The Baptism of our Lord

ISAIAH 43:1-7: When God caused King Cyrus of Persia to become the conqueror of the world of which Judah was a part, all kinds of good things happened. First, Cyrus proclaimed that Judah could return to her home land and her capital city of Jerusalem. This raised all kinds of hopes among the people who had been living for more than a generation in exile in Babylon. Second, a prophet arose in Babylon to say that what Cyrus was doing in freeing the people from their exile in Babylon was the work of God. This was a daring thing to say. Cyrus did not worship Yahweh. Yet Isaiah of Babyloin, the author of this text, was bold to say that the hand of God was behind Cyrus and that Cyrus was acting as the Lord's agent in freeing Judah from its captivity. "Fear not," said the prophet in the name of the Lord. "I have created you, I have formed you, I have redeemed you, and I have called you by name."

This new deliverance from Babylon resembles the older one from Egypt. "You will pass through the rivers of waters." Did not Israel fearfully cross through roiling waters when God brought her out of Egypt? "You shall walk through fire and flame." Did not Judah frightfully do this when the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem and set fire to the city? "Fear not," says the Lord. "The waters will not overwhelm you, the fire will not burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have called you by name. You are mine."

Isaiah of Babylon then mentione Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba. The first two countries we know. The last seems to be an alternate name for Arabia. He says that these countries will be the "ransom" for Judah, countries which Cyrus will defeat in exchange for permitting Judah to return to her own land. It did not happen this way. Cyrus did not march on to do battle with the three named countries. But the prophet's "Word from the Lord" is still valid. God frees Judah from its bondage and permits her to return to her home.

"Fear not," cries the prophet once more. "I will restore your people. They will come from east and west, north and south. None shall be withheld. Daughters as well as sons shall return. I am with you."

At the end of this short proclamation, Isaiah again describes God in the terms he has used before. "You are called by my name. I created you for my glory. I formed you as a people and I made you in my own image." This is the truth of the text: God calls us, God creates us, God forms us and makes us his people.

PSALM 29: This is one of the earliest psalms in the psalter. It may originally have been a hymn to the Canaanite god ba'al, for which the name of the Lord has been substituted. This psalm uses the name "Yahweh" eighteen times in the course of just thirteen verses. It emphasizes God's "glory," the key word in the psalm. All nature, all people, even all heavenly beings, are called to worship this sovereign God; "to worship" literally means "to bow down," both before an earthly king and before the divine monarch.

The voice of the Lord is a powerful force in this psalm. "The voice of the Lord" is referred to seven times in verses three through ten; "seven" is the number of completeness, and for this psalmist God's power is complete. The voice of the Lord thunders across the waters, just as thunderstorms gather over the Mediterranean Sea before they unleash their havoc upon the land. The voice of the Lord fractures the cedars as the winds smash through the forests of Lebanon, and it strips the forests bare. The voice of the Lord flashes forth in flames of fire, as the heat of the desert explodes the rocks of the wilderness and sets bushes on fire by its incendiary force. There can be no question about it. With all this power, "The Lord sits enthroned as king forever."

Christians pick up the themes of this psalm on a weekly basis, perhaps on a daily one, when we conclude the prayer our Lord taught us with the words, "Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."

ACTS 8:14-17: This tiny text, just four verses long, presents historical and theological questions about the early church that are nearly impossible to answer. My attempt to deal with the issues will be partial and incomplete and must be read with the sense that no one can really uncover the situation in which the church found itself at the moment described. Nevertheless, I will face the issues honestly and try to present to you what I know of the situation.

The text begins by describing "apostles at Jerusalem." From what we know of the early church, the Christian mission was headquartered in Jerusalem. Its earliest acknowledged leaders were Cephas and James along with some unnamed apostles (see Galatians 1:18-19, our only source other than Luke for the historical setting of earliest Christianity). Some years later (as many as seventeen years perhaps) the leadership had shifted. Now Paul describes them as "James and Cephas (Peter) and John."

Each of these men led their own distinctive form of Christian mission. James was the leader of "The Brethren," a group of Jews who held to their Jewish ways of life and worship but considered Jesus to be the fulfillment of Jewish life. Peter was the leader of the Twelve of Galilee, followers of Jesus whose relationship with him is set forth in the Gospel of Mark. The third group was led by John, one of many men in New Testament times who carried that name. These were the "Hellenists," Jewish people who had fallen away from their strict Jewish heritage, who worshiped in synagogues where Greek was spoken, and who read the Scriptures from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible called the Septuagint. They also associated freely with other Jews who spoke Greek and with Gentile people for whom Greek was their first language. The fourth group in the early church were "The Apostles, The Sent Ones" led first by Barnabas and later by Paul.

These four groups each had their own field of mission. James directed his efforts toward the synagogues of the Jews. Peter saw his field of mission to be the Galilee where he had grown up. The Hellenists ministered in the Greek speaking synagogues of Judea and also the Greek-speaking synagogues in the cities of the Roman world. The apostles began their ministry in synagogues in what we now call Asia Minor (present day Turkey) and soon went beyond there to the Greek cities of Macedonia and mainland Greeece. Not only did each group have its own mission; these four groups differed with each other in significant ways of faith and practice. (I have described the groups in detail in an article in Sociology of Religion, 1997.)

The Hellenists were the first Christian group to venture into the territory of Samaria to bring the message of Jesus Christ. (See Cullmann, Christology 183-184) I need now to say a word about Samaria and its religion. Then I need to talk about the Christian mission to that area.

The city and area of Samaria had been the center of the kingdom set up by the northern tribes of Israel, when the kingdom of David broke in two following the death of Solomon, David's son. The city of Samaria became the capital of the nation that continued to call itself "Israel." The area became quite rich commercially and militarily. Rich and powerful as it was, it soon attracted the attention of strong nations to the east, first Syria and then Assyria. Assyria laid seige to the city of Samaria in 722 BC, and soon captured and destroyed the city. The inhabitants of the area were scattered far and wide among provinces and nations that Assyria had already captured. Assyria also placed peoples from other conquered nations in the precincts of Israel. As a consequence Israel, the former northern kingdom, lost much of its Yahwist heritage.

The religion that developed over the seven centuries between the destruction of Samaria by the Assyrians and the ministry of Jesus was centered around Mount Gerizim in the former Israel. There a temple was built for worship and sacrifice. The practice of Samaritan religion was based on a strict reading of the Pentateuch, the "Five Books of Moses." Samaritans and Jews came to despise each other, to the extent that Jews bypassed Samaria whenever they could, and they avoided any kind of personal contact with Samaritans.

One Jew who did not bypass Samaria was Jesus. The Gospel of John, chapter four, tells in detail his conversation with a Samaritan woman. The episode ends with "Many Samaritans believing in Jesus because of the woman's testimony" (4:39). It adds (4:40-41) that Jesus stayed with the Samaritans for two days; "and many more believed because of his word." Jesus himself inaugurated the mission to the Samaritans.

It was the Hellenists who followed up on this ministry. In the days after Stephen had been martyred and the Christian movement had split into pieces over the issues that led to his death, one of the leaders of the Hellenist movement, Philip, went into Samaria. Philip proclaimed Christ to these Samaritans. "And the multitude with one accord gave heed to what was said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs which he did. For unclean spirits came out of many who were oppressed, and many who were paralyzed or lame were cured" (Acts 8:4-7). The ministry of the Hellenists to the Samaritans began on this joyous and successful note.

But there was a problem that quickly developed. The Samaritans had responded positively to the proclamation of the Christ. Some of them, at least, had been baptized. But their baptism was deficient. Says Acts, "They had been baptized only in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" (8:16). This deficiency was drawn to the attention of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, and they resolved to do something about it. Their response was to send Peter and John to Samaria. Peter came as head of the Galilean mission, and John represented the Hellenists; it was customary in those days to send representatives from two different branches of the church if there was an issue to be settled on which each had different points of view. Peter and John came to the Samaritans and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Then they laid their hands on them, and what they had prayed for was granted to them. The Samaritans received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-17).

This raises two huge questions for us today. What did Luke mean by "The Holy Spirit"? What is the relationwhip of the act of baptism with the granting of the Holy Spirit?

The first mention of the Holy Spirit in Luke's Gospel comes during the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist. The angel Gabriel proclaims that "even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit" (1:15). Mary bears a child when "the Holy Spirit will come upon" her (1:35). The Holy Spirit causes Elizabeth suddenly to break forth in praise of Mary and her child (1:41-42). Simeon visits the Temple at the precise moment that Mary and Joseph arrive with Jesus; he comes at the prompting of the Spirit. Jesus is baptized "with spirit and with fire." The spirit drives him into the wilderness for his temptation. At the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus announces that "The Spirit of the Lord" is upon him to preach good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty the oppressed and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. The spirit of the Lord is intimately involved in the ministry of Jesus, and the ministry of Jesus gives content and substance to the words "The Holy Spirit."

The spirit, the spirit of Jesus Christ, is also intimately involved in the life of the church. We can see this in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. In Acts 2:1-13 the coming of the Holy Spirit creates the church and sends it on its mission. In 4:24-31 the church was made bold to speak the word with power. In 5:1-11 the spirit cleanses the church of those who were not faithful to their own Christian promises. 9:31 tells how the church multiplied under the power of the Holy Spirit, and 10:1-11:18 demonstrates that the Spirit could fall upon gentiles as well as Jews. It is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God in Christ, that directs the work of the church, and it does so in a manner that befits the ministry of Christ while he labored in Judea, Samaria, and Galilee.

The last question remains: What is the relationship between the Holy Spirit and baptism? The best answer I can give is that originally the church treated baptism in a number of different ways, but it was constantly moving to a position that intimately related baptism with the giving of the Holy Spirit into the life of the church and of the person baptized.

The parties in the earliest Christian mission had different views on baptism. The party of James may not have baptized at all; circumcision was the act most important in their understanding of the faith. The Hellenists apparently believed that "baptism in name of the Lord Jesus" was sufficient. This was so in their original mission to Samaria, and it continued to be so in their churches in Alexandria. We see that in the instance of the man Apollos. When he came to Ephesus from Alexandria, he is said to know "only the baptism of John," and he has to be corrected by Priscilla and Aquila before he recognized that baptism also included the reception of the Holy Spirit. (See Acts 18:24 through 19:7.) Peter had to learn in an experiential way of the relation between the coming of the spirit and the act of baptism. Peter saw that Cornelius the centurion had indeed received the Holy Spirit before he was baptized (Acts 10:45-48), and Peter immediately ordered that this reception of the spirit be sealed by the act of baptism. Even the first baptisms assigned to the hand of Paul do not include remarks about the spirit coming at baptism. Paul baptized Lydia and her friends in Philippi, and the report simply says, "She was baptized with her household" (Acts 16:15). The same phrase is used with the baptism of the Philippian jailor: "He was baptized at once, with all his family" (Acts 16:33). Paul only relates the Holy Spirit with baptism following the coming of Priscilla and Aquila to Ephesus. In his next baptisms (Acts 19:1-7) he first baptizes some of the disciples, then asks if they had received the Holy Spirit. When they say "No," he lays hands on them, and the Spirit comes upon them.

It would appear from this quick appraisal of the evidence that there was originally no single standard in the church for the relationship between baptism and the giving of the Holy Spirit. Baptism was the means of entrance into the Christian community, and the community knew it was led by the Holy Spirit of God in Christ. Sometimes baptism was a seal placed upon the the already acting spirit. Sometimes it was an opportunity for public confession of faith. Sometimes it was regarded, like circumcision to the Jews, as a necessary condition by which one was enrolled in the community. Sometimes the presence of the Holy Spirit seemed to enter the community as baptisms were performed. Sometimes the spirit came before the baptism was performed, sometimes later, and probably there were times when it did not come at all. As this plethora of experiences at the time of baptism continued, it seemed necessary to develop a more unified concept of baptism.

We can see some of its development in the Book of Acts itself. At first baptism was regarded by all except the followers of James as a necessary condition for entrance into the Christian community, but the gift of the Spirit is still distinct from it. So in 8:12-17 Samaritans are baptized, but they do not receive the Spirit until Peter and John, dispatched from Jerusalem for that very purpose, lay apostolic hands upon them. Later the Spirit was given to the person before there was any question of baptism. This was the case of Cornelius (10:44-48). Baptism was then added as a seal upon a gift already bestowed. Finally the stage was reached when baptism with the Spirit became the direct consequence of baptism with water, so that Christian baptism became the essential condition of Christian spiritual experience. (19:5-6). Casting around for something that would give unity to their diverse practices of baptism, Christians settled upon the baptism of Jesus by John, and each Gospel added that act to its story. With its bestowal of the Holy Spirit at the moment of baptism, this act had become the model on which all other forms of Christian baptism were later predicated.

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness not far from the site of Qumran. Qumran was the center of an ascetic Jewish cult that was waiting for the coming of a messiah, or even two messiahs, one of Aaron (the priest) and the other of Israel (a king). John was probably reared in Qumran, and he used their favorite prophecy from Isaiah 40:3 to proclaim his own message. John baptized near Bethany across the Jordan and at Aenon near Salim, said the Gospel of John. These were wilderness areas, though they were close to the important highways upon which people traveled north and south and east and west. There they could come to John from Jerusalem and the Judean countryside.

Carl Kraeling (John the Baptist, 1951) gave us a good picture of John. "Deep in the trough of the Jordan valley," said Kraeling, "John preached his message. Enclosed by precipitous mountains that radiate the sun's heat, the valley was pleasantly warm in winter, but it becomes a veritable inferno when the rains are past. Borne by the enervating southern winds, this heat is like a breath from a furnace most of the year, withering and blasting all that is exposed to it.

"In this inferno we must picture John the Baptist, a forbidding figure with unkempt beard and shaggy hair, his skin bare save for loincloth and loose mantle, burned black by the relentless heat of the sun (borrowed, we might add, from the picture of the prophet Elijah in 2 Kings), his mind tortured by the thought of his people's offenses against an all-powerful and righteous God, spawning dire prophecies of doom and shrilling the cry of the coming day 'that burneth like a furnace.' Travelers along the dusty highroads that crossed the barren expanse, themselves fevered by the heat, found John to be a terrifying figure with a terrifying message, dynamic, dramatic and either demonic or prophetic, depending on how they reacted to the burden of his words.

John also called upon people to be baptized. "Baptized by him," says Branscomb, "means 'in his presence or at his direction.'" The baptism was most likely self-administered. Self-baptism by immersion was the usual Jewish rite of cleansing, for women after childbirth, for proselytes after circumcision, and there is no indication that John changed this method in his own baptizing.

John said that this judgment was imminent. "His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear the threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary. But the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire (3:17)." The winnowing fork was a a fork-like shovel, with which the threshed grain was thrown into the wind; thus the chaff was separated from the grain. The threshing floor was a place in the field itself, made hard after the harvest by a roller, where grain was threshed out. There was a heap of grain on the floor, still mixed with chaff and straw. The thresher would throw the grain up into the air with his fork. The air would separate the grain from the straw and chaff. The farmer would then pick up the good grain and put it into his granary to be used by his family and to be sold for profit. The straw and chaff he would burn; it was useless. God is like that thresher, said John. Already his winnowing fork is in his hand. He is about to clear his threshing floor. Those who have repented will be kept in God's good hands. The others will be cast aside.

At first glance, Jesus' baptism was like the baptism that others underwent at the hands of John. But two things happened that distinguished his baptism from all the others. Jesus saw the heavens open and the spirit descend upon him in bodily form, like a dove. (Here Luke's story differs from that of Mark. Mark does not mention that the dove came "in bodily form." He simply says that "the spirit descended like a dove." Mark seems to picture an inner experience of Jesus. Luke has in mind an objective occurrence, one that could be seen and verified by others who were present.) And Jesus heard a voice from heaven that addressed him in a particular way.