There won't be an audio version as this was not preached at Wellshire.
Scriptures: Genesis 1:1-5 and Mark 1:1-12
Jesus was a Jew. If that statement is not a shock to you, perhaps it should be. You see, most of the Gospel accounts and the entirety of the Old Testament were written for Jews, both religious and cultural. Even the Gospel accounts written for Gentiles were written for Gentiles who were very familiar with Jewish culture due largely to their geographic proximity and intermarriage. Most of what you read in your Bible, and certainly what we read today, wasn’t written for you.
Now, before you go telling Stan or Tom Sheffield that Brian came in here and told you the Bible isn’t for you, let me explain a little more. Stick with me, my story gets better. I want to be very clear that I am not saying that Jesus wasn’t talking to ALL of us, Jews and Gentiles. And I’m not saying the Old Testament is intended solely for the Jews or has nothing to offer us. On the contrary, it has just as much to offer us. However, for most of us, what is our first step in reading the Bible? We pick up an ENGLISH copy and begin reading. Beyond that, many, if not most of us will pick up a modern, American English translation.
With each new baby born at the church, they bring a care bag and in it is an illustrated children’s Bible. The assumption that my congregation thankfully makes is that as new parents begin to read the Bible to their little ones, it will be some time before even their favorite versions of it will be accessible to them. They need a version they understand.
I think we can all agree that none of us would go about assuming we could understand scripture without first understanding at least the language in which it is written. We either pick up a translation we know, or we seek to learn the language in which it was written. Can we all agree that this is common and necessary first step? Great! But this is a very bare minimum.
Next, we need a cultural understanding. Now, for many of us, we think of a difference in culture as being between different countries, or maybe even regions. But every group of people has a culture. Just think of the difference between grownup and kid culture. Think of the words you use now that cannot be defined in a few short sentences in a Webster-like fashion for a grade-schooler. We have this difficulty every year in the church when we try to retell the Christmas story. As an adult, you have cultural context for the story. For a child, any trip is a magical journey where your parents make all the arrangements, pack the bags and take you somewhere fun where you’ll be safe and happy. A trip is always a vacation and always all-inclusive. Why worry? For a child, a virgin is a young girl. There are no social implications. For a child, swaddling clothes are fancy garments for newborns, not magical cloth that soothes a baby in a way nothing else can. And a manger is a crib, not a trough. For a child, there’s not much difference between a shepherd and a Wiseman. They both wear a bathrobe and beard. They just get different hats and props.
And let’s be honest, for most of us as adults, we prefer to remain blissfully content in this version of the story most Christmases too. Why muddy the waters?
1 My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
We, as believers, are seekers of wisdom. It is a basic tenant of our faith, and emphasized with great enthusiasm in the Presbyterian tradition. And so, we approach scripture not as self-evident and obvious, but as wisdom from God in need of understanding and interpretation by the Holy Spirit, our help and guide. As Christians in the second millennium A.D., we must first acknowledge the deep chasm between us and the Jews from thousands of years ago. To read these passages without that first step is foolish at best and arrogant at worst. Too often, we read the New Testament without the benefit of the Old Testament. It’s like watching a third movie in a series having missed the first two. We don’t have the proper context.
Going back to the Christmas story, without the lineage and stories from the Old Testament, who cares about Joseph’s family tree? Without the prophecies of Isaiah, who cares if Mary is a virgin or in what town Jesus is born? Context matters. For Jews, these details provide authority and familiarity which we take for granted. The New York Times recently ran an article about a new book I picked up this week, The Jewish Annotated New Testament. It’s unique in that it’s compiled by Jewish scholars for Christian readers. They provide the cultural context of Jesus and his early followers for us today. This approach is vital to today’s story of the baptism of Jesus. Our lectionary schedule was carefully chosen by a group of ministers and scholars. It gives us some of the context we need. It’s no accident that we read the Genesis account today.
We read these two passages in chronological order today. A Jew in the time of Christ would have grown up hearing the creation account in worship over and over again. When they heard these words from Mark, they very likely heard it with Genesis ringing in their ears. They might have heard it like this…
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God
To begin with, God created the heavens and the earth.
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way…” AND ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.
I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
In days long before TV and movies, when art was not commonplace, the visuals in the minds of the Jewish people would be recollections from stories told in Temple and around the hearth at home. To hear about God’s spirit descending like a dove as Jesus came out of the waters would have recalled the doves sent out by Noah as the waters receded… and God’s spirit breathed into Adam, the first human being. And even the phrase Holy Spirit may have recalled specific passages for them. That phrase is only found in the Hebrew scripture three times, twice in the same passage of Isaiah, the prophet who attests to the coming of a Messiah most often.
Turn with me for a minute in your pew Bible to Isaiah. Psalms is in the middle, followed by Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon and then Isaiah. No rush. I’m not timing you to report back to Presbytery on how quickly y’all find it. Isaiah 63, about verse 7 through 13 or so. Spoiler alert. If you’ve never read any of the Gospels, this is gonna give it away for you, so just cover your ears and your neighbor can nudge you when it’s over.
I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD,
according to all that the LORD has granted us,
and the great goodness to the house of Israel
that he has granted them according to his compassion,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love…
Surely they are my people…
And he became their Savior.
In all their affliction he was afflicted,
and the angel of his presence saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
But they rebelled
and grieved his Holy Spirit;
The prophet goes on to speak about God as… “the shepherd of his flock,” who, “put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit…” and concludes talking about the “horse in the desert” whom God guards and keeps safe. And of course, where does Jesus go after his baptism? (Wait for answer) That’s right, the desert. The author of Mark was familiar with these scriptures. He was writing to people who were familiar with them too. When we read this passage in Mark with the words of Genesis and Isaiah ringing in our ears and the images of creation and prophecy flashing in our minds, we read the story of baptism afresh. May I read it again?
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins... 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I... 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the desert.
Is that maybe just a little bit different? You’re practically a first century Jew! Now we can start to get it like those early readers of Mark. You see, the last time God sent his swooping Spirit into the world, he was creating the world. It hovered over the waters. It was a part of the creative effort, the new thing God was doing. And now here comes the Holy Spirit… skydiving right into the middle of this baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. For Mark’s first readers and now for us, we know it’s time to buckle our seat belts, to prepare for something big. When the Spirit swoops, when the Spirit flies, when the Spirit descends, God is rolling up his sleeves. He’s about to get creative and it could get messy. The last time God did this, we got the cosmos and produce and sea monsters. Everything changed.
And sure enough, the Spirit swoops in, descends on Jesus, and everything changes again. Jesus challenges those in power, speaks for the voiceless, frees the oppressed, loves the lowly and… calls us to the same. And for many of us, we jump ahead! When does the Holy Spirit show up again? When does it rush in, ushering in change once again? At Pentecost. At Pentecost, we get the message that all this stuff, the message of God moving in the world through all of history, and of the life, death and resurrection of his son with whom he is well pleased… that’s for ALL the world. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Here, this week, we are in the midst of an exciting new time. We have been witness to this new thing God is doing, sending his son into the world. As you encounter the lectionary in the coming weeks, you will be witnessing the ministry of Jesus Christ, his life, his teachings, his example. The original readers of Mark had no birth narrative. This baptism is the beginning of his story. What they did have was the story of God moving in the Old Testament… in creation… in prophecy. As you hear the stories of Jesus this year each Sunday, hear them anew. Listen to them as the believers of the Early Church. Read them with context of the Old Testament, the Jewish scriptures. Try to understand them in a new cultural context. Ask Stan. Try a book like this Jewish Annotated New Testament or Rabbi Jesus about the Jewish life and teachings of Christ. Try to feel the excitement and wonder and familiarity of a people infused with the tradition and history of a God moving in history.
This Sunday, prepare your hearts and minds for the story ahead. Prepare your imagination and your heart for the story God wants to tell you this year. Prepare a highway into yourself and be ready for the Holy Spirit to swoop right in. Hallelujah, Amen.
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