After carefully setting the stage historically, St. Luke tells us, “the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert” (Luke 3:2). Luke uses a term for ‘word’ (rhēma) which likely means the reception of a particular word.
Luke has already told us earlier in the story that John the Baptist was “filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb” (1:15) and that even as a child John lived in the desert and “became strong in spirit” (1:80). This new reception of the “word” (rhēma) parallels the calling of other prophets (Jeremiah 1:1-4), as does the mention of his father Zechariah. When introducing a prophet’s ministry, it was customary in the Old Testament to mention the name of the prophet’s father (Hosea 1:1; Joel 1:1; Zechariah 1:1). As Zechariah had prophesied earlier, John the Baptist will be called “prophet of the Most High” (Luke 1:76).
Yet as the Catechism reminds us “John the Baptist is ‘more than a prophet.’ In him, the Holy Spirit concludes his speaking through the prophets. John completes the cycle of prophets begun by Elijah” (CCC 719).
Luke tells us, “John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 1:3). John the Baptist began travelling about the in the northern region of the Jordan River, preaching a message of repentance to the Jewish people and baptizing them in the Jordan river. Preaching a message of repentance would have been very similar to the classical prophets of the Old Testament.
What is clearly new and unique was the fact that John was baptizing for the forgiveness of sins. This is unusual because in contemporary Judaism there was no talk of baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Some groups practiced repeated ritual purifications, and around this time period, the practice of baptizing new converts to Judaism also emerged. But the text seems to imply that John was giving a one-time baptism of repentance to his fellow Jews.
Later Christian Baptism will also speak of being baptized “for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). In fact, this exact phrase in Greek is found in the Creed, “I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins” though it will continue “. . . and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” John the Baptist testifies, however, that his baptism is inferior Jesus’ baptism. John the Baptist notes that Jesus will baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16).
So, what are we to make of John’s “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 1:3)? First, we might want to correct a common misunderstanding that Jewish people were saved by meticulous fulfillment of the 613 precepts of the law. This number is actually from later Jewish tradition. Under these conditions, it would be extremely difficult to be saved because if you couldn’t fulfill the law perfectly you would be lost.
This negative caricature has been shown to be false by a number of modern scholars who have studied Second Temple Judaism. Although there is some debate about the finer details, there is a broad consensus that at the time of Jesus, the Jewish people generally believed that someone was ‘saved’ because of the loving covenant that God has established between himself and his people generally through their being member of the Jewish people by birth.
If your mother was Jewish, you are born into the covenant by divine election. Jewish children were not considered unsaved until they managed to fulfill the law perfectly and earn their salvation by works.
The purpose of the law was to be like a fence which helped keep you in the covenant. The law was not a means to enter into relationship with God, it was a means to stay in the relationship you already have by grace. If you ‘jumped the fence’ of the law by sinning, you needed to be restored into this covenant relationship. Clearly you had an obligation to stay within the fence.
The baptism of John the Baptist clearly lacked the later sacramental character that Christian Baptism provided because Christian Baptism applies the finished work of Jesus’ sacrifice which is able to release fullness of the gift of forgiveness (Acts 2:38, 22:16; John 3:5; Titus 3:5). Christian Baptism is also linked to the reception of the Holy Spirit.
Later in the Acts of the Apostles, Luke tells us that St. Paul encountered some disciples who had only received the baptism of John. St. Paul tells them, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus” (Acts 19:4).
John’s baptism was a prophetic act, but one which is an anticipation of future cleansing and forgiveness through Jesus (CCC 720). John’s baptism should not be limited to a symbol of repentance, however, it is a real anticipation of the messianic gift of forgiveness, and the future outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh (Joel 2, Acts 2).
There are two distinct strands to the Old Testament prophetic tradition about cleansing and forgiveness. One strand emphasized water of baptism as a symbolic expression of repentance (Isaiah 1:16-17, Jeremiah 4:14), while the other strand focused on the divine answer to repentance (Isaiah 4:2-6, Ezekiel 36-37, Jeremiah 31:31-34). The second strand is pointing ahead to a future time when God would cleanse and transform his people’s hearts by the Holy Spirit.
Echoing the words of the prophet Isaiah Luke tells us that John the Baptist was preparing His people to receive the salvation that would be poured out on all flesh (Acts 2:17). John is the voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, . . . and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” (Luke 3:4-6).
In many ways, John the Baptist’s ministry of preparation can continue to be a reminder of our own need to prepare our hearts for Jesus in this season of Advent.
Second Sunday of Advent, Year C
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