The gospel for the third Sunday of Advent (John 1:6-8, 19-28) is another version of the appearance of John the Baptist at the Jordan river. It is similar to last week’s gospel account by Mark. One question is: why the repetition. Another is: what are the differences? A third is: what do these accounts have to do with Advent.

Last week’s gospel began,

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

    who will prepare your way;

the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

    “Prepare the way of the Lord,

    make his paths straight”’,

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Mark wrote in an almost-journalistic style, such as one would use at  beginning in-depth profile of this person named Jesus. He began his gospel by naming Jesus, situating John within the prophetic tradition of Israel and emphasizing John’s preaching of a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins as a set-up for the story to unfold.

John preached catharsis. He focused on the individual’s willing change in preparation for meeting the Messiah.

**

In contrast, the gospel for the third Sunday of Advent opens,

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

John’s account reads more like that of a poet-novelist. He stresses the fact that John came with a mission: he was sent from God. He does not name the one who is to come but emphasizes his metaphoric character as the light and names John the Baptist. If one extends the metaphor of light, the evangelist set this part of his story of Jesus before sunrise, when the sky was turning from purple to rose. The pre-dawn light announced the advent, not only of a new day, but of a new era.

In contrast to Mark’s account, the evangelist, John, concentrates on the luminous character of the Messiah: light….rather than the repentance that Mark’s gospel calls for.

**

The gospel for the Third Sunday of Advent continues by describing the confusion John’s message creates:

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ He said,

Between the lines we see that John’s message carried a strong prophetic tone, like that of the prophet Elijah. The priests and Levites may have been inclined to dismiss him because of his appearance and the strange washing ritual but his words sounded authentically inspired.

John’s answer was:

‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

“Make straight the way of the Lord”’,

The two stories converge around John’s repetition of Isaiah’s message, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord”. Part of John the Baptist’s validation came from Isaiah’s message. It was a hard to challenge a recognized prophet.

**

The similarities continue in the next part of John’s gospel with the description of John’s baptism and the recounting of not being worthy of untying the strap of his sandal.

... They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’ This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

Far from claiming to be a Messiah, both accounts make clear that John the Baptizer saw himself as a menial servant in comparison to the One who was to come. Still, we honour him for his role

Like the account from Mark’s gospel, John the Baptist does not name Jesus... Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me. He does not seem to have known that Jesus was the one who was to appear. God-made-human looked very much like a regular person.

**

Going back to the opening question about why tell the same story twice, one answer might be “Repetition works. Repetition works,” when it comes to emphasizing an important point. That point was that Jesus came to his birth in Bethlehem with little notice from the world. He came to his mission to the people of Israel with an unlikely herald: John the Baptist. Salvation appeared in unexpected ways and with unusual prophets. God with Us, Emmanuel, was recognized only with the help of heavenly intervention: an angel’s communication to shepherds at his birth and the voice of his Father at the time of his baptism.

Another reason is that the two accounts, written by very different authors, as much as three decades apart, largely harmonize in their telling of the story of how Jesus appeared and of the role of John the Baptist who announced his arrival. The similarities help to verify the account of John’s role in Jesus’ emergence.

**

These accounts of John baptizing at the Jordan both remind us that Jesus appeared as a normal human being. He would arrive for baptism indistinguishable from other people in the crowd. He was so unremarkable that even his prophet, John the Baptist, did not know him as the Messiah.

Both accounts invite us to look for the Incarnate God among the ordinary daily activities of our lives and at the neighbours we encounter in our communities with their needs, their joys, sorrows…and their hidden holiness.

**

  • What is the most striking aspect of this comparison of the gospels of Mark and John about the announcements of John the Baptist about the coming of the Messiah? The similarities? The differences? If you were to retell the story of the role of John the Baptist to youth in church school, how would you do it?
  • The opening verse that reads, He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him…suggests that John’s own lifestyle…through him… set an example of the kind of preparation that was needed and his personal sincerity. (In last week’s gospel Mark described how John wore a coat of camel hair and ate locusts and honey.) He personified the message he offered to others. Who do you know whose example points to Christ with their simplicity of life?
  • We can identify with many characters in the gospels …. Peter with his impetuousness and failings, Thomas with his doubting, Martha or Mary with their different orientations towards care for Jesus …. but do you identify with John the Baptist? Take a few minutes and consider what it is in his life and words that you admire and would like to emulate.

Peace

Michael