The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana 9
- Commentary -_
The baptism of Jesus by John: The Epiphany according to Mark
jan G°spel eommenta or
uary 12 ion- . " ry fi
- , .o,,v: lneta •
OfJesu s. p,. 1. _ tzsm
. Ye..,,: Mark 1:7-11
s gospel begins by
preaching of John
st as an introduction to
by John. His
two points: the
proclaims, the
I" is so great
declares himself unfit to
slave: "I am not wor-
down and untie his
The second point
between the effect'
and Christian baptism: John's
not give the Holy Spirit: "I have bap-
but he Will baptize you with
Would Mark insist on these two points as
to Jesus' baptism by John? Both
had gathered disciples. The disci-
to have made the same claim
of Jesus made for their hero, i.e.
the Baptist to be the
t T he gospels of Luke and John
aat such a belief about John contin-
Mark is the first of our written
this point of view. John the Bap-
put into his place by insisting
when compared to Jesus and
his baptism was not equal to
Lptism. The baptism of Jesus by John
By FATHER
DON DILGER
COLUMNIST
the Baptist became an embarrass-
ment to the early Church for two
reasons: John's was a baptism of
repentance for sin and, by accept-
ing baptism from John, Jesus
became John's disciple. The later
gospels of Matthew, Luke, and
John are much more detailed and
in greater denial than Mark in
combating these theological prob-
lems. We have now seen how Mark
handled them.
We think of John the Baptist
as baptizing only in the Jordan
close to the cities of Jericho and
Jerusalem in the territory of Judea.
The gospels, however, indicate that he exercised
his baptismal ministry in the Jordan from Galilee
in the north, along the border of Samaria in central
Palestine, to Judea in the south. Jesus was still
resident in Nazareth in Galilee when he came
along with other pious Jews to receive baptism at
the hands of John. Thus far his baptism by John
was not distinguished from that of his fellow citi-
zens from Galilee, but now something amazing
takes place. Jesus comes out of the river, he sees
the sky torn open and the Spirit of God descends
upon him in the form of a dove. There is a voice
from the sky: "You are my beloved Son. With you I
am well pleased."
We need to be reminded that Mark is not writ-
ing a biography of Jesus but has constructed this
story to teach important truths of revelation. What
is he teaching? The tearing apart of the sky hap-
pens twice in the Gospel of Mark, at Jesus' baptism
and at his death on the cross. In the first instance
a voice from heaven attests to the divine sonship of
Jesus. In the second instance the Roman centurion
at the foot of the cross attests to the divine sonship
of Jesus: "Indeed this man was Son of God." It
should be noted that although Mark began his
gospel by telling his readers that Jesus is Son of
God, no human being in his gospel will ever learn
that revealed truth until it is restated at the end of
Jesus' earthly life by someone not even of his own
people. The tearing open of the sky is Mark's pic-
turesque way of saying that Jesus' divine sonship
can be known only through divine revelation.
The words: "You are my beloved Son. With you
I am well pleased," are a dramatic choice. The first
phrase is quoted from Psalm 2, a coronation psalm
for kings descended from King David. The fuller
statement is this: "You are my son. Today I have
become your father." By these words the King of
Israel became God's adopted son. Mark gives the
words a more profound meaning. The relationship
of Jesus to God is deeper than that of the kings of
Israel to God. That is the role of the Holy Spirit in
this baptismal scene. Secondly, Mark proclaims
Jesus as King by quoting from the ancient corona-
tion psalm. As Matthew proclaimed Jesus' kingship
through the homage and gifts of the Magi, so Mark
has done the same through the voice at the hap:
tismal scene. Thus Mark's baptismal scene can
truly be called the Epiphany according to Mark.
Readings for Baptism of Jesus, Year B:
Isaiah 42:1-4,6.7; Acts 10:34.38.
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