Mark’s gospel, the first to be written, begins with Jesus the adult, God’s beloved Son and servant. Only eight verses precede Mark’s account of Jesus’ baptism. We heard this prologue, in which John the Baptist prepares Jesus’ way, as our gospel on the 2nd Sunday of Advent.
Sunday’s gospel begins by recalling John the Baptist’s promise that one is coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. The next sentence brings Jesus into the narrative but not to baptize. Instead he receives John’s baptism. Jesus begins his ministry by standing with and among those who repent and turn to God.
Jesus’ baptism among sinners and seekers is half of the scene Mark pictures in Sunday’s gospel. In the other half the story describes three manifestations of the divine dimensions of his identity. As Jesus comes out of the water, the heavens split. The Spirit anoints Jesus for the ministry he is about to begin. The voice from heaven calls Jesus “my beloved Son.”
Jesus’ ministry begins unfolding in the next six Sunday gospels as he heals a leper, frees a man of an evil spirit, raises up a sick woman to service, and preaches the good news of God’s nearness from village to village. On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus says that he has come “not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10.45).
- How does his baptism foreshadow Jesus’ life?
The three details in Mark’s account that reveal the divine dimensions of Jesus’ identity give us images with important Old Testament echoes. These echoes tell us God is at work anew in our world but in continuity with Israel’s past.
The heavens splitting open points to a new communication between heaven and earth. The prayer from the Advent readings that God would rend the heavens and rain down the Just One has happened. In Jesus God is with us and one of us. The good news Jesus will begin announcing is, “The kingdom of God is among you” (1.15).
The Spirit’s descent like a dove echoes the creation story in which the Spirit of God hovers over the waters of life (Genesis 1.2). The Spirit’s descent upon Jesus points to him as beginning a new creation.
The Spirit’s descent upon Jesus is also an anointing. Israel anointed its kings for office with oil. Messiah means anointed one in Hebrew. The prophets who speak in the book of Isaiah promise God will be faithful to Israel. They describe a Spirit-filled messiah who will build peace rather than lead the kingdom into war, a king anointed by the Spirit to bring good news to the poor. The coming of the Spirit upon Jesus anoints him for the ministry of liberating humankind and inviting us all into the embrace of Father, Son, and Spirit in a new creation.
The voice that speaks from heaven proclaims Jesus is God’s Son. The tender words “beloved” and “In you I am well pleased” echo Isaiah 42.1-4, 6-7, Sunday’s first reading, a voice from the exile. This passage from Isaiah describes the people of Israel whom the Babylonians held captive in exile as God’s servant. Their suffering, this prophecy claims, will fulfill God’s purposes to make God known among the nations.
Jesus, like the people in exile, is God’s servant; his power is his unique and loving relationship with God. Who hears Jesus hears the Father and Spirit. Who is one with the beloved is one with the Father and Spirit. Who lives in communion with Christ is one in love with all whom the Father embraces and the Spirit vivifies. At Jesus’ baptism we glimpse the Trinity, the mystery of God who is not a solitary monarch or a static substance but dynamically alive in relationship.
- How does the art on page 2 express who Jesus is?
- What do you learn about Jesus’ mission and ministry in this gospel?
Mark’s baptismal account identifies Jesus as God’s beloved Son and servant, one with the Father and Spirit. Baptized Christians share Jesus’ identity. We are God’s beloved, whom Jesus calls to join him in the embrace of God. We are God’s servants, who share Jesus’ mission of calling all those we meet into this embrace. We are baptized into one faith, one Spirit — a communion that calls us beyond the limits of any one Christian denomination.
In celebrating Jesus’ mission, we affirm our own anointing for ministry in baptism and confirmation. We recognize our call to unfold Jesus’ servant story in our lives among the people of our world.
- In what ways do your baptism and anointing in the Spirit challenge you to lead?