Imagine it—a group of scholars going line by line through the words and deeds of Jesus as found in the Gospels—and dropping different colored marbles in a jar to indicate if they thought the saying was likely that of the Historical Jesus, or not… well that was the work of the Jesus Seminar some 3 decades ago…
On one hand, most scholars today scoff at some of their methods as naïve, or at least so inconclusive as to be unhelpful… but one thing did become fairly clear, and I’m quoting the New Testament scholar Ben Worthington here, “in the midst of the church's collection of Jesus' sayings were also included sayings of John!”
In fact, John the Baptist was so important, that, “Jesus was willing to parallel his own work and divine authority with John's.”
John is “the one figure in the Gospel tradition to whom Jesus seems to compare and contrast himself, both in his words and deeds.”
John as a lens for us to see Jesus.
John’s life is a parallel that proclaims and prepares us for Jesus!
Prayer
John’s life is a parallel that proclaims and prepares us for Jesus!
What does it mean that John is a parallel of Jesus? Honestly, it means he was his cousin—both literally and figurative.
Think of your cousins… don’t they feel like parallel paths, don’t they open up for you “what if?” kinds of questions? They’re similar enough to you that the differences are more telling.
When I think of my cousin Harley I wonder, “What if we’d stayed in the Midwest and I had a head for business?”
When I think of my cousin Anne I ask, “What if I’d been artistic and really leaned into my whimsy?”
Or Sara, “What if I’d stayed overseas?”
And so too with John
—his similarities to Jesus draw us closer to Him,
and his differences when compared to his cousin clarify what it means that we call Jesus the Christ.
For example, Luke orders the beginning of his Gospel in such a way that we can’t help but look at John’s Birth and anticipate Jesus’
—if Jesus is the Christmas Baby, John is the Advent Child!
John whose mother, Elizabeth, has an unexpected pregnancy that shows the favor of God,
John whose Father, Zechariah, encounters the angel Gabriel and eventually sings a song about the Goodness of God,
John who even from the womb points to Jesus.
Or consider today’s lesson:
It begins by anchoring John’s ministry of Baptism in history
—naming the powers that be, emperors and governors, rulers and high-priests.
Powers that be… I might add… who eventually overpower John
—Herod Antipas ruler of Galilee, who eventually marries his niece Herodias,
who had previously been married to his half-brother,
Herod Boethius… also known as Philip—rules of Ituraea and Trachonitis
—all of whom militate to murder and mutilate John
—beheading him because he spoke out against them.
John’s ministry of Baptism
—Called into the desert to journey through to the other side!
In the dry and dangerous wilderness—be washed, satiated, saved!
—Repent!
Rethink Everything!
Turn around
And keep going!
You are released from Sin’s wicked hold, keep moving!
Follow that path of John, like Israel’s escape from Egypt and Return from Babylon… God will make a way!
Turn around and be ready for what God is doing next!
Look! There is life!
Look! There is salvation! All people shall see him!
John’s life is a parallel that proclaims and prepares us for Jesus!
To peer through the highway in the wilderness and see him! His Baptism is like fire—the Spirit speaks and proclaims, “Beloved Son!”
To see how Jesus navigates the desert
—moves through the three temptation and onward to pick up the mantle of the one who baptized him on behalf of his brethren—it fulfilled all righteousness, and now all flesh sees the salvation of God! For God is with us!
John’s life is a parallel that proclaims and prepares us for Jesus!
To know what is at stake from the beginning—the dangers of that Christmas lesson often read by children, “In those days Caesar Augustus” “when Quirinius governed Syria” “Herod” “Pontius Pilate”
… names sharpened with deadly import—leaders on a crash course with a man who cross and nail could not nullify, John’s cousin Jesus.
John’s life is a parallel that proclaims and prepares us for Jesus!
To anticipate Mary’s unexpected pregnancy—look oh Highly Favored Lady!
To expect Mary’s encounter with Gabriel, and her famed song, the Magnificat, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.”
To look and see what made Elizabeth’s womb leap with joy—John’s cousin, Jesus! A+A
