Baptism of the Lord and Luke 3 (II)

3. After answering the question of how many baptisms are in view in Luke 3, we have to look briefly at John's image in 3:17. The coming one, hitherto unnamed by John, will baptize "with the holy spirit and with fire" (3:16). There follows an image only present in Luke and Matthew but repeated in near identical words to Matthew, leading scholars to believe that both Evangelists are working off the same source. The image is supposed to capture the idea of baptism by fire. But, as commentator Joel Green points out (The Gospel of Luke, p. 182), "the language John uses actually presumes that the process of winnowing has already been completed." All that remains for Jesus to do, according to the image, is to clear the threshing floor. This means "that John's ministry of preparation is itself the winnowing.." Well, that doesn't sit well with what I have traditionally understood to be the meaning of Jesus' ministry. I thought that it was a decision for Jesus, rather than for John, that determined where one stood with God. More confusion.

4. Then, we get to the well-known story of Jesus' baptism in 3:21-22. Only Matthew speaks of the possible impropriety of the sinless one undergoing a baptism of repentance, and his explanation is anything but clear: "But Jesus answered him, 'Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness" (Mt. 3:15). Huh? Is this really an explanation? Well, the Gospel of Luke really doesn't tell about the baptism of Jesus; it tells what happened after the baptism of Jesus. It is not as if Jesus was baptized and the dove alighted on him immediately. Luke, who has a thing for prayer as well as for "all," has Jesus praying after baptism when a heavenly message is received. Only Luke stresses that the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus "in a bodily form" as a dove. He wants to make sure that no one misses the descent of the dove. But, if we think about doves descending, we realize that there is no precedent for it in Judaism. Granted, turtledoves are used for sacrifice in the OT sacrificial system, but doves never descend and land on people's heads. If the "spirit" comes upon a person in the OT, it is usually with a rush of power, a force like that of a mighty wind. No wonder confusion might deepen among the first viewers when they see a dove landing on Jesus.

5. Finally, the words spoken by God are open to a variety of interpretations. He says: "You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased." But the so-called "Western" text (MS D) of 3:22 has, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you." Which is the "better" reading? Probably the former. But it shows how the work of interpretation of this text began almost as soon as it left God's mouth.

There are at least three biblical (OT) passages which God's words potentially implicate. A. The first is Ps. 2:7-- "You are my Son; today I have begotten you." Psalm 2 is a royal Psalm, a Psalm celebrating kingship. The Lord has set his king on Zion, the holy hill, and laughs the nations to scorn. God's king, his "son," will "break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel" (2:9). Thus, the first thing we "hear" in the words of God to Jesus is an echo of royal terminology. Jesus is or will be some kind of king. I think the author of the Western text got so excited with that realization that he decided simply to put the rest of Ps. 2:7 in his text.

B. The second is Genesis 22. This might not be obvious at first glance, but with a little rumination you can see its applicability. God says, literally, "You are my son, my beloved." Now, go back to the opening words of Gen. 22. God is speaking to Abraham.

"'Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' He said, 'Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love..." (Gen. 22:1-2).

The theological irony of Gen. 22 is that Abraham is called upon to offer up his only son, the son he loves, as a potential sacrifice. This story of Abraham didn't just stick in the craw of Soren Kierkegaard a few millennia later; it became sort of a living image for New Testament writers. Paul has Abraham "on the brain," so to speak, when he is writing Romans. Not only does Abraham have an entire chapter devoted to him (Rom. 4), but the image of Abraham sacrificing his son becomes foundational for how Paul understood God's giving of Jesus to humans: "He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for us all, will he not with him also give us everything else?" (Rom. 8:32). Luke, too, loves to speak about Abraham, especially in the Book of Acts. If Gen. 22 is in Luke's mind here (or God's mind, for that matter), it would mean that the king of Ps. 2 is now supplemented by a sacrificial victim of Gen. 22. Who wouldn't be confused?
Well, maybe Charles I would have understood this, after his head was lopped off.

C. But there is more. The third biblical passage implicated in God's brief words in Luke 3:22 is Is. 42. The last phrase of 3:22, "with you I am well pleased," echoes Is. 42:1--"in whom my soul delights." Is. 42, of course, is the first of Isaiah's four "Servant Songs," in which the servant of God establishes justice, speaks for God, and then, in Is. 53, suffers an ignominious and painful death. But, in Is. 42, the servant is a compassionate proclaimer of God's word and establisher of justice.

"He will not cry or lift up his voice,/ or make it heard in the street;/ a bruised reed he will not break,/ and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;/ he will faithfully bring forth justice," (Is. 42: 2-3).

Conclusion

Jesus could be forgiven if he was confused after he heard the words from God. Indeed, one of the ways to interpret his subsequent withdrawal into the wilderness is to try to establish some clarity regarding what he had experienced. How can he be, at the same time, a servant who establishes justice, a king who subdues the foes and a beloved son who is sacrificed? It is reminiscent to me of the words of the Weird Sisters in Macbeth to Banquo. He would be "Lesser than Macbeth, and greater...Not so happy, yet much happier...Thou shall get kings, though thou be none" (I.iii.65-68). Unless we are ready to embrace the confusion that must have surrounded the people, John, and even Jesus on that day of his baptism, we may not be ready to take the journey with him. The Chinese have the expression, as we all know, "Even a journey of a thousand miles begins in a single step." But I say: "A journey with Jesus begins in darkness."

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