Baptismal Limitations

December 6, 2020

Mark is the most overlooked gospel at Christmastime. Perhaps this is because it is the shortest gospel of the four that we have in our bibles. But I believe that it is overlooked because it does not have the stories that the other gospels have. There is no story of the angel visiting Mary, no visit of the magi, no baby in the manger, no angels singing and no shepherds to watch over the babe. It does not seem right to not have these things in the gospel. But that is Mark. Where the other three have interesting background about Jesus, Mark gets down to business and tells us just what is going to be covered in his gospel.

The opening of the Gospel is this: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” That is the first sentence of the whole book. We are told that this is good news. The Greek word means to tell the good news of a military victory which later became just “good news”. Therefore, the good news is for all the people. And it is of Jesus Christ, the Messiah the one for whom all the people were waiting.

Now I want you to imagine with me for a moment the opening scene of a movie: it is a sunny day and the scene is uninhabited. There is the opening title that we have just heard. Then a narrator comes on giving us the next words:

“As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” [1]

The words of the prophet (Or prophets. There are really three different texts here) that were spoken to the people coming back from exile to give them hope. The words that were spoken to let the people know that God had not forgotten them and that they would be cared for by God. The words that told the people that someone would come that would set things right in the world. Those are the words spoken here and the people have been waiting to hear them a long time. And now it seems that they will not have to wait any longer.

The scene then begins to zoom in. There is a river nearby and there are a large number of people who are standing near it. As the camera continues to zoom in, we see a man standing near or in the water of the river. And what a man we see. He is skinny almost gaunt looking. His hair is long and looks as if it has never been combed. His beard is as wild as his hair. He is dressed in camel’s hair and has a leather belt around his waist. And his eyes. There is a fire glowing in them that only that passion of his message can give.

The message he brings is a baptism in the river of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Now this baptism is not what grants forgiveness. The man, John is his name, would have told you that. His baptism is for those who wish to repent, or turn away from, their sins and proclaim that to the world. They would come and confess their sins, be baptized and come up out of the water to lead a new life as one of the elect that would live in the right paths of God as they await the coming one.

And there are not a few who have come. The text says that all of Judea was there. Now this is likely a bit of exaggeration, but there were probably hundreds who came to hear John preach and to be baptized. To give you an idea of what it was like for the people to get there, Jerusalem is 400 feet higher in elevation than the area where John is preaching. The place was not easy to get to going down and was even harder to return from. And the people came. Josephus, an ancient historian, said that it was because of John’s crowds that Herod Antipas grew concerned that he would begin a political revolt and had John killed to make sure that did not occur.

Now the camera has zoomed in on John. He is quite a sight. But his words. His words are what capture the minds of those listening. He tells them that there is one coming after him who is more powerful. John says that he is not even worthy to untie this one’s sandals. John is telling the crowd his limitations. In the other gospels he is asked if he is the Messiah, to which he answers “no”, but that the one is coming and that they should be looking for him.

The ultimate expression of his limitations comes when he tells the people: “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” [2]

With these comparisons, John is preparing the way for Jesus. In fact, just after this scene, Jesus comes into the scene and the story of the Gospel of Mark begins in earnest. But what is John doing? His “limited” baptism is making ready the people. He is preparing them for the one coming who will bring the Holy Spirit on them. Preparing them for the Day of the Lord. Preparing them for what they thought was the end of the world. And in a sense, it would be the end of the world as they knew it. For the one coming after them would not set the world on fire as they had hoped, but brought a message of forgiveness and reconciliation. It was a message that turned the world upside down. And it was brought by a man who people would ask the question of “Who is this….?” And John, with his limited baptism, is preparing them for the answer.

As we continue in this Advent, what are we preparing for? What limitations do we have that will prepare the way for the Lord? It could be limits on power, or talent. It could be limits on money or influence. It could be a limitation we put on ourselves that others see and take up as well. There is a story of a young fashion designer who limited herself to wearing only a black dress to work each day for a year. In that time, she was also raising money to help children in India go to school. Her story caught on on social media and soon there were others doing the same. Her limits on herself inspired others to do the same. Like a stone thrown into the water, her actions rippled out and affected many more in a way not imagined. The limitations that we may put on ourselves may be the very things that free us to be a more active participant in the Advent and Christmas story.

Sometimes we have limitations that are put upon us. Time is one and we are limited to how much we have. We then add limitations that crowd out our being prepared for the coming one. Things like the busyness of the season and other distractions that can take our attention away from the one coming. Like John, what limitations can we put upon ourselves that will prepare the way for the one who will bring new life? What limits will we put on ourselves to show the world the one who came and is coming? Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.

[2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.