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  • The Baptism of the Lord (13 January 2013)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • Isaiah 43:1-7 and Psalm 29
    • Acts 8:14-17
    • Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

     

    Introduction

    In the introduction to An Uncommon Lectionary, John Beverley Butcher comments on the pivotal significance of this event in the life of Jesus:

    The liturgical year in this lectionary begins with the primary spiritual event in the life of Jesus: his Baptism by John in the Jordan River. Mark, the earliest narrative Gospel, opens with the ministry of John the Baptizer who is “calling for baptism and a change of heart that lead to forgiveness of sins.” (Mark 1:4, SV)

    According to Luke 3:23, Jesus was about thirty when he went to hear John preach. What might there have been in John’s message that prompted Jesus to ask for baptism? And what might have he experienced during his baptism and the forty days in the wilderness that reportedly followed? Might the baptism in the Jordan and the time in the desert comprise a story illustrating his enlightenment?

    The evidence is clear that something profound happened within Jesus which provided direction and energy for a ministry of teaching and healing. Without Jesus’ baptism, there might have been no ministry, no getting into trouble with the authorities, no crucifixion, no resurrection experiences, no church, no Christian religion, and no church history! The course of human civilization would have gone quite differently.

     

    The baptism of Jesus in early Christian tradition

    There are nine surviving Christian texts from the first hundred years after Easter which refer to the baptism of Jesus:
    (1) GHeb 2

    1The whole fountain of the holy spirit comes down on him. For the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit is, there is freedom.
    2And it happened that when the Lord came up out of the water, the whole fountain of the holy spirit came down on him and rested on him. 3It said to him, “My Son, I was waiting for you in all the prophets, waiting for you to come so I could rest in you. 4For you are my rest; you are my first-begotten Son who rules forever.” [Complete Gospels]
    (2a) Mark 1:9-11 and Synoptic Parallels

    1:9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

    = Matt 3:13-17
    3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

    = Luke 3:21-22
    3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
    (2b) GNaz 2

    1The mother of the Lord and his brothers said to him, “John the Baptist baptized for the forgiveness of sins. Let’s go and get baptized by him.” 2But he said to them, “How have I sinned? So why should I go and get baptized by him? Only if I don’t know what I’m talking about.” [Complete Gospels]
    (2c) GEb 4

    1When the people were baptized, Jesus also came and got baptized by John. 2As he came up out of the water, the skies opened and he saw the holy spirit in the form of a dove coming down and entering him. 3And there was a voice from the sky that said, “You are my favored son—I fully approve of you.” 4And again, “Today I have become your father.” 5And right away a bright light illuminated the place. When John saw this, he said to him, “Who are you?” 6And again a voice from the sky said to him, “This is my favored son—I fully approve of him.” 7John knelt down in front of him and said, “Please, Lord, you baptize me.” 8But he stopped him and said, “It’s all right. This is the way everything is supposed to be fulfilled.” [Complete Gospels]
    (2d) John 1:(29-)32-34

    1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
    (2e) IgnSmyr 1:1c

    I glorify God, even Jesus Christ, who has given you such wisdom. For I have observed that ye are perfected in an immoveable faith, as if ye were nailed to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, both in the flesh and in the spirit, and are established in love through the blood of Christ, being fully persuaded with respect to our Lord, that He was truly of the seed of David according to the flesh, and the Son of God according to the will and power of God; that He was truly born of a virgin, was baptized by John, in order that all righteousness might be fulfilled by Him; and was truly, under Pontius Pilate and Herod the tetrarch, nailed [to the cross] for us in His flesh. Of this fruit we are by His divinely-blessed passion, that He might set up a standard s for all ages, through His resurrection, to all His holy and faithful [followers], whether among Jews or Gentiles, in the one body of His Church.
    (3) IgnEph 18:2d

    For our God, Jesus Christ, was, according to the appointment of God, conceived in the womb by Mary, of the seed of David, but by the Holy Ghost. He was born and baptized, that by His passion He might purify the water.

    Commentary

    David Flusser

    Flusser devotes chapter 3 of his book, Jesus (pp. 37-55), to the baptism of Jesus. He stresses the links between the Essene beliefs and practices at Qumran, where “baptism linked repentance with forgiveness of sins, and the latter with the Holy Spirit.”

    On the probability of ecstatic phenomena, Flusser observes:

    We can well imagine the holy excitement of that crowd who had listened to the words of the Baptist. Having confessed their sins and awaiting the gift of the Holy Spirit to cleanse their souls from all the filth of sin, they plunged their bodies into the cleansing water of the river. Can it be that none of them would have had a special pneumatic-ecstatic experience in that hour when the Spirit of God touched them? (p. 40)

    … many scholars are right in thinking that in the original account, the heavenly voice announced to Jesus, “Behold, My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen, in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations” (Isaiah 42:1). This form is probably the original, for the reason that the prophetic word fits the situation. (p. 41)

    The gift of the Holy Spirit assumed a significance for Jesus that was different than for others who were baptized by John. Heavenly voices were not an uncommon phenomenon among the Jews of those days, and frequently those voices were heard to utter verses from scripture. Endowment with the Holy Spirit, accompanied by an ecstatic experience, was apparently something that happened to others who were baptized in John’s presence in the Jordan. (p. 42)

    If, however, the heavenly voice intoned the words of Isaiah, Jesus must have understood that he was being set apart as the servant of God, the Chosen One. For him, the gift of the Holy Spirit, which was part of John’s baptism, held another special significance that was to become decisive for his future. None of the designations Son, Servant or Chosen One were exclusively messianic titles–the last two could also denote the special status of the prophetic office. By these titles, Jesus learned that he was now called, chosen, set apart. Nothing we have learned casts any doubt upon the historicity of Jesus’ experience at his baptism in the Jordan. (p. 42)

    Jesus Seminar

    The opinion of the Jesus Seminar Fellows about the baptism of Jesus by John was tested across a number of statements, with the average result for each statement:

    • JBap baptized Jesus
    • Jesus saw the heavens open and the spirit descend on him like a dove.
    • Jesus heard a voice from heaven at his baptism saying, “You are my favored son.”
    • Jesus had visionary experiences.
    • Jesus had a visionary experience at the time of his baptism.
    • Jesus had a vision at his baptism.
    • Jesus had a powerful religious experience at his baptism.
    • Jesus was a disciple of JBap.

    Gerd Lüdemann

    Lüdemann [Jesus, 9] affirms the historicity of Jesus being baptized by John, but does not trace the theological interpretations back beyond the post-Easter community:

    … Jesus did not regard his baptism as appointment to be the son of God. The underlying concept derives from the community, which believed in Jesus as the son of God (cf. Gal. 2.16; 4.4) and located his appointment within his lifetime. In the earliest period, for example, the appointment of Jesus as son of God came only after his resurrection from the dead (cf. Rom. 1.4).

    John P. Meier

    The second volume of A Marginal Jew devotes considerable space to a study of John as “mentor” to Jesus. The historicity of the baptism is addressed on pages 100-105, before considering the meaning of Jesus’ baptism on pages 106-116. On the basis of the criterion of embarrassment, supported by a limited proposal for multiple attestation (relying on possible echoes of a Q version in John’s Gospel and in 1 John 5:6), Meier concludes:

    We may thus take the baptism of Jesus by John as the firm historical starting point for any treatment of Jesus’ public ministry. (II,105)

    Having established the historicity of the baptism event, Meier is adamant that the narrative must be seen as a Christian midrash, drawing on various OT themes to assert the primacy of Jesus over John. In particular, Meier insists that the theophany must be excluded from all attempts to understand the event, since it is a later Christian invention rather than a surviving memory of some actual spiritual experience of Jesus.

    Meier’s discussion of the meaning of the baptism puts great weight on the fact that accepting baptism implied Jesus’ agreement with John’s apocalyptic message, and also engages at length with the question of Jesus’ sinlessness.

    See also:

     

    Jesus Database

     

    Liturgies and Prayers

    For liturgies and sermons each week, shaped by a progressive theology, check Rex Hunt’s web site

    Other recommended sites include:

     

    Music Suggestions

    See David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate site for recommendations from a variety of contemporary genre.

  • The Epiphany of the Lord (6 January 2013)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • Isaiah 60:1-6 and Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
    • Ephesians 3:1-12
    • Matthew 2:1-12

     

    Introduction

    The Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord concludes the traditional twelve days of Christmas with a celebration of the universal significance of the Christ Child. In recent lectionaries this festival also introduces a season of varying length between Christmas and Lent. During this season the readings provide an opportunity to explore some of the different ways in which epiphanies (a Greek word for an event or action that reveals the otherwise hidden presence of a god) form part of the Christian faith tradition. Epiphany celebrates the possibility of an encounter with the Sacred beginning with a celebration of the life of Jesus as a divine disclosure.

    Commentary and Critical Notes

    The following links provide more detailed information on various aspects of this story, including extended citations of the ancient sources:

     

    Jesus Database

    Liturgies and Prayers

    For liturgies and sermons each week, shaped by a progressive theology, check Rex Hunt’s web site

    Other recommended sites include:

     

    Music Suggestions

    See David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate site for recommendations from a variety of contemporary genre.

  • Christmas 1C—Feast of the Holy Family (30 December 2012)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26 & Psalm 148
    • Colossians 3:12-17
    • Luke 2:41-52

     

    The Childhood and Family of Jesus

    The first Sunday after Christmas is often observed as the Feast of the Holy Family. In any event, the Sunday after Christmas presents a natural opportunity to reflect on the likely nature of Jesus’ upbringing, his immediate family and the impact of his family upon his own spiritual formation.

    Arthur J. Dewey, “The Family of Jesus.” Forum ns 2,1 (Spring 1999) 79-97 lists the relevant texts as follows, although these relate not so much to the circumstances of Jesus’ childhood as to the activity of Jesus’ own relatives within his movement:

    Dewey also notes the following references:

    • Pauline references: Gal 1:19; 2:9,12; 1Cor 9:5; 15:7
    • Acts material: Acts 1:14

    For the record, Dewey concludes with the following recommendations for the Jesus Seminar session in the Fall of 1994:

    • The family of Jesus continued into the second century. [Recommendation: Red]
    • The family played a significant role in the development of the early Jerusalem community. [Recommendation: Red]
    • The family of Jesus became the vehicle for dynastic succession of community leaders in Jerusalem. [Recommendation: Red]
    • This dynastic succession lasted until the second Jewish War. [Recommendation: Gray]

    The voting outcomes from the Seminar’s examination of texts relevant to Jesus’ family were as follows:

    True relatives: Mark 3:20-21,31-35 and parallels

    • Jesus’ relatives thought him mad. 0.72
    • Jesus’ mother and brothers came to get him. 0.65

    No Respect at Home: Mark 6:1-6 and parallels

    • Jesus had brothers. 0.97
    • James was the name of one brother of Jesus. 0.97
    • Jesus had sisters. 0.73
    • Jesus’ brothers were not in sympathy with him. 0.69
    • Jesus was known as the son of Mary. 0.89
    • The name of Jesus’ father was not known. 0.73
    • Jesus did favor or inaugurate the establishment of a blood dynasty. 0.01

    Jesus’ Family: Gal 1:19, 2:9,12

    • James was a brother of Jesus. 0.96
    • James was one of those of “repute.” 0.94
    • James appears to be pre-eminent among the three leaders of “repute.” 0.95
    • James, Cephas and John extended the right hand of fellowship to Paul. 0.84
    • Emissaries of James later came to Antioch and precipitated a confrontation between Cephas and Paul. 0.96

    Jesus’ Family: 1 Cor 9:5, 15:7

    • The brothers of Jesus were married. 0.88
    • James claimed a revelatory experience or vision. 0.81

    Jesus’ Family: Eusebius and his sources

    • The family of Jesus continued into the second century. 0.87
    • The family of Jesus played a significant role in the development of the early Jerusalem community. 0.91
    • The family of Jesus became the vehicle for dynastic succession of community leaders in Jerusalem. 0.75
    • The dynastic succession of Jesus’ family lasted until the second century. 0.44

    Early Christian writings show an increasing interest in Jesus’ birth and childhood as time passes, but these matters were seemingly not of interest to the original followers of Jesus or even early converts such as Paul. For Paul it was sufficient to note that Jesus was born of a Jewish mother (“born of a woman, born under the Law” (Gal 4:4).

    Other developments can be traced as follows:

    Mark (written in the 70s) has very little information about the family of Jesus, and its reliability cannot be verified. From Mark we can draw just the following points:

    • Mark pays no attention to Jesus’ conception, birth or childhood.
    • Jesus was known as the “son of Mary” rather than being named for his father. (Mark 6:3)
    • While the mother and brothers of Jesus are mentioned, there is no mention of his father. (Mark 3:31-35; 6:3)
    • There seems to be have been some division between Jesus and his family. (Mark 3:31-35; 10:28-31)
    • Jesus had at least two sisters. (Mark 6:3)

    Matthew (written a decade or so after Mark) begins the process of filling out the sketchy details in Mark:

    • Matthew begins with a genealogy that traces Jesus’ descent from Abraham and David (Matt 1:1-17)
    • Jesus’ father is Joseph, a “just man” whose religious practices included revelatory dreams. (Matt 1:18-25; 2:13,19,22)
    • There is some doubt over Jesus’ paternity but Joseph acknowledges Jesus as his own child. (Matt 1:18-25)
    • Jesus’ family originally lived in Bethlehem, not Nazareth in Galilee. (Matt 2:1,23)
    • A threat to Jesus’ life caused the family to flee to Egypt for safety. (Matt 2:13-15)
    • Subsequently Joseph took his family to Nazareth rather return to Bethlehem. (Matt 2:22-23)
    • Joseph is described as a carpenter. (Matt 13:55)
    • His siblings now include 4 named brothers and more than 2 unnamed sisters. (Matt 13:56)
    • Jesus was alienated from his own family to some extent. (Matt 10:34-36; 12:46-50; 19:29)

    John (written mid/late 90s) gives no attention to the birth and childhood of Jesus, but has an occasional reference to members of Jesus’ family:

    • Mary attends the Cana wedding celebrations with Jesus and plays an active role in his first miracle. (John 2:1-11)
    • His mother and brothers accompany Jesus when he goes to Capernaum. (John 2:12)
    • Galilean Jews recognize Jesus as the “son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know.” (John 6:42)
    • Jesus’ brothers advise him to leave Galilee and go to Judah. (John 7:3)
    • Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him. (John 7:5)
    • Jesus’ brothers go to Jerusalem for Tabernacles, and then Jesus follows them there. (John 7:10)
    • Jesus is not born in Bethlehem but comes from Galilee. (John 7:40-44)
    • Jesus’ opponents hint at his illegitimate birth while affirming their own pedigree. (John 8:39-41)
    • Mary is with Jesus during his crucifixion and he gives her into the care of a favorite disciple. (John 19:25-27)

    Luke (perhaps written ca 110) pays far more attention to the family of Jesus:

    • The parents of John the Baptist are relatives of Mary. (Luke 1:36)
    • John and Jesus are cousins although there is no mention of contact between them.
    • Mary and Joseph live in Nazareth. (Luke 1:26-27; 2:39)
    • Mary conceives Jesus prior to the marriage.
    • Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem late in her pregnancy for a census. (Luke 2:4-5)
    • Jesus is born while his parents are visiting Bethlehem. (Luke 2:6-7)
    • Lacking proper housing in Bethlehem a manger serves as a make-shift crib. (Luke 2:7)
    • The “baby in a manger” is visited by shepherds alerted to his birth by angels. (Luke 2:8-20)
    • Jesus is circumcised on the eighth day. (Luke 2:21)
    • Jesus and is parents visit the Temple for Mary’s purification rituals. (Luke 2:22-24)
    • At the Temple Simeon and Anna prophesy his future significance. (Luke 2:25-38)
    • The family returns to their hometown of Nazareth. (Luke 2:39)
    • Jesus’ childhood is spent at Nazareth. (Luke 2:40)
    • At age 12 Jesus visits Jerusalem for Passover and engages the scholars in the Temple. (Luke 2:41-51)
    • Luke provides a genealogy that traces Jesus’ descent to Adam. (Luke 3:23-38)
    • His townsfolk identify Jesus as “the son of Joseph.” (Luke 4:22)
    • Jesus seems to be alienated from his mother and brothers when they come looking for him. (Luke 8:19-21)
    • Jesus praises disciples over his own mother. (Luke 11:27-28)
    • His mother Mary and his brother are among the disciples in Jerusalem after Easter. (Acts 1:14)
    • James the brother of the Lord is a significant leader in the Jerusalem community. (Acts 15:13-21)

    Infancy Gospel of James (ca 150 CE):

    • a collection of stories about Mary’s special childhood
    • the circumstances of her arranged marriage to an elderly widower named Joseph
    • various episodes relating to the miraculous birth of Jesus.

    Infancy Gospel of Thomas (ca 180 CE) provides a collection of childhood adventures by Jesus that fill the gap between the birth of Jesus and his appearance in the Temple aged 12

     

    John P. Meier [A Marginal Jew, vol 1:350-52] gives the following summary of what can be said about the childhood and family of Jesus:

    During the reign of Herod the Great, and probably towards its end (ca. 7-4 B.C.), Jesus was born in the hill town of Nazareth in Lower Galilee. His mother was Mary, his putative father, Joseph. We hear of four brothers of Jesus (James, Joses, Jude, and Simon) and at least two unnamed sisters. It may be significant that all the names in the family hark back to the glorious days of patriarchs, the exodus, and the conquest of the Promised Land. Jesus’ family may have shared in the reawakening of Jewish national and religious identity that looked forward to the restoration of Israel in its full glory. That is all the more likely if Joseph claimed to be a descendant of King David. At any rate, judging by the fiercely religious focus of Jesus’ life once it becomes visible to us, we may reasonably suppose that his family had been deeply devout Jews of a peasant Galilean type: firmly committed to the basic practices of the Mosaic Law (especially its “boundary symbols” of circumcision, Sabbath, and pilgrimage to the Jerusalem temple), but not given to the niceties of Pharisaic observance.
    As the firstborn son, Jesus would have been the object of Joseph’s special attention, both in training him for a trade and in seeing to his religious education. The fact that Joseph is notably absent during the public ministry is best explained by the traditional idea that he had already died. Jesus’ mother, brothers, and sisters survived into the period of the ministry, though not without some tensions between them. …
    However galling the Gospels’ silence about Jesus’ “hidden years” may be, the silence may have a simple explanation: nothing much happened. The shoot of the stump of Jesse was sprouting slowly and silently.
    Jesus in Nazareth was insufferably ordinary, and his ordinariness included the ordinary status of a layman, without any special religious credentials or “power base.” As a Galilean layman, he would have appeared at first negligible to the high priestly families in Jerusalem—until he began to appear dangerous.

     

    Jesus Database

    Liturgies and Prayers

    For liturgies and sermons each week, shaped by a progressive theology, check Rex Hunt’s web site

    Other recommended sites include:

     

    Music Suggestions

    See David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate site for recommendations from a variety of contemporary genre.

  • Advent 4C (23 December 2012)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • Micah 5:2-5a and Luke 1:46b-55 (or Psalm 80:1-7)
    • Hebrews 10:5-10
    • Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)

    Overview

    The stories we tell about people, and especially the stories we tell of their birth and early development, are powerful ways to celebrate their importance to us and the significance they have in our lives.

    Jesus lived in Palestine during the first 30 years of the Common Era (= CE). It is a measure of his significance for Western culture that we traditionally divide time into two great epochs, with his birth as the beginning of the current era. We know very little of the exact details of his life, but the following dates are the most probable:

    • ~4 BCE – Approximate date for birth of Jesus
    • 28 CE – Jesus begins his public activity
    • 30 CE – Jesus is executed by the Roman Empire

    Jesus commanded no military forces, had no social status, and was not part of an ancient priesthood. Yet within a short period of time Jesus had an impact that changed world history. In this week’s notes we will look at some of the birth stories people told about Jesus as they tried to understand how he could have been so special, and as they tried to express what his life meant to them.

    When someone excels in a particular area of life we often go looking for something in their background that would explain their success. You may be able to suggest examples from recent news and current affairs reports, documentaries, history lessons, popular magazines, and even your own family tree.

    In the ancient world people also offered explanations for the success of heroic individuals, and they often did this by telling stories about some remarkable circumstances at the time of the person’s birth. We have examples of this in the Bible as well as in other writings from the ancient past.

    You may wish to check the following stories, noting their common elements and considering how they were intended to be understood by those who first heard them:

    Bible Stories
    Other Stories
    Mythic/semi-divine figures
    Adam & Eve
    Herakles
    Twins, one becomes a ruler
    Esau & Jacob
    Romulus & Remus
    Baby survives danger
    Moses
    Sargon II of Akkad
    Birth of great military leader & hero
    Samson
    Alexander the Great
    Birth of religious leaders
    Samuel
    Buddha

    Like our literary stereotypes (eg, Robin Hood or the Cowboy in the American Western—outlaws who are really good guys even though the powerful people hate them), people in the ancient Roman world were familiar with the idea of the Greek Hero. This may have influenced some of the ways that Christians chose to describe Jesus, just as we could re-tell the Jesus story with him as a kind of Robin Hood (the disciples = the “Merry Men” of Sherwood, and Mary Magdalene = Maid Marion).

    Categories of Birth Stories

    We can group the traditions about the birth of Jesus in the Bible and other ancient Christians texts by the kind of information they focus on:

    Birth of Jesus

    Gal 4:4b
    Matt 1:18–2:23
    Luke 2:1–40
    InfJas 17:1-11; 19:1-19

    Miraculous Conception of Jesus

    GHeb 1
    Matt 1:18-25
    Luke 1:26-38
    Ignatius: Eph 7:2; 18:2a; 19:1; Smyr 1:1b

    Genealogies

    Matt 1:2-17
    Luke 3:23-38)

    Star of Bethlehem

    Matt 2:1-11

    Joseph as Jesus’ biological father

    Luke
    John

    Jesus a descendant of King David

    various parts of the NT

    Major Sources for the Birth Stories of Jesus

    We find the birth stories of Jesus in some parts of the New Testament but not in others, and also in some non-biblical Christian writings.

    Paul

    (letters dating from 50–60 CE)
    Jesus’ mother was a Jewish woman
    as the mother of Jesus is not named, this suggests that Paul did not even know the “son of Mary” tag for Jesus)

    But when the fullness of time had come,
    God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law …
    (Gal 4:4).

    Gospel of Mark

    (mid-70s CE)
    no interest in Jesus’ birth or childhood

    Gospel of Matthew

    (mid-80s CE)
    family tree
    conception before parents married
    escapes an attempt to kill him shortly after birth
    exile in Egypt
    moves to Nazareth

    Matthew’s story of Jesus’ birth can be outlined as follows: </p>

    1:1–17 Jesus’ family tree
    1:18–25 Conception and birth
    2:1–12 Threat to the Christ child
    2:13–15 Escape
    2:16–18 Massacre of the Innocents
    2:19–23 Moving to Nazareth

    Matthew seems to have been influenced by Jewish traditions about the birth and childhood of Moses when writing his story about the birth of Jesus. These traditions are known as the Moses Haggadah (“Haggadah” is a Hebrew word for story.)

    Gospel of John

    (mid/late 90s?):
    no birth stories
    but Jesus is the eternal “Logos” (or sacred principle) at the heart of the cosmos
    Joseph is Jesus’ natural father
    Jesus is not born in Bethlehem.

    Gospel of Luke

    (110s CE):
    twin birth stories for John the Baptist and Jesus
    set in the context of Jerusalem and its Temple
    (including Bethlehem, ancestral town of King David)
    lots of holy people bursting into sacred songs and lots of visits to the Jewish Temple.
    no escape needed as no one threatens the Holy Child

    Luke’s story of Jesus’ birth can be outlined as follows:

    Scene 1 – John’s miraculous conception (Luke 1:5-25)
    Scene 2 – Jesus’ miraculous conception (Luke 1:26-38)
    Scene 3 – Mary visits Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56)
    Scene 4 – John’s birth and naming (Luke 1:57-80)
    Scene 5 – Jesus’ birth and naming (Luke 2:1-21)
    Scene 6 – Presentation in Temple (Luke 2:22-40)
    Scene 7 – 12-year old Jesus in Temple (Luke 2:41-52)

    Infancy Gospel of James (ca 150 CE): a collection of stories about Mary’s special childhood, the circumstances of her arranged marriage to an elderly widower named Joseph, and various episodes relating to the miraculous birth of Jesus.

    Infancy Gospel of Thomas

    (ca 180 CE):
    a collection of childhood adventures by Jesus that fill the gap between the birth of Jesus and his appearance in the Temple aged 12

    Important Questions

    As we study these ancient stories about the birth of Jesus, we are entering an area of considerable sensitivity for some people as they may take some of these stories literally.

    The real point is not to debate the historicity of these ancient stories, but to ask how they shape and convey meaning. The core issue for us is not whether things actually happened as described, but what such wonderful stories tell us about the significance of Jesus in the beliefs of the people telling the story.

    Rather than focus on questions such as, “Did this really happen the way it is described in this story?” it is more helpful to ask questions such as these:

    • WHO? (note the characters)
    • WHAT? (check the events and the flow of the story)
    • WHERE? (at what locations are the events said to occur?)
    • WHEN? (what times and sequences are involved?)
    • WHY? (what explanations are offered or suggested?)

    Rather than puzzling over the historical questions, it is important to ask, “What does it mean?”

    It can sometimes be important to distinguish between fact statements (eg, Jesus was killed by the Romans around 30 CE) and faith statements (eg, Jesus died to take away our sins).

    Stories can be a powerful way to create and sustain meaning, but underlying the story is often some central metaphor. Metaphors are not the same as facts, but they may be more important to express the meaning we make of life. After all, even so-called “facts” need to be verified and interpreted.

    You will already have encountered some of the most powerful metaphors for Jesus:

    • Jesus as the Lamb of God
    • Jesus as the Word of God
    • Jesus as the Son of God

    Take some time to think about these metaphors as symbols that express the significance of Jesus. They are not meant to be taken literally. All of them express some important aspect of Christian belief about Jesus.

    “sons of God” in ancient Rome

    Ancient rulers used slogans to communicate their message to the people and to maintain their hold over them. As there were no print or electronic media, these were especially disseminated on coins and inscriptions. The key terms were: kyrios (lord, ruler), soter (saviour), and hyios tou theou (son of God). The religious ceremonies at the beginning of major civic events, and temples dedicated to the ruler cult, made this a major social influence.

    Here is one famous example of this imperial theology:

    Whereas Providence … has … adorned our lives with the highest good: Augustus … and has in her beneficence granted us and those who will come after us [a Savior] who has made war to cease and who shall put everything [in peaceful] order … with the result that the birthday of our God signalled the beginning of the Good News for the world because of him therefore … the Greeks in Asia Decreed that the New Year begin for all the cities on September 23 … and the first month shall … be observed as the Month of Caesar, beginning with 23 September, the birthday of Caesar.
    [Calendrical Decree from Temples of Rome and Augustus in the Province of Asia.]

    While the Gospel of Mark does not have any special stories about Jesus’ birth, it does present Jesus as a hero whose mighty deeds demonstrated his divine status. While most characters in the Gospel do not recognise Jesus, Mark lets the reader know the secret of Jesus’ identity: at his baptism (1:11), as Jesus exorcises demons (1:24), at the transfiguration (9:7), and even the Roman centurion who executed Jesus (15:39).

    For early Christians there was a tension between belief in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and the pressure to recognise the Emperor as the source of all life’s blessings. Jesus had been executed as a rival “Jewish king.” Thirty years or so later, Jews had fought a major war with Rome (66–73 CE) ending with the destruction of Jerusalem. Many Christians were tortured and killed because they refused to worship the Emperor Domitian as Lord and God. The Book of Revelation reflects that struggle for supremacy between Christ and Caesar. In the end, the empire became Christian, but that was to take 300 years!

    The earliest followers of Jesus were looking for someone who would apply the holiness and power of God to the problems people were facing in their lives. After almost 2,000 years of Christianity we may think of Jesus as solving spiritual problems rather than fixing social and political problems. However, there is much more to “sin” than bad habits and guilty consciences. “Sin” includes structural evil: things that are wrong about the ways things are organised in our world.

    Christians believe that Jesus acts on God’s behalf against evil and injustice of every kind: poverty, slavery, sexual abuse, corruption, drug crime, unfair interest rates, sickness, and loneliness. That can be a great source of hope for people in bad times, but it can also be a challenge for a society like ours that seems to have such an easy life.

    Jesus – divine Wisdom in human flesh

    The classic interpretation of Jesus as a powerful hero sent from God with divine powers to rescue others has dominated Christian theology for much of the past 2,000 years. But there are other significant voices in the Bible that reveal other ways to interpret Jesus. You may wish to explore the ancient interpretation of Jesus as “child of Sophia/Wisdom.”

    As we have already seen, Mark’s heroic representation of Jesus was adopted and elaborated by Matthew and Luke. But there is another major interpretation of Jesus within the NT itself—the Gospel of John. This alerts us to the possibility of using different metaphors to express the significance of Jesus. With the lenses provided by John, we can recognise otherwise overlooked metaphors for Jesus in different parts of the NT.

    The divine Logos: The famous prologue to John’s Gospel presents Jesus as the incarnation of the eternal Logos, a Greek philosophical term used to refer to the ultimate organising principle in the cosmos. (logos occurs in many English words: astrology, cosmology, geology, theology, zoology, etc.) Have someone read John 1:1–18 then discuss its underlying view of Jesus.

    Divine Sophia/Lady Wisdom: this is one of the oldest ways of describing Jesus, and it involves speaking of Jesus in feminine imagery! Remember, metaphors are not literal descriptions. This description takes up the idea of Lady Wisdom (divine Sophia) in the OT texts, an idea that develops and becomes more complex as we get closer to the time of Jesus.

    Take the time to compare closely the description of Wisdom in the Wisdom of Solomon 7:22–8:1 and the Logos Hymn in John 1:1–18. As the WisSol was composed in Greek around 40 CE, it provides an interesting sample of Jewish spirituality around the time of Jesus and Paul.

    Jesus as divine Wisdom: Take some time to read through and consider carefully the examples of early Christian texts that interpret Jesus as a manifestation of Sophia:
    – Sayings Gospel Q (the oldest known Christian text)
    – Paul’s genuine letters
    – Deutero-Pauline writings
    – Johannine texts
    – Other NT writings

    Jesus as the human face of God: Reflect on the significance of Jesus as the human face of God. Are there particular aspects of God that Jesus signifies for you? What difference does it make to you? Do you now have a richer appreciation of the meaning of Christmas?

    Liturgies and Prayers

    For liturgies and sermons each week, shaped by a progressive theology, check Rex Hunt’s web site

    Other recommended sites include:

    Music Suggestions

    See David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate site for recommendations from a variety of contemporary genre.

  • Advent 3C (16 December 2012)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • Zephaniah 3:14-20 & Isaiah 12:2-6
    • Philippians 4:4-7
    • Luke 3:7-18

    Introduction

    The third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as “Gaudete Sunday” from the opening word (“Rejoice!) in the Latin entrance antiphons for this day:

    Rejoice in the Lord always;
    again I say, rejoice!
    The Lord is near.

    This association is also seen in the 16C Christmas carol, Gaudete.

    In some communities the shift in tone for this Sunday is reflected in the use of a rose or pink coloured candle in the Advent Wreath, or the use of pink vestments.

    First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-20

    The reading from Zephaniah is clearly chosen for its fit with today’s theme of rejoicing in the imminent deliverance to be achieved by the coming Lord:

    Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD.

    The ancient hopes captured in Zephaniah were originally more immediate and political than the usual eschatological and cosmic hopes associated with Advent in Christian communities. The imagery comes from the victory celebrations of tribal conflict, as the booty is divided between victors and people—who had feared the worst—express their joy at the favorable turn of events.

    In the case of Zephaniah even the lame and the outcasts share in the celebrations, as they also experience a reversal of fortune due to the intervention of the warrior God.

    Something of the same reversal is celebrated in the two great Christian songs found in Luke’s Gospel: the Song of Zechariah (Benedictus, Luke 1:68-79) and the Song of Mary (Magnificat, Luke 1:46-55. Luke has either created or co-opted two ancient poems that have subsequently shaped the Christian imagination so powerfully. At the heart of both songs is the idea of God reversing the fortunes of the poor and giving hope to those without any prospects.

    In Christian tradition there remains a strand of violence as the basis for the celebration of deliverance and reversal, but the violence can also be understood as inflicted on God and embraced by God rather than prescribed or executed by God and inflicted upon others. This is another kind of reversal; a reversal in which violence is eschewed and suffering for other is embraced as the path to salvation and deliverance. Rejoice, indeed. Our deliverance is at hand.

    Second Reading: Philippians 4:4-7

    The choice of this passage for today’s second reading is hardly surprising. The entrance antiphon had already come from this passage, so reading the complete paragraph was an obvious choice for the lectionary committee:

    Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

    Gospel: John and Jesus

    This is the second of the two Sundays of Advent that are usually devoted to John the Baptist. The following table of JESUS SEMINAR votes concerning John may be a useful way to explore further his significance within Second Temple Judaism and within the Christian tradition.

    It could be an interesting exercise to weave these historical judgments into a (hopefully) coherent sketch of a historical John the Baptist. One could begin with what seem to be the most certain elements (those voted Red) to form the core, and then work through the Pink items (those with a certain probability) before adding any elements voted Gray that seem to be coherent with the Red and Pink items.

    Items voted RED: high probability of historical authenticity

    • JBap’s characteristic activities took place in the wilderness
    • JBap was part of a broader baptizing phenomenon or movement
    • JBap’s time overlaps that of Jesus
    • JBap’s locale overlaps that of Jesus
    • JBap preached
    • JBap baptized with water
    • JBap taught repentance
    • JBap preached baptism
    • JBap’s baptism was understood to express repentance
    • JBap administered baptism himself
    • JBap’s exhortations and activities had a widespread appeal.

    Items voted PINK: reasonable probability of historical authenticity

    • JBap’s baptism was a form of Jewish immersion rite
    • JBap’s baptism was done in flowing water
    • JBap’s baptism was understood to mediate God’s forgiveness
    • JBap’s baptism was understood to be a protest against the temple establishment
    • JBap’s baptism was understood to purify from uncleanness
    • JBap’s baptism was understood as an initiation into a Jewish sectarian movement
    • JBap spoke the words in Mark 1:7, Luke 3:16b and Matt 3:11b
    • JBap spoke the words in Luke 3:17 and Matt 3:12
    • In response, people repented
    • In response, people were baptized
    • JBap had disciples
    • Pharisees came to hear JBap
    • Sadducees came to hear JBap
    • Toll collectors came to hear JBap
    • Soldiers came to hear JBap
    • JBap acted as a prophet
    • JBap was an apocalyptic preacher

    Items voted GRAY: reflect a later Christian perspective but may preserve authentic information about John

    • JBap’s baptism was understood to foreshadow an expected figure’s baptism
    • JBap spoke the words in Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16a,c and Matt 3:11a,c
    • JBap spoke the words in Luke 3:7-9 and Matt 3:7-10
    • JBap spoke the words in Luke 3:11
    • JBap spoke the words in Luke 3:13
    • JBap spoke the words in Luke 3:14
    • JBap was a former Essene
    • JBap imitated Elijah
    • Jesus began his public ministry at the time JBap was imprisoned

    Items voted BLACK: unlikely to preserve authentic information about John

    • JBap taught repentance apart from baptism
    • Mark 1:4 and Matt 3:2 summarize the message of JBap
    • JBap spoke the words reported in John 1:15
    • JBap spoke the words reported in John 1:23
    • JBap spoke the words reported in John 1:29
    • JBap spoke the words reported in John 1:32-34
    • JBap spoke the words reported in John 3:27-30
    • JBap was an Essene
    • JBap was a member (or former member) of the Qumran community
    • JBap was a lone Jewish sage or holy man (like Bannus)
    • JBap was perceived as a hellenistic moralist

    Other questions to consider as part of this exercise:

    • Could the same person reasonably be thought to embrace all the ideas attributed to John by the later Christian descriptions of him? In particular, if John was the kind of character captured by the data voted Red or Pink, could the data voted Black also be true of him?
    • Can you imagine Jesus as a disciple of the John the Baptist sketched by your own characterization?
    • Can you imagine “your John the Baptist” as the spiritual mentor of Jesus?
    • Is it appropriate to list John the Baptist as one of the saints of the Christian faith?
    • What significance does John the Baptist have for your own faith journey?
    • Which aspects of John’s message seem relevant this Advent?

    Other online resources about John the Baptist:

    Key printed resources:

    • John Dominic Crossan (1991), The Historical Jesus: The life of a Mediterranean Jewish peasant. (HarperCollins) [see esp. “John and Jesus,” pp. 227-64
    • John P. Meier (1994), A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. II: Mentor, Message, and Miracles. (Anchor Bible Reference Library) Doubleday.
    • W. Barnes Tatum (1994), John the Baptist and Jesus. A report of the Jesus Seminar. Polebridge Press.

    Jesus Database

    Liturgies and Prayers

    For liturgies and sermons each week, shaped by a progressive theology, check Rex Hunt’s web site

    Other recommended sites include:

    Music Suggestions

    See David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate site for recommendations from a variety of contemporary genre.

  • Advent 2C (9 December 2012)

    Contents

    Lectionary

    • Baruch 5:1-9 (or Malachi 3:1-4) and Luke 1:68-79
    • Philippians 1:3-11
    • Luke 3:1-6

     

    First Reading: The Forerunner

    The book of Malachi (literally, “My messenger”) is the last of the prophetic texts that comprise the Scroll of the Twelve in the Hebrew Bible. The Jewish canon has three parts:

    • Torah (5 scrolls of Moses)
    • Prophets (4 x Former Prophets + 4 x Latter Prophets)
    • Writings (books of different genres that were sacred to Jewish communities around the turn of the eras)

    The Prophets included two very different series of books:

    • What we are more likely to think of as Historical Books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings), following the classification of the ancient Greek versions of the Bible, are regarded as prophetic texts in the normative Jewish tradition. Seeing these texts as prophetic writings rather than as historical narratives can open up new ways of approaching these books. They are narratives with an agenda – a prophetic agenda – and do not claim to be critical histories in the modern sense of that term.
    • Matching those four books of the Former Prophets were four great scrolls of the Latter Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and The Twelve. Each of these scrolls are really compilation albums, gathering up materials connected in some way or other with the legacy of the various named prophets. We note that the Jewish tradition does not distinguish between the “Major” and “Minor” prophets as if size matters. Rather, the majority of the shorter prophetic texts are gathered into a single large scroll to form a body of 12 prophetic witnesses. (The book of Daniel provides an interesting exception, since Jewish tradition does not treat as a prophetic text and assigns it to the Writings.)

    The Scroll of the Twelve comprised the following texts:

    • Hosea
    • Joel
    • Amos
    • Obadiah
    • Jonah
    • Micah
    • Nahum
    • Habakkuk
    • Zephaniah
    • Haggai
    • Zechariah
    • Malachi

    These are all relatively short texts when compared with the collections associated with Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

    The twelfth book – Malachi – may have been created by separating a portion of text that originally formed part of Zechariah in order to create, albeit artificially – the symbolic number of twelve prophets. It condemns various signs of decadence among the clergy and the wider society of the prophet’s time (perhaps during the first half of the 5C BCE). As seems always to be the case in apocalyptic literature, the remedy was not seen in political or religious reform but in a dramatic divine intervention:

    See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years. (Mal 3:1-4 NRSV)

    In later Jewish tradition, the end-time prophetic sent as the harbinger of the divine Advent would develop as several biblical figures were combined in one form or another:

    • a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18)
    • Elijah returning from heaven (2 Kings 2 and Malachi 4)
    • the voice crying in the wilderness from Isaiah 40
    • the anonymous messenger of Malachi 3

     

    Second Reading: The day of Jesus Christ

    Philippians is one of the seven Pauline letters that are generally accepted as authentic, although even this brief letter may be a composite created from fragments of more than one letter. The passage set for this Sunday is presumably chosen because of its repeated reference to the day of Christ:

    I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. (Phil 1:3-11 NRSV)

    Paul is working with similar categories to the unknown author of Malachi, but his perspective is quite different. He celebrates the faithfulness of his audience and anticipates their vindication on the day of visitation by the divine Lord.

    Gospel: John the Baptiser in Luke-Acts

    John the Baptiser

    In A Marginal Jew (vol. 2: “Mentor, Message and Miracles”), John Meier describes John the Baptist as one of two historical figures that stand at either end of Jesus’ life like bookends. The other is Pontius Pilate. We know of each figure from independent historical sources, although the popular image of both is shaped by Christian tradition that speaks of them only from the perspective of their relationship to Jesus.

    The NT Gospels provide three major blocks of material about John, the Jewish apocalyptic prophet who was a contemporary of Jesus and may also have been something of a mentor to him:

    • Infancy narratives (Luke 1-2)
    • John’s activity culminating in the baptism of Jesus (found in all 4 Gospels)
    • Questions posed by John about Jesus (Luke 7:18-35 || Matt 11:2-19, “Q”)

    John’s death is related in Mark 6:17-29 and more briefly in Matt 14:3-12. There are also a few other passages that mention John or his disciples, sometimes in dispute with Jesus and sometimes in favorable terms.

    The following passage in the first-century Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, is especially valuable as all our other descriptions of John come from Christian sources and might be expected to promote Jesus while playing down the significance of John:

    [116] Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod’s army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod’s suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God’s displeasure to him. Antiquities of the Jewish People, 18.116-19: Perseus Digital Library

    We see from Acts 19 that there were followers of John within Jewish circles late into the 1C (or even into the beginning of the 2C), and that they were something of a rival religious community to emerging Christianity.

    John the Baptist in Luke-Acts

    Luke presents John as filling a God-given role in preparing for the ministry of Jesus. He develops the infancy traditions of John and Jesus in parallel to one another:

    • Scene 1 – John’s miraculous conception (Luke 1:5-25)
    • Scene 2 – Jesus’ miraculous conception (Luke 1:26-38)
    • Scene 3 – Mary visits Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56)
    • Scene 4 – John’s birth and naming (Luke 1:57-80)
    • Scene 5 – Jesus’ birth and naming (Luke 2:1-21)
    • Scene 6 – Presentation in Temple (Luke 2:22-40)
    • Scene 7 – 12-year old Jesus in Temple (Luke 2:41-52)

    As Luke continues his presentation of Christianity in the two volumes we know as Luke-Acts, he gives John the Baptist more attention than in any other NT writing:

    Luke 3:1-22 provides an extensive description of John prior to the baptism of Jesus (of which we read just the opening words this week).

    In 5:33-39 Luke uses the material from Mark about the divergence in religious practice between John’s disciples (“always fasting and offering prayers”) and Jesus’ disciples (“yours just eat and drink”). Instead of reading that simply as a question directed to Jesus by the crowds, perhaps it should be understood (as Luke’s readers most likely appreciated) as a reference to the sustained rivalry between John’s people and the Jesus people? Did John’s disciples observe more traditional Jewish practices, while the Jesus people gathered for Eucharists in which the fellowship of the kingdom was experienced (but which their critics derided as “just eat and drink”).

    Luke 7:18-35 directly addresses the relationship of John and Jesus. Luke asserts the primacy of Jesus, while affirming the importance of John. Yet Luke is also making the point that the least significant person in the Kingdom is greater than John. Once again the contrast between the asceticism of John’s followers and the exuberant celebrations of the Jesus people is clear.

    Luke 9:7-9,18-21 preserves a tradition that some thought Jesus to be John returned to life following his murder by Herod Antipas. When introducing the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:1), Luke has the disciples request Jesus to teach them how to pray just like John had taught his disciples how to pray. This detail is only found in Luke. Matthew’s account simply has Jesus deciding to give some instruction on prayer (and the contrast is not with the prayer tradition of John’s people, but with those of the Gentiles). Once again we glimpse a profound tension between John’s followers and the Jesus movement.

    Luke 16:16 treats John as the final prophet, and the one whose ministry marks the transition from the time of Law and the Prophets. In contrast, Luke presents Jesus as the one ushering in the Kingdom era. Luke’s version of this tradition differs significantly from Matthew’s (Matt 11:1-15): Matthew dates the breaking in of God’s Kingdom “from the time of John the Baptist until now.” He also explicitly identifies John with the Elijah figure expected to appear at the end of time. Luke does not allow John to be the Elijah figure since he will keep that function for Jesus himself.

    In the Book of Acts the first of several references to John is found in Acts 1:4-5. Here (as if anticipating 19:1-7) Jesus contrasts John, who baptized with water, to the coming “baptism with the Holy Spirit.”

    Jesus’ baptism by John is mentioned as the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in key speeches Luke creates for Peter and Paul in his narrative: Peter calling for a new apostle to replace Judas (1:21-22), Peter preaching to Cornelius (10:34-38), and Paul’s sermon to the Pisidian Jews (13:23-25).

    In Acts 11:15-17, Luke has Peter cite the difference between John’s water baptism and the Spirit baptism of early Christianity when defending his decision to baptize Cornelius and his household.

    The second-last reference to John the Baptist occurs in Acts 18:24-28. In this passage two of Paul’s associates put a fellow Christian missionary through a crash course in theology. Apollos “had been taught the way of the Lord and was on fire with the Spirit.” Better still, “he used to speak and teach about Jesus correctly.” However, Apollos had one shortcoming: “he knew only the baptism of John.”

    Finally we have Acts 19:1-7, where the disciples of John need to move beyond John’s “baptism of repentance” (presumably expressed in fasting and prayers?), to a more eucharistic faith that celebrates the gift of the Spirit at the shared table (“just eating and drinking” to their detractors?). In this unique passage, Luke portrays Paul coming across a small community that is centered around the teachings of John the Baptist. This is the only time that the NT admits such groups existed and were rivals to the Jesus communities within Judaism. This episode allows Luke to assert the primacy of the Jesus movement over John’s followers: John’s people (described as disciples) are quite unaware of the Holy Spirit until Paul lays hands on them. Like the conversion of the first Gentiles (Acts 10), there is miraculous confirmation of their inclusion in the kingdom as they speak in tongues and prophesy. Significantly, Luke tells us there were about 12 people involved: sufficient for a properly ordered apostolic community.

    Needless to say, we do not have any direct evidence of how John or his own disciples understood his place in the scheme of things.

     

    John’s Message in Luke 3

    Luke’s description of John’s message is outlined in Luke 3:1-20:

    [A] First of all, Luke carefully locates John by reference to several public figures that might be known to his audience:

    3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins …

    In contrast, notice how Mark and Matthew introduce John the Baptist, without even the infancy traditions that precede his public activity in Luke-Acts:

    Mark 1:4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

    =Matt 3:1: In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2″Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” 4 Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

    [B] Then Luke follows Mark and Matthew, by interpreting John through the lens of Isaiah 40 (and correcting Mark’s inaccurate inclusion of words from Malachi as well as Isaiah):

    as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
    “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
    “Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make his paths straight.
    Every valley shall be filled,
    and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
    and the crooked shall be made straight,
    and the rough ways made smooth;
    and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

    [C] At this point, Luke introduces material not found in his earlier sources, as he describes the message proclaimed by John and indicates how it was received by the people:

    7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
    10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

    [D] In words reminiscent of his description in the Gospel of John (1:26-27 & 3:28-30), Luke portrays John as looking for someone greater to succeed him and act as God’s agent of judgment:

    15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

    [E] Finally, Luke notes that a corrupt Herodian prince had ordered John’s execution — an event he refrains from describing, unlike Mark (6:17-29) and Matthew (14:3-12a). He mentions this outcome twice (see also Luke 9:7-9) but seems to play it down. It was perhaps a fate that might have suggested to Luke’s readers that there was something of the rebel about both Jesus and his mentor, John. Luke seems to have been at some pains to represent both John and Jesus as model citizens with a pedigree that featured family connections in Jerusalem and its Temple.

    18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. 19 But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added to them all by shutting up John in prison.

     

    Jesus Database

     

    Liturgies and Prayers

    For liturgies and sermons each week, shaped by a progressive theology, check Rex Hunt’s web site

    Other recommended sites include:

     

    Music Suggestions

    See David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate site for recommendations from a variety of contemporary genre.