Reflections on Mark's Gospel - Mark 1:4

John Came

"John came" is the opening line of this verse. Immediately following the OT quotation he bursts on the scene with dramatic purpose.

This verse clearly links the ministry of John the Baptist with the promised activity in Isaiah and Malachi. It is a bare bones description that focussed on the core elements and ignored the complex and complementary activities described by the other gospel writers. In Mark's gospel, John's role was to prepare the way for the Lord.

John's ministry was one of baptising and proclaiming. And he did so in the wilderness (ερημω). The wilderness was a place identified with his primary OT prefigurer, Elijah. Elijah hid from the wicked king in the wilderness (1Ki_17:2-5) east of the Jordan. The wilderness was a refuge from the wickedness of those in control in Jerusalem. And John's ministry was a judgment on the corruption of the powerful in Jerusalem and on the practices in the temple. (Just like the Qumran community).

Josephus describes John's ministry this way,
"[John] exhorted the Jews to lead righteous lives, to practice justice towards their fellows and piety towards God, and so doing to join in baptism". (Ant. 18:118-18)

So, John was preparing the way for the Lord. He did so by beginning a spiritual movement which people joined by being baptised.

Now, Jewish religion had many examples of ritrual cleansing. At the dedication of the tabernacle the whole nation washed their clothes (Exo_19:10-11). Namaan washed in the river Jordan to be cleansed of his leprosy. The priests washed before performing their duties. But each of these are examples of people washing themselves, not being dipped by someone else.

The Jews also saw baptism as appropriate for a Gentile convert to Judaism to be baptised.
By performing the baptisms himself, John clearly brought the penitent into a community who were intending to live righteous lives, who were wanting the Messiah to come.

And this may be the best way to understand the troublesome preposition "εἰς" which is normally understood as meaning "into" but is commonly translated here as "for" (as per ESV, KJV, NASB, NIV, etc.). The other main alternative used is the archaic word "unto" (as per ASV, RV). But if we take it out of the mindset of individualism, so that baptism becomes about the individual, and place it in the context of community, then John's baptism is about making a commitment to and being identified with a group. And the purpose of that group is described in Josephus' writing. {This is the error I made - don't hang too much on the translation of a preposition. They have a variety of meanings and the translation of "for" is quite legitimate. But the point I make here can be supported using other elements of the text.}

And John's baptism also clearly challenged the religious establishment. Think about how radical John's ministry is. For generations, the Jews valued the temple and the sacrifices performed there as the clearly dictated means for being made right with God.
But John ignores (or dismisses as totally corrupted, as did the Essenes) the temple and its functions. Forgiveness of sins, he says, is found in the wilderness. Forgiveness of sins is found, not in the blood of sacrifices, but in the ritual cleansing of baptism. Forgiveness of sins is not found in the performance of external rituals, but in the changing of one's mind, in turning one's life around.

This is what it means to prepare the way for the Lord.

The Pharisees' approach was strict external observance of every detail of the Law they could define. But they missed the heart issue.

The Sadducees' approach was the negotiate advantageous deals with the Romans.

The Essenes' approach was the withdraw from society totally and reject any physical expression of sin.

But John the Baptist's approach was to call people to a community life of righteousness and piety based upon a changed mind. Even Jesus could be baptised into that community.