The longer John preached and prepared the way for the coming Messiah, the greater grew the crowds and the anticipation. Imagine how it must have been: In the desert east of the Jordan River, east and a bit south of old Jericho, on the northeast corner of the Dead Sea. Dust in the air from all the feet stirring the desert, smell of unwashed bodies and poor sanitation, hot days and cold nights, constant murmur the voice of the crowd, but John’s voice loud and clear. Soon people began to arrive from farther than Judea, out of the southern desert, the sea coast, and as far north as Galilee. What would it take to draw these people from fields, shops, vineyards, groves?
Then, from Nazareth, came Jesus. Can you see him? He’s in the crowd, not yet identified, but full of “beginning.” He watches everything and feels the mood of the crowd, the passion of the hopeful, and the weariness of their spirits. He watches John, his second cousin. Given the closeness of families and clans, it is likely that they saw each other as boys, played together, tussled and raced. But now they were men, and John had been years in the desert.
And then, it was time. Jesus approached John, asking to be baptized. “But John tried to talk him out of it. ‘I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,’ he said, ‘so why are you coming to me?’ But Jesus said, ‘It should be done, for we must carry out all God requires.’ So John agreed to baptize him. After his baptism, as he came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my dearly loved son, who brings me great joy.’” That account is from Matthew. Mark’s account is essentially the same, as is Luke’s. It is John who identifies the importance of the Spirit’s descent. It’s in the words of the Baptist, as he fulfills his mission of setting the scene for Jesus.“Then John testified, ‘I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting on him. I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.’”
Mission accomplished.
The moment must have been absolutely electric to John. And a stir must have rippled through the crowd like a hot wind blowing over still waters. It is from this moment that Jesus assumes the mantle of Messiah, not to fulfill the people’s desires, but to fulfill the incredible, transformative, redemptive purpose of God.
Prayer: “Compassionate Father, we all long for the moment in our lives when you can look at us and say, “Well done.” We know that you make us both on purpose and for purpose…that somehow we are filled with an enormous satisfaction when we understand that we have walked faithfully the path you set before each of us…and we look back and understand that not only were passages of our lives difficult, but that you were with us all the way, all the time. Please grow a great and holy confidence in us…confident in doing the right things, leaving the results up to you. Confident that in the end we will know all things completely, even as you know us completely. Amen.”