Road to Emmaus Baptism of the Lord

Jan 7, 2009

(Cycle B)

First Reading – Is. 42:1-4, 6-7

Responsorial Psalm – Ps. 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10

Second Reading – Acts 10:34-38

Gospel Reading – Mk. 1:7-11

This Sunday is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. As you will see there is quite an abundance of meaning in this event, the first luminous mystery.

Elijah/John the Baptist and Elisha/Jesus

This Sunday’s Gospel reading from Mark begins with the words of John the Baptist, "After me comes one mightier than I…" (Mk. 1:7). John says this while out in the wilderness at the Jordan calling for a "baptism of repentance" (Mk. 1:4). Then one day, while John is out baptizing, Jesus comes to the Jordan to be baptized.

First, we must recognize that Mark has been guiding us into an understanding that John the Baptist is a new Elijah. Mark quotes the prophecy about God sending a messenger to prepare the way for the Lord. Malachi also goes on to describe this messenger, "Behold, I will send Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes" (Mal. 3:23 NAB, Mal. 4:5 RSVCE).

Mark wants us to recognize that John the Baptist is the new Elijah. This is especially so when he tells us about John the Baptist’s clothing in Mark 1:6. John is wearing the same thing Elijah did centuries ago (cf. 2 Kgs. 1:8). He, of course, is not Elijah himself, but Elijah was the type of the one to come.

However, John, the new Elijah, says that after him comes someone mightier than himself. We might ask, who was mightier than the first Elijah? The answer is his protégé and successor, Elisha. As described in 2 Kings, Elisha was indeed mightier than Elijah.

Mark means for us to draw parallels between Elijah and John the Baptist, Elisha and Jesus. Let us look at a few of the parallels between Elisha and Jesus.

1. Both receive the spirit at the Jordan (2 Kgs. 2:9-14; Mt. 3:13-17).

2. Both had itinerant ministries.

3. Both had disciples.

4. Both challenged the political powers of their day.

5. Elisha is anointed by Elijah to be his successor; Jesus is anointed by the new Elijah at the Jordan (1 Kgs. 19:16; Lk. 4:18).

6. The miracles of Elisha and Jesus miracles.

a. Both raise the dead (2 Kgs. 4:32-37; Mt. 9:18-26).

b. Both multiply bread (2 Kgs. 4:42-43; Mt. 14:13-21).

c. Both cleanse lepers (2 Kgs. 5:1-14; Mt. 8:1-4).

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7. The King of Syria seeks to kill Elisha, but God sends an army of angels to defend him (2 Kgs. 6:11-17). – Jesus’ life is sought and he mentions that he could call down 12 legions of angels (Mt. 26:53).

8. A dead man is thrown into the tomb of Elisha and is restored to life (2 Kgs. 13:20-21) – When we are baptized we are baptized into the death of Christ so as to rise to newness of life (Rom. 6:3-4). Also, we who eat the body and drink the blood of Christ are given life (Jn. 6:47-56).

The Jordan and Joshua

Mark, along with Matthew and Luke, call to mind Elijah and Elisha so we hearken back to an earlier event in Israel’s history. When Elijah and Elisha come to the Jordan we are told that Elijah "took his coat rolled it up, and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground" (2 Kgs. 2:8).

After Elijah’s departure, Elisha "took up the coat of Elijah…and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan…and when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other; and Elisha went over" (2 Kgs. 2:13, 14b).

This is reminiscent of when Joshua led the People of God through the Jordan River into the Promised Land.

It is no coincidence that Jesus’ and Joshua’s name in Hebrew is Yeshua, which means Yahweh’s salvation. Joshua leads them through the Jordan. How? "…The waters of the Jordan shall be stopped from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap" (Josh. 3:13b). Then we are told that all Israel passed over on dry ground (cf. Josh. 3:17).

Jesus/Joshua will also lead the way into the Promised Land beginning with his receiving of the Spirit at the Jordan. He will lead you and I into the true Promised Land, heaven, through the waters of Baptism.

Jesus’ Baptism and the Kings of Israel and Judah

Now let’s unpack even more of what is going on in the Baptism of the Lord.

This event would hearken back to the reception of the Spirit by the Kings of Israel and Judah at their royal anointing. For example, there is David himself. "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward" (1 Sam. 16:13).

The Baptism of Jesus is his royal anointing when the Spirit of the Lord comes mightily upon him (cf. Lk. 4:18). The second reading for this Sunday from Acts speaks to this. "You know the word which he sent to the sons of Israel…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power" (Acts 10:36a, 38a).

This shows us that Jesus is truly in the line of the Davidic kings, and thus he is the fulfillment of the covenant made with David (cf. 2 Sam. 7).

It is also not a fluke that the kings were called messiahs, anointed ones, because they were anointed by the Spirit.

Also important for our understanding is that the Davidic kings were also considered to be adopted son of God. We see this, for example, in Psalm 2 when speaking to the king the Lord says, "You are my son, today I have begotten you…" (v. 7).

The anointed servant of the Lord

Here we come to a specific connection with the Old Testament reading for this Sunday taken from the prophet Isaiah. God says through Isaiah, "Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations (42:1). Jesus is fulfilling this prophecy of Isaiah.

But, what is this servant meant to do? We learn some important things later in Isaiah. "And the Lord says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him…‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth’" (49:5-6).

Further on in Isaiah we understand that this servant will be a suffering servant. But he will be one who suffers for the sins of others, not for any sin of his own. "Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed…the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (53:4-6).

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "The baptism of Jesus is on his part the acceptance and inauguration of his mission as God’s suffering Servant" (536).

Why was Jesus baptized?

So, why was Jesus baptized with the baptism of repentance that John was administering? Obviously he didn’t have any sins.

First, from what we have explored so far we see that Jesus is completely identifying himself with Israel and its history. "All the Old Covenant prefigurations find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus" (CCC 1223).

Second, he is identifying himself with all of sinful humanity. The Catechism tells us, "He allows himself to be numbered among sinners…" (536). Later in Mark’s Gospel Jesus speaks of his forthcoming suffering and death as a baptism. "Are you able to…be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" (Mk. 10:38). He is already anticipating his bloody baptism which will bring about the salvation of sinners.

In addition, heaven, which was closed because of Adam’s sin, is now "torn open" because of Christ’s obedience to the Father.

Third, through his Baptism Jesus is sanctifying the waters to prepare us to understand the sacrament of Baptism. This is done through his entering into the water, but also because of the descent of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the Father. Here we have a Trinitarian revelation, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus will give one final commission to his disciples to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…" (Mt. 28:19).

We are called to Baptism, to receive Trinitarian life, so that we might be disciples of the Lord and adopted sons and daughters of the Father.