[What is this?]
This is a project for a Biblical Interpretation class, a communication event built around Mark 1:1-8. I imagine a pair of Galileeans on their way to get baptized by John. The story is told in a narrative form that interacts directly with the audience (because it's in first-person) because the Gospel of Mark was written, many scholars say, to be read aloud and evoke audience response.
The form makes special use of the blog medium in its comments feature, which allows for sharing in a youth or small group setting. Each entry is based on one or two verses from the Mark selection and is accompanied by a question which readers can choose to answer in the comments section. It might normally involve a new post each week of the group's meeting so people can comment over time and. This sort of interaction is designed to supplement, not replace, actual small group meetings.
The characters are Jewish and interpret the events from a Jewish perspective without the benefit of Mark's narration to the audience in verses like 1:1 (which states the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ). Some scholars say this ignores a key element of the Markan Gospel, the first fifteen verses of prologue which give the reader/audience priveleged information. Other scholars, however, hypothesize that due to the clumsy nature of Mark 1:1 that it was a verse added to the beginning of a manuscript whose true beginning has been broken off and lost in time. Whatever priveleged information the characters of Zeke and Leah have, I think the medium and plot advancement will encourage the reader to imagine herself in the Markan story, which most scholars agree is the literary strength of the Markan gospel.
As conveyed by the title of the Blog, the background imagery, and the title banner, the theme of baptism is important throughout this project. This is because verses 1-8 are focused on John and his physical and spiritual act of baptism, and on Jesus and his Holy Spirit baptism. The stage imagery is meant to evoke cleansing, being washed, and fluidity. Again, this is something that makes the Markan gospel unique--in Luke and Matthew John says Christ's baptism will be of the Spirit and fire. Mark's John sticks with liquid words.
Ideally, this blog should be read from the bottom up.
What the One will do
Leah and have struggled all day with what the Baptizer meant. He is not the one, but the one is coming? The one who comes will baptize us not with water, but with the Holy Spirit?
Does that mean we will all be prophets? Will the Spirit of the Lord descend on all, as in the past it has descended only on a few?
Will we all be able to baptize, if we are each bathed with the Spirit? Will anybody need to be baptized or cleansed of sin?
Will there even be sin?
I still cling to a strand of hope that the One will have something to do with the Romans--maybe the Holy Spirit will empower us to get rid of them. Leah is much more excited about the idea of being baptized in the Holy Spirit--she thinks that if the Spirit is in her then our rabbis will teach her to read the Torah. I told her that was possible, but less likely than our taking over the entire Roman empire. Then she hit me.
Anyway, we hope to be home soon. It's safe to say that the trip was not exactly what either of us had expected, although we met some very interesting people along the way and we do feel like we were part of something greater. We will do our best to live out our repentences and remain cleansed of our sins.
And I wonder whether the one who is coming is not in front of us. This is a picture of the path we have to take back home.
You can see the River where John baptized us. Ahead of us the path looks awfully dark, but we'll make it through. Then there's that great rain in the sky--if we aren't drenched by the Holy Spirit, we'll at least be drenched by the time we return.
What does being baptized mean to you? What does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit?
Dude looks like a crazy
Leah, who always paid more attention than I did during Saturday Temple's History Time, gasped when she saw John the Baptist. His garments were of camel hair, which Leah remembered was what the prophet Elijah wore!
Elijah was one of the great prophets during Israel's period of kings. He had been God's instrument particularly during the time of the sinner King Ahaziah. Even a fool like me could understand that if this man John was our Elijah, then truly the Lord would come to replace the Roman era with a Jewish one!
When the man heard we had come all the way from Rumah, he sat down with us and offered us some locusts and honey, on which he claimed to have lived for the past two years. I have been to enough Galileean Provincial Fairs to enjoy experimenting with food, so when Leah told me it was kosher I gave his treat a try and found the honey taste almost made up for the locust texture. Certainly for diners on a budget one could do much worse.
The Son of David seemed a little hoarse, so I hoped to entertain him with the story of how we had gotten out here, what paths we took, how we basically followed the river south once we hit Agrippina. I asked him whether he had yet baptized our old friend who we met on the way, but he had no memory of him. I also asked if he remembered my friend Elia, from Rumah in Galilee, but again he had no clear memory of the man. Certainly if you or I baptized hundreds a day we might not remember names so easily either, but I must sheepishly admit that I expected a little more from the one sent by God.
I was satisfied, however, to note that there weren't any angels hanging around John's camp. No supernatural soldiers with swords. That meant the haughty Pharisee we had met on our first day was wrong. I was surprised to see that no regular people were armed, either.
The Baptizer noticed my curiousity. "What is the matter," he asked.
"I was just looking for the armory."
"Armory?"
"Yes--you know--I know the prophecies from Isaiah and Malachi. I know you are going to make a path clear in the wilderness. I want to help pave it with the Centurions' armor."
John leaned against a shade tree with his hands behind his head. "You know, with all the dunking I'm doing I get awfully sore. I need to nap, but could you help me with my sandals."
"Why--I'd be honored," I replied. I looked at Leah and she smiled at me. Untying John's sandals, I noticed that his feet were all white and pruned from hours in the Jordan. He wiggled his toes when they were free and closed his eyes. I stood up and almost hit my head on a low limb.
He opened one eye. "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me," he said. "I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
I was stunned. So was Leah. "Thank you," she said as she stood to join me.
We left that same day.
Who looks like John the Baptist today? What would you call them? Have you ever listened to them?
The John Throngs
Today we found the crowds surrounding John. They had come from all over the countryside, and even from Jerusalem. (That city, admittedly, is closer than Rumah, but Who would have known that there was a sincere Jewish soul left in the capitol?)
Some referred to themselves as "JohnThrongs" and seemed to adopt a secret language. It was obvious they had lived in this wilderness community for some time. Here are some pictures:
These men had been together on the Jordan for five weeks, according to the bearded one. Given the size of the crowd seeking John's baptism they were still waiting their turn. I understood why they had to wait so long the day after we met them--they did not even try to reach the baptism site until the sun was high in the sky. Such behavior in the vineyard back home would only earn you a half-day's wages.
This woman had actually escaped from a Roman harem to see John and be baptized! Her confession was so loud I would be surprised if anybody present was unaware of her sins against God, yet after being baptized she looked each and every person she met directly in the face--even the men! She had a smile and a walk that only the truly forgiven might understand. It was her tearful repentance and thorough cleansing that gave me and, I suspect, Leah, the courage we needed to be honest before God, before John, before the strangers, and before each other.This has been a truly remarkable day--I hope to write more about it later but Leah and I are both truly exhausted.
Have you ever been surprised to learn that a certain person shared your faith? Why was it a surprise? How did you feel afterwards?
For baptism
It is not just to see God's messenger, who could be our deliverer, that we seek John. No, though it will be great to be a part of the army straightening the Lord's path, I was reminded today that we go to John for more than the prophets' speculations.
Leah and I spoke today with another who is seeking John. The man was very pleasant--a delight to speak with and somebody who I would wish for as neighbor. However, when I asked him, as a matter of course, whether he was excited to meet the Baptizer, the man grew very silent.
Leah looked at me worried first for the man, then with an accusatory expression that must have implied I'd said something wrong. But how could I have known? It was a normal question! And certainly she had little right to question how I conducted our affairs. As the man's silence continued I began to grow ashamed at myself and angry at Leah's implied accusation. When I almost thought I could take no more and was about to beg the stranger's forgiveness, he finally spoke.
"You know that John has appeared proclaiming a 'baptism of repentence for the forgiveness of sins?'"
"Yes," I replied, "it means he is a holy one. Maybe even Son of God!"
Calmly and slowly, with a patience in his eyes, the man chastised me: "You did not listen to what I said."
"I beg your forgiveness, but this is what the prophets say."
He looked down and absent-mindedly fiddled with his belt, deep in thought for a second. I was reminded of an old Rabbi back in Rumah who would act this way when posed with a very difficult question. He looked up, first at Leah and then at me, and asked "What is John going to do?"
I knew better, but spoke immediately: "He will save us from the Romans!"
The man shook his head and looked expectantly at Leah. She looked at me and I nodded my assent--she could respond.
"He is going to baptize us," she told the man. "He will cleanse us of our sins."
"Before he does, he asks for repentance," the man said.
"Well, certainly," I jumped in, "we would not be seeking baptism if we had not repented of our sins. Leah and I go to temple--we know ourselves to be sinful creatures. This whole trek--of our sinful natures we repent."
"I don't think he means just that," said Leah. She began to sit up straighter, her eyes growing larger. "He means a public repentance. Zeke--we might have to confess our sins... in public!"
The old man nodded. "You understand why I am not excited. I have collected many sins and am ill-prepared to proclaim them all to the world. Especially not to people as good as you, whose favorable opinion I desire."
I only half-heard his compliment--my breathing had stopped at Leah's declaration. After a few seconds of silence I distractedly said something like "we like you, too, let's keep in touch, see you on the flipside." Leah helped him up and as he set back upon the path to the wilderness I began to panic.
"Leah--I don't even know all my sins! How could I confess each one? And what if I do so in the presence of one against whom I've sinned?" I meant her, for I recalled my earlier anger at her accusing glance, and I recalled things I've said in the presence of Elia and others at the vineyard that certainly she would not have found respectful.
And this was to say nothing of the hatred in my heart for the Romans! The prophet Micah tells us that the Lord requires us to love kindness, but I have spat in the path of more than one Centurion. If any of them are present with John to hear me confess that, I might as well not return to Rumah! Certainly my house and job won't be there to welcome me...
"We are to confess in the presence of the one against whom we've sinned--his name is the Lord," Leah said. She reached for my chin and turned my head, so I went from looking down to looking at her. "And I know it will be difficult, but..." She cast her eyes downward. "But you are not the only one who has sinned." I could tell that she was as nervous as I, and for trying to comfort me in the face of that uncertainty I loved her all the more. I thanked the Lord for putting us together as I kissed her and, hand in hand, we set ourselves back on the path to the wilderness.
It is good that Leah and I have another day or two before we reach the Jordan River below the Jabbok, where the Judean wilderness begins. In sinning against others I do sin against the Lord. If I am to publicly confess my sins for this baptism, I should begin thinking of those things from which I should repent now...
On this blog you can choose to post anonymously. For what sins do you repent? What is your confession to the Lord?
Written in Isaiah
When at temple they read from the Jewish Publication Society's scroll of the prophet Isaiah and say
Hark! One calleth: 'Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord, make plain in the desert a highway for our God,'
some have said that John the Baptizer is the voice Isaiah hears calling.
I remember the same society's scroll of Malachi:
Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to His temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he cometh, saith the LORD of hosts.
Now, there are many about whom we have cause to wonder
is he the one? Could this be the messenger? Certainly many have claimed that mantle. It has been refreshing for one whose home is associated with a sinful King to discern the identity of righteous men. Indeed, my betrothed and I are not the only ones in Galilee, Samaria, or Judea who would jump to learn that a Messiah has come to free us from the Romans. However, we are continually disappointed by charlatans and pretenders who may even have deluded themselves. Leah expressed our fatigue best when, in a conversation about whether this Baptizer might finally be the one, she said "I'm starting to think that no news is Good News."
It would be so good for the Lord to come to his temple in Jerusalem. He would purge the Roman gods from our society. He could purge the temple of those priests and Pharisees who have sold out to the Romans for a bit of stature and allowance, that they act on the concerns of our imperial rulers instead of their own flock! Maybe none of these are the one, but maybe one is. It may be worth the trek to see him.
We know that Isaiah had hope the Messenger would announce the beginning of a reign over Israel of the Lord, ending the Persian rule of his own time. Elia, with whom I work the vineyards, was told by a peddler in Tiberias that John is the Son of David, come to free us now from the Romans.
Ah, freedom from the Romans. Freedom to be Israel. Now I must worship the Roman god Caesar even when I receive pay for my labors, for his visage is on my coins. To be freed from this blasphemy, and to worship only the Lord!
I told Leah of Elia's words, but she remained skeptical. She wondered, "if John were the Son of David, why isn't he a warrior instead of a Baptizer?" She doesn't understand that he is likely assembling an army of the baptized even as we speak. An army for freedom--for that I will gladly make paths straight in the wilderness.
We met a Pharisee who was also headed to see the Baptizer. It was his belief, which he was not so humble as to keep to himself during a common meal, that John is not raising an army, but that he already has an army of angels and is merely waiting for all of Israel to be baptized before unleashing them. Judging by how the others spoke in Rumah, that may take a while.
Who or what oppresses you? What does freedom look like to you? What do you think the Messiah will do?
It begins!
This blog will record my journey to get baptized by the most powerful prophet Israel has ever seen, John the Baptist. As you can imagine I am very excited to be undertaking such an adventure! I know a lot of people have heard about John, but not everybody can make the journey to go see him. Let me tell you a little about what I plan to do about that.
Even though we live in first century Israel, I hope you can accept this little anachronism: I will blog my trip. I'll post about it as I go, so folks at home and other curious people can keep up to date on what it's like out in the wilderness.
A little about me, for you who are just checking in online: I come from Rumah, the old city of Jehoiakim's grandfather, Pedediah. We're a town in the foothills west of the Sea of Galilee. It should take me about five days to make the walk South and East to the Jordan, where I've heard John is baptizing.
I also have a betrothed. Leah will be along, too--she was actually the first to hear about John and what he was doing. Here is a picture of the two of us after hard day gleaning:
Where do you come from? Say something about yourself as we start the journey.
