Qumran; those dedicated people who spent time studying the
scriptures and preparing themselves by austere and disciplined living. This
community had used baptism as a rite of passage for those who wished to join
the Jewish faith. Bathing or sprinkling with water was a widespread religious
symbol for purification. Ezekiel had used sprinkling as a figurative expression
for the moral cleansing of the nation by God.
John’s message included baptism. Mark also points out that
when John explained his baptism he made it clear that it was a preparation, not to be compared with the
action of the one who was coming – the ‘mightier one’. This was the one
important thing that John did that was not part of Old Testament prophecy – he
baptised – or so it would seem; but the way Mark presents this important
historic episode, brings John’s baptism in line with the prophecies in the way
he makes John baptising become part of his proclamation. The prophecies spoke
of a messenger or ‘proclaimer’ – ‘the voice of one crying in the wilderness’.
John’s baptism was of
significance and baptism with the Holy Spirit is of special significance. Moule
explains that ‘... the Holy Spirit is God himself at work among his people, and
it is possible for a person literally to have the Holy Spirit poured over him
like water ... like a deluge, purifying, judging presence of God himself.’
In Acts 1.5 Jesus also refers to baptism with the Holy Spirit and in
Romans 8.9 Paul claims that unless one has the Holy Spirit, they are not
Christian. In Acts 2, the beginning of the Church is marked by the signs of the
Holy Spirit’s presence as the fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel 2.28 ff.
John was dramatically portraying the great significance of his call to
repentance. Those who responded to his call to moral reform submitted
themselves to being dipped in the river as a sign of their response and
commitment. But John called for much more than mere moral reform; he was
preparing for something much greater.
We see, therefore, that Mark starts the story of Jesus long
before his birth; it did not even begin with the appearance of John the Baptist
preparing the way for his ministry, ‘... it began with the dreams of the
prophets long ago, that is to say it began long, long ago in the mind of God.’
(Barclay) But this does not mean that John’s message is not vitally important
as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord into the world and at the
heart of this is the need for repentance.
Advent is a time of preparation – of getting ready – a time
to return to God. It is a time when we need to be honest with ourselves and
open our eyes to see the truth about who we are and how we are living. We need
to be willing to see what we do not want to see; we need to be willing to admit
to the sin that we have become so comfortable with, that we no longer see as a
problem. This is the hardest part, because we do not like to think of ourselves
as sinners and we like to think that we are always right.
We also need to make confession to those whom we have
wronged. This too is hard, because it is so out of fashion and so many people
are out of the habit of doing it. But there is absolutely no point in us
apologising to God until we have first apologised to the people we have
offended – as Barclay suggests: ‘The human barriers need to be removed before
the divine barrier can be removed. When we have done what it is humanly
possible to do; then we can make our confession to God. It is only when we
confess that we have sinned that God can give us those lovely words: “You are
forgiven!”’
But there is another side to this – and important side – and
also very difficult. So often these days people feel offended and the person
who causes the offence knows nothing about it, because they never intended to
cause any hurt at all! People can be over sensitive sometimes and it is not
impossible that they might also have no right to be offended. We must never
forget that an integral part of Christian love is that we are not easily offended; we are not touchy,
over-sensitive people. So, when we do feel offended we need to ask the first
and most important question: “Am I justified in feeling offended or am I being
touchy?” because if it is true that we ought not to be, then it is we that need to come before God and seek
forgiveness; and it is best that the other person concerned knows nothing about
it all.
But is must also be a time when we reflect on the presence
of the Holy Spirit in our lives, implanted there at our baptism and springing
into life when we came to faith; it is this Spirit that gives us the courage to
do the difficult things, and also fill us with God’s pure love and forgiveness,
leading to a deep sense of inner peace and joy.
These are difficult, and big challenges, but central to
practical Christian living.
This passage stands apart from the rest of the Gospel as a
sort of curtain raiser in which the reader is introduced to the context, so
that when the curtain goes up in verse 14, they will already know who the lead
character is and can understand the significance of the message they are about
to receive.
This makes clear that Mark wrote his Gospel from a
particular standpoint, i.e. that he accepted the traditional Jewish position of
a Messianic hope; so he wrote about Jesus not from biographical or psychological
interest, because he believed rather, that in the life of Jesus, the Jewish
hope had found fulfilment. He believed that, in Jesus, God had begun his ‘...
final intervention in history, the first, but decisive stage in the overthrow
of the powers of evil and the establishment of God’s Sovran rule.’ (Nineham)
And because of the revelation of this central fact in the
history of humankind was to be explained, it could transform people’s lives.
The same is true for us this Advent and Christmas. The advent of Jesus means
that there can always be more to our lives, more in our lives. There is yet
another opportunity for the Holy Spirit to deal with the sin in our lives. But
we need to admit that it is there, want to do something about it and then open
our hearts to the transforming love of God in the Holy Spirit. John said to the
people of his generation and I believe the message is as true today as it was
then:
“Prepare the
way of the Lord, make his paths straight”. Amen.
Break Free From the Scrooge Syndrome
Each year, in the weeks leading up
to Christmas, a great number of people find delight in the marvellous story
written by Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol. There is something in the story
that lures us back to it year after year; we never seem to grow tired of
hearing its message. The main character in the story is a surly old man named
Scrooge, who lives a miserly existence. He sees no benefit in being generous
with the poor, or even providing a living wage to dedicated workers. He
clutches onto his money and despises the thought of parting with any of it. But
it is not only his money that Scrooge withholds from others, it is his entire
being. He withholds love and kindness, he withholds warmth and friendship.
Then, one night, Scrooge undergoes a profound crisis. He sees himself through
the eyes of others. He has a vivid vision of his past; and then his present.
But what is most frightful to him - what shakes him to the core of his being -
is when he is granted the opportunity of a lifetime. He is allowed to witness
his future. But his future proves to be so dark and frightening, that it
prompts within him a dramatic change. He undergoes a radical transformation and
becomes an entirely new person. Rather than being cold and indifferent to
people, he becomes generous and compassionate.
It is a heart-warming story. But
more than that, it is a hopeful story. It provides us with the hope that we too
can make needed changes in our lives. We can break free from the ruts we have
burrowed, and the negative behaviours we have cultivated. We can become kind
and compassionate, humble and hospitable, joyful and generous.
I have never read anything which
suggests this, but I wonder if the story of John the Baptist influenced Dickens
and served as an impetus in his creation of A Christmas Carol?
