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6. John the Baptist.
The baptism of Jesus.
As the time drew near
for Jesus to begin the work of redemption among men, John, the son of
Zechariah the priest and Elizabeth, appeared first out of the wilderness,
just as the morning star rises when the sun is about to come. God often
gives a sign beforehand when he wants to do something great, so that
people should pay attention and prepare themselves for it. John baptised
for repentance, i.e. for the amendment of the mind, for turning from sin
to God. ‘Repent,’ he said, ’for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Watch,
bring forth the righteous fruits of repentance!’ A large crowd came to
him from Jerusalem and from all the surrounding area to be baptised and
to hear what they should do. Many of the people asked him, ‘What should
we do?’ John said, ‘Whoever has two coats or an abundance of food, let
him give to the one who has not.’ - The customs officials asked him,
‘What should we do?’ - John answered, ‘Do not ask for more than you have
been given.’ - The soldiers also asked him. He gave the soldiers the
commandment: ‘Do no violence or injustice to anyone and be content with
your wages.’ - From this everyone else can already see what he should
and should not do in his state, office and profession, and that
repentance is not done with empty conceit or with fine speeches and
learned prayers, but that it is fruitful, first and foremost in works of
justice and mercy. These are the ‘righteous fruits of repentance’.
Many people came to think that John was Christ, the promised one. The
Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are
you?’ John confessed: ‘I am not the Christ.’ - ‘What then are you? Are
you Elijah?’ - John said, ‘I am not.’ - ‘Or are you one of the prophets?’
- He answered, ‘No.’ - For it was a strange saying among the Jews that
the prophet Elijah or one of the other prophets would return before the
Messiah. That is why John was not good enough for many of them. It is an
evil vice of many people that God's grace, as he offers it to them, is
not good enough for them and that they demand something special.
When the truth-loving John had made his confession, the priests said:
‘What are you if you do not want to be all these things?’ John said: ‘I
am the voice of a preacher in the wilderness; prepare the way of the
Lord!’ - The priests asked him again: ‘Why are you baptising if you are
not Christ?’ - John replied: ‘I baptise with water. But there is one
among you whom you do not know. He is the one who is coming after me,
the one who was before me. He will baptise with the Holy Spirit.’ Jesus
had also come to the Jordan and also asked to be baptised. The humble
John refused at first, for he said, ‘I need rather to be baptised by you.’
But Jesus knew well what he had to do. He said, ‘It is right that I
should receive baptism from you.’
This was the custom in those warm regions: Whoever was baptised immersed
himself completely in the river and then came out again, showing that he
was now, as it were, putting off his former nature and condition,
whatever they were, and that he was now something different and wanted
to be what God had called him to be, a new man. So Jesus, the son of
Mary, was baptised by John. When Jesus was baptised and came up out of
the Jordan, immediately the clarity of heaven opened up over him, and
John saw the Spirit of God descending from heaven like a dove and coming
upon him. For the dove is a beautiful symbol of gentleness and peace. So
the Spirit of God, who is the Spirit of gentleness and peace, came upon
Jesus, and a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased.’
This was the baptism that Jesus had received.
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