Biblical meditation on the first mystery of the rosary of light (conclusion)
Fr. Vojtěch Brož
The Message of John's Gospel
The Gospel of John, like Mark's, begins at the Jordan River. Surprisingly, however, there is no explicit mention of Jesus' baptism. This omission perhaps reflects a later controversy between Christians and followers of John the Baptist, who was venerated as the Messiah. It seems that the evangelist wanted to show that John the Baptist is not the true baptizer; Jesus is; the first to confess this is John himself (1:15, 26-29, 34; 3:28). John is not Jesus' baptizer, but his first witness (1:6-8, 15, 19-35; 5:33-35). The evangelist John uniquely among the evangelists claims that Jesus himself baptized (3:22-23), even though he soon clarifies this claim by explaining that it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples (4:1-3); this seems to suggest that when Jesus' disciples baptize, he baptizes through them.
If John omits the fact that Jesus was baptized, then the events at the Jordan, like those in the Synoptic Gospels, reveal Jesus' true mission. John the Baptist presents Jesus: "Behold, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world!" (1:29). This places him in relation to the Lord's Servant (cf. Isaiah 53:7). The prologue also emphasizes that John came to bear witness to the light, but was not himself the light (1:7-8; cf. 5:35). Being the light is again the mission of the Servant (cf. Isaiah 42:6-7; 49:6), which is fulfilled in Jesus' mission (John 1:9; 8:12; 9:5).
The baptism that Jesus gives, the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1:33), is the condition for entering into the kingdom of God. It signifies the complete rebirth of a person. Jesus speaks about this with Nicodemus: "Amen, amen, I say to you: unless one is born again (or from above), he cannot see the kingdom of God. Amen, amen, I say to you: unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (3:3, 5). In the same discourse with Nicodemus, Jesus combines the gift of eternal life with his exaltation, fulfilling the prefigurement of the serpent in the desert, and with his self-giving by the Father out of love for the world (3:14-16); the rebirth to eternal life through the gift of the Spirit in baptism is thus directly related to Jesus' cross. It is precisely at Calvary that the Spirit (19:30) and water (19:34) will be given, which Jesus himself uses as a symbol of the gift of the Spirit (7:37-39). The Spirit can only be given through Jesus' glorification, through the hour of glory, the glory of the cross (17:1, 4-5).
The Participation of the Church in Jesus' Baptism
Jesus, at his baptism in the Jordan, is a prefigurement of all who will receive Christian baptism. His baptism is not an event that was confined to the time in which it occurred. It was significant not only for Jesus, for his understanding of himself as the Son of God and for recognizing and accepting his personal mission. Like everything in Jesus' life — incarnation, birth,... death and resurrection — so also baptism has become "for us and for our salvation." Thus writes Saint Athanasius:
"The descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus in the Jordan was intended for us..., for our sanctification, so that we might share in his anointing and that it might be said of us: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16) For while the Lord, as a man, was washed in the Jordan, we were washed with the Lord and in the Lord, and while he received the Spirit, it was we, thanks to the Lord, who were enabled to receive the Spirit."1
Jesus' anointing was for us. "The Spirit of God descended upon Jesus and anointed him, as promised by the prophets, so that we could draw from the fullness of his anointing and be saved."2 In ancient homilies on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, this event is celebrated as the institution of Christian baptism. Jesus was baptized to bury the entire old Adam in the waters and to sanctify the Jordan, to bring us salvation through Spirit and water. Rising from the water, he lifts the world up with him. He sees how Paradise opens, which Adam closed. Jesus' believers, through baptism, receive the Spirit and thus are reborn and become children of God. The earthly water will be indispensable in this, as it will become a sacramental sign, as the one sanctified by Jesus who descended into it.3 The Church participates in Jesus' baptism; his baptism was a prefigurement and the foundation, archetype (that is, the beginning and model) for the baptism that she administers in his name. Jesus is the new Moses in the Exodus: he leads his believers through the waters to freedom. Jesus is the new Joshua: he leads the faithful through his baptism in the Jordan to the promised land.
The Church has various means at her disposal to connect us with Christ's baptism. One is the liturgical celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Another is the sacrament of baptism and confirmation, as well as the renewal of baptismal vows during the celebration of the Easter Vigil or at other occasions. These means would remain ineffective if we did not seize them and let them work within us. After receiving baptism, we must therefore live from baptism. The Church thus has a dual task regarding baptism: to baptize and to live from baptism.
1) To Baptize
Two of the four Gospels end with the risen Jesus sending his disciples to baptize: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age!" (Matthew 28:19-20; cf. Mark 16:15-18). The formulation "baptizing in the name," rather than "in the name," means to immerse into the name, and thus into the reality of the Triune God. Through baptism, one places oneself in the life of God.
The apostles fully embraced this mission, as the Acts of the Apostles demonstrate. When Peter's first preaching on Pentecost pierced the hearts of the listeners, they asked: "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent! And let every one of you be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." ... Those who received his word gladly were baptized. And that day about three thousand souls were added to them (Acts 2:37-38, 41). Deacon Philip baptized men and women who accepted faith in Samaria (8:12) and the Ethiopian eunuch (8:36-38). In Damascus, Saul was baptized (9:18). Peter baptized Cornelius the Roman centurion in Caesarea with all his household (10:47f.). Paul also administers baptism on his missionary journeys: in Philippi, he baptizes Lydia and her entire household (16:15) and the jailer with all his family (16:32), in Corinth, he baptizes Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, with his entire household and many others (18:8), in Ephesus, he baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus some disciples who had only received the baptism of John (19:4-6). In all these cases, we can observe a similar process. The people's response to the apostles' proclamation is faith, and they accept baptism. In this scheme – proclamation – conversion/faith – baptism – baptism is the culmination and crowning of the entire process. Its acceptance depends on faith and conversion, which are themselves prompted by the apostolic proclamation. Paul is aware of the primacy and precedence of proclamation with respect to baptism and sees his mission primarily in preaching: "I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that he was baptized in my name. I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel..." (1 Corinthians 1:14-17). Nevertheless, baptism is the most frequently mentioned sacrament in the New Testament.
2) To Live from Baptism
As baptized individuals, we share in Jesus' divine sonship and in his messianic anointing and mission. For the first Christians, this messianic anointing was so central that they derived their own name, "Christians," from it. "Therefore we are called Christians (christianoi), because we are anointed (christometha) with the oil of God."4 Christians does not primarily mean "followers of Christ," as understood by the pagans in Antioch, who first gave them such a name (cf. Acts 11:26), but rather "participants in Christ's anointing."5 In this context, the etymology of the Czech word "křest" (baptism) is interesting. At first glance, it seems that "křesťan" (Christian) is derived from "křtu" (baptism). However, it is precisely the opposite. The noun "křest" is derived from the Old Czech verb "krstíti" (from which later "křtíti" was formed), probably borrowed from Old High German "kristen" = to make someone a Christian, "to christen." Hence "křest" (baptism) comes later.6 Through baptism, a person becomes a Christian, a person belonging to Christ. In their name "Christian," one bears the name of Christ. In baptism, a person receives their new, true name, the name of Christ. Here one truly knows who they are because God reveals to them who they are for Him: a beloved son or daughter. Together with Christ, those who are baptized can see the heavens open above them and hear: "You are my beloved son! You are my beloved daughter!" This sharing in Jesus' divine sonship is given to us through the gift of the Spirit. We are given the same Spirit in which Jesus heard, "You are my beloved Son," and in which he said, "Abba, Father." In that same Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, we too can cry out with him: "Abba, Father!" (Romans 8:15). Living from baptism means primarily living in the joy and trust of God's children.
Through baptism, the believer also becomes a person who shares in Christ's messianic anointing and mission. This is symbolically expressed by the anointing with chrism, which is part of the administration of the sacrament of baptism, unless the sacrament of confirmation immediately follows the baptism, chrismatio, the anointing with chrism. As a Christian, one is oneself, insofar as they share in Jesus' messianic anointing through baptism; thus, the Church is herself, as she lives Jesus' life and fulfills his mission in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Church came into existence at Pentecost by receiving Jesus' Spirit, whom she lives by, who vivifies her, and whom she lets lead her. The same Spirit flows through Jesus and us, just as the same sap flows through the trunk and branches. As the Church, we are the Body of Christ, for we are animated by his Spirit. "Not only our Head was anointed, but also we who are his body... We are the Body of Christ because we all have been anointed, and we all, in Him, are Christ, and we are Christ because the complete Christ is the Head and Body together."7
The Church is the messianic people of the anointed, sanctified by the Spirit. Thus, she can also participate in Jesus' mission, and that in the mission of the Servant. She can follow Jesus in his work of redeeming the world from sin. She follows Jesus in baptism, in his humble descent, in accepting sins, in their confession, and in atoning. Jesus, at his baptism in the Jordan, took on sin, which he then cleansed with his baptism of blood. When, like him and along with him, we confess sins, we follow him, we resemble him, and we find the Father’s pleasure. We are the beloved children of God. We become collaborators in his work of redeeming the world. Thus, we can also participate in the mission of the Servant, who is the light of nations. In the early Church, baptism was referred to as illuminatio, enlightenment. The baptized is one who has been called from darkness to light, who has recognized the light of Christ and has been illuminated by it, who therefore does not need to wander in darkness but can lead others from darkness and be the light of the world, which is the mission of Jesus' disciples (Matthew 5:14).
Baptism in the Teaching of St. Paul
Paul constantly circles around the reality that the Christian is a new person, redeemed, justified, an entity living in Christ and bearing within themselves Christ and the power of his resurrection. This is his starting point for addressing the various questions concerning Christian life.
The connection with Christ occurs through baptism. Paul writes about this in Romans 6 (we read this text as an epistle during the Easter Vigil): In baptism, we participate in the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection: "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." This is a mysterious reality that has concrete, tangible effects on our daily lives. Baptism must also mean a moral turn for us (hence the baptismal commitment: renouncing sin, temptation, and Satan): "Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too must now walk in newness of life... For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; because anyone who has died has been set free from sin." We have a share – even now – in Christ's victory over death, which manifests in our daily victory over the deadly power of sin, in our death to sin: "The one who has died has died to sin once for all; and the one who lives, lives for God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." In this victory over sin and life for God, we walk towards our own resurrection, the definitive victory of eternal life, which has been grafted into us through baptism.
In Galatians 3:26-28, Paul names three effects of baptism: divine sonship, clothing in Christ, unity of all in Christ: "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ: there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
In Colossians 2:11-14, Paul compares baptism to circumcision, which was a permanent sign of belonging to God and the irreversibility of the covenant. Here again, baptism is understood as participation in Christ's Easter mystery: "In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ; buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead."
In Titus 3:4-7, Paul speaks of baptism as "the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit," which results in "justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
