With the account of John’s baptism of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus, Mark begins his story of the public ministry of Jesus. As we shall see, this narrative is told to show how Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel, the promises that had led to Israel’s longing for God to return and restore his people. Like so many of God’s promises, it is here fulfilled, but not in the ways Israel had expected.
John’s baptism of Jesus belongs among the surer historical events told in the Gospels, simply because it caused too many problems to have been the product of early Christian proclamation. Not only does it make Jesus appear to be a disciple of John, but John had announced that it was a baptism signifying repentance and the forgiveness of sin (Mark 1:4). Did Jesus really need to repent and be forgiven? For a correction of such problems, see the treatment in Matt. 3:14-15. Matthew even omits mention that John’s baptism was for the forgiveness of sin (3:2)!
With the descent of the Spirit, Jesus is identified as the one whom John had announced. The Jewish people of Jesus’ time mourned the loss of prophets and the ensuing silence of God, and had wished the heavens would once again be rent and God would come to his people (see Isa 64:1; Ezek 1:1.) The announcement that the heavens were opened (passive voice) is a Jewish way of announcing an act of God without having to say the word “God,” something pious Jews tried to avoid (hence also “Kingdom of Heaven” in place of “Kingdom of God,” esp. in Matthew). God has now rent the heavens, and returned in the form of the Spirit (cf. Isa. 11:1-2; 61:1). The simile of the dove is unclear — perhaps it is to indicate a spirit of gentleness. In any case, the Spirit comes to prepare Jesus for his mission, as it will later come to the disciples at Pentecost to prepare them. With this descent, Mark wants readers to understand that in what follows in his Gospel, we see how Jesus as Son of God carries out his divine vocation through proclamation, mighty works, and especially in the cross and resurrection.
The “voice from heaven” means God’s voice, reflecting again the Jewish custom of substituting “heaven” for the word “God.” The content draws from Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1, and it announces that Jesus, like Israel (Exod. 4:22; Hos. 11:1) or Israel’s kings (2 Sam. 7:13-14, Ps 89:20, 26-27) is commissioned to fulfill the task of being God’s Son. But the voice also seems to reflect Isaiah 42:1, referring to the Suffering Servant, who is Israel. Thus what Isaiah saw as the final destiny of Israel as God’s servant (Isa. 52:13-53:12) is here applied to Jesus. He must now become what Israel was to become and did not — the suffering Servant of God. So in Jesus, Israel’s vocation is taken up anew, and now fulfilled; Jesus becomes the founder of a new Israel, the church.
Finally the language of the baptism indicates it was a vision. Jesus alone saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit descend as a dove. The voice is also in the second person, spoken to Jesus, thus intended for him alone. (Matthew changes the voice to the third person, “This is my beloved son … ” thus making it a public announcement.) Yet as Mark tells it, Jesus’ vision puts him in line with the major prophets, whose call also came in a vision (see Isa 6:1-13; Jer. 1:9-10; Ezek 1:1). Again, Jesus fulfills the longing for the return of the prophets, to speak God’s word to his people.
The Spirit then drives Jesus into the desert. But since he was already in the desert (see 1:4), the desert here is more likely a theological than a geographical location. The desert is where Israel and the prophets consistently faced God (cf. Israel in the desert 40 years, Moses at the burning bush, Elijah in the desert), but it was also regarded as the abode of demons. The period of 40 days is a traditional expression in the Old Testament for a considerable period of time (Moses on the mountain with God, Exod 34:28; Elijah in the desert, 1 Kings 19:8). Jesus is driven by God’s spirit into the midst of a demonic area to be tempted by Satan, the Prince of Demons. Here we see the cosmic dimension of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus’ appearance and subsequent ministry represent the final climactic battle between God and the powers of evil, something reenacted each time Jesus expels a demon from a person, and finally when he defeats death on the cross. The presence of wild beasts may either confirm the desert as the abode of evil spirits (cf. Isa 13:21-22), or their presence may indicate Jesus’ final triumph over sinful creation when even the wild beasts, as the angels, aid him (cf. Job 5:22-23; Isa. 11:6-9; 65:25).
Following John’s arrest, Jesus begins his public ministry, announcing the good news that God’s Kingdom, His rule or sovereignty, has drawn near. The conviction that God’s rule over creation would one day be visible was known in the Old Testament. The new element is the statement that fulfillment of God’s plan would begin now. With Jesus’ appearance, God’s rule begins to become visible. In Jesus’ words and deeds, the contours of God’s future begin to take on concrete form. People are to repent (return to godly ways) and believe (trust their life to the message Jesus announces.) The point here is not only that we give intellectual assent to the content of Jesus’ preaching but that we also trust that what Jesus says is true, and shape our lives around it.
That is indeed the task for our Lenten journey.
Paul J. Achtemeier is professor emeritus of biblical interpretation at Union Theological Seminary (now Union-PSCE) in Richmond, Va. He is the author or co-author of 14 books as well as the former editor of the quarterly, “Interpretation.”
