John the Baptizer Prepares for the Ultimate Exodus

I want to start off by saying a big thank you to the support from everyone who helped with our services while I was away, and for the hard work and faithfulness of our two preachers Marsha and Sharon. And it is actually quite nice to come back this week as the two of them finished up our Exodus Way conversations in the Old Testament and now we can build on that and move into the Gospels. And it is no mistake that as we do that we hear the gospel writer Mark talk about how this is the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, Mark is doing two things by saying it like this: 1. He is talking about the beginning meaning that even when we finish his book about Jesus, we know that the work is not done, it is still just the beginning of this new part of the story of God. and 2. Even though it is a beginning and seems like it is something brand new, Mark immediately connects both Jesus and John to the prophet Isaiah, showing that this new story is actually a continuation of a promise that God has already made to God’s people; to rescue them.

We have seen in our series so far, how God has promised to free God’s people from other earthly forces like Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, etc. Part of that rescue through Exodus was to bring them into the Promised Land, however, because people continued to fail on their commitment to God, we continued to see these Exodus events and then the Eisodos or return events like we heard Sharon talk about in Isaiah’s promise last week. Which is why when Rome took over, even though the Israelites weren’t exiled in the traditional sense like in the past there was the same amount of exodus sentiment as there was with their ancestors. And much like their ancestors they were looking for a way to return much like Isaiah promised. This is why so many people including some of Jesus’ own disciples were confused when Jesus didn’t come to kick out Rome.

In fact many people, though we see people claim Jesus was Elijah returned, look at John the Baptist and rightly compare him to Elijah and Isaiah. And as Isaiah prepared the people for their Eisodos, their return from Exile, John the Baptist is doing much of the same thing. Though John, just like Jesus, will be doing it a little differently than their ancestors. And isn’t it interesting that the place that John decides to help people prepare for ultimate exodus is: 1. in the wilderness and 2. by the Jordan River. I say that it’s interesting but it is actually very profound to our theme, The Exodus Way. As we’ve talked about, the path from exodus to the promised land is through the wilderness. John has chosen the literal wilderness, the uninhabited part of the river for people to come and find him in order to change their hearts and lives. They must literally begin their journey of preparing for Jesus by finding a man in the wilderness to help them turn their lives around.

Then when they find this Isaiah, Elijah-like prophet, they are told to begin changing their hearts and lives by being baptized, being made new in the waters of the Jordan River. When Marsha preached and the Israelites entered into the promised land with the help of Rahab the rescuer, they literally left the wilderness behind them after 40 years of wandering and entered into God’s promised land through the waters of the Jordan River. The journey from exodus from Egypt, out of the wilderness, and into new life was through the waters of the Jordan. So when we typically read this story we focus on some good parts of what John and the people do, I think we miss some of the significance of what John is doing for the people. There is the literal change and repentance happening , but imagine a whole other level where the people are realizing that as they do this in the Jordan River, they are connecting themselves to their ancestors the first time they crossed the Jordan to the land they are now in.

And while I would love to go down a rabbit hole about about all the connections between these and other events I do want to draw our attention to the time that Joshua did a similar connection event. He reminded the people of how God was there for them in the parting of the sea and then switched his language from past tense to present tense about the wilderness and beyond even though it was still about generations that had passed. In other words both God and Joshua are bringing the people back to this event and treating this salvific act as both a past and present event. God’s acts and God’s promises are ongoing and continuing to be made complete throughout history. I bring this up because the baptisms in the Jordan River are the exact same thing: bringing God’s promises to the current generation. They may look different and feel different and even seem different for those experiencing them, nevertheless they are the one and the same promises that God has always made to God’s people.

And perhaps something like this has happened to you. Maybe it was literally your baptism day. Maybe it was in a time of prayer, or a conversation with a friend or spiritual director, or church leader or pastor where you felt that deep connection to God’s rich history of being there for God’s people. And just like it was for the people at the Jordan River, it is a time to prepare ourselves for experiencing the ultimate exodus event. Knowing that the promises that God has made were not just made a long time ago to people who have long since past, but that when God promises to never flood the earth, that promise is for me and for you not just Noah and his family. When God promises to bless Abraham and his descendants, that promise is for me and for you. When God said I will be your God and you will be my people, that promise was made for me and you. When John the Baptist said that God would send someone who would baptize people with fire and the Holy Spirit that promise wasn’t just for those suffering at the hands of the occupation of Rome, that was for me and you.

John the Baptist is preparing not just those people on the Jordan River for the time he was alive, but created and continues to create the pathway by which we can all experience the depth of God’s promise to send us the one who will save us from exile. Jesus will save us from the all the ways that we get in the way of God and each other. In the words of the Jesus himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” As we will see in the weeks that follow, Jesus is the Ultimate Exodus Way. He is the path by which we enter the true promised land of God. And thanks be to God for John who helps us leave that world of exile behind, and begin the journey of living into the promises of God that are for us and for all people in every time and place. Amen.