Unlike Matthew and Luke, the Gospel of Mark offers no account
of the conception, birth, or infancy of Jesus. Rather, Mark’s narrative begins
with the figure of John the Baptist offering a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins. And somewhat surprisingly, Jesus comes along and submits
to this baptism. For many early Christians this was theologically problematic.
Why would Jesus, the Son of God, need to undergo a baptism of repentance for
the forgiveness of sins? One need look no further than the Gospel of Matthew,
where Jesus and John debate over the appropriateness of John’s baptizing Jesus,
to witness this theological unease (see Matt 3:13-17). And in the non-canonical
Gospel of the Hebrews, Jesus states flatly that since he is without sin, he
should not be baptized.
From a literary perspective, however, it is appropriate that
Mark should open his Gospel in this way, for the beginning foreshadows the end.
Jesus’ baptism, the tearing open of the heavens, and the divine voice identifying
Jesus as God’s son anticipate Jesus’ crucifixion, the rending of the temple
veil, and the centurion’s confession, “Truly this man was God’s son” (Mark 15:38-39).
In light of this connection, it is worth noting that early Christians,
including the apostle Paul, used baptism as a symbol of death and resurrection
(Romans 6:3-4), and Mark himself uses the language of baptism as a metaphor for
martyrdom (Mark 10:38). So it is fitting that Mark begins his Gospel as he does,
for he is able to take the potentially theologically troubling event of Jesus’
baptism and craft a subtle and satisfying link to the crucifixion. |
