Read Genesis 1:1-2. In the beginning--the earth was a formless void, the world was a chaotic ocean. God spoke.
Surely, Mark was familiar with this passage. In the beginning of Jesus' public life, he comes to the wilderness, a formless place away from the city where Herod presided. He comes to this place during a time in which his world was chaotic, a world that seemed to be ruled by Caesar.
As Jesus came out of the water, God's Spirit descends on him. God speaks, "You are my Son."
Questions: In Mark's gospel, did John know that Jesus was the Christ? In Mark's gospel, did anyone other than Jesus hear this voice?
Surely, Mark was familiar with this passage. In the beginning of Jesus' public life, he comes to the wilderness, a formless place away from the city where Herod presided. He comes to this place during a time in which his world was chaotic, a world that seemed to be ruled by Caesar.
As Jesus came out of the water, God's Spirit descends on him. God speaks, "You are my Son."
Questions: In Mark's gospel, did John know that Jesus was the Christ? In Mark's gospel, did anyone other than Jesus hear this voice?
Another question: How does our Christian baptism reflect Jesus' baptism? He is God's Son; who are we?
Charles Cousar, in Texts for Preaching, Year B, says:
....John the Baptist's earlier saying (He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit," 1:8) provides a connection between Jesus' baptism and Christian practice. Jesus' bringing of the Spirit enables persons to be baptized into the community called into being by that Spirit. The Christian's baptism becomes that of Jesus in that believers are called to live out Jesus' path of proclamation and of servanthood (see 10:38-40).
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