Mark 1:1-8

In the gospel of Mark, John the Baptist says: "After me will come one more powerful than I. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

The gospel of Mark begins with the statement: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God." We learn the point of the story before we've gotten beyond the first verse of the first chapter. None of the other three gospels in the New Testament begins this way, so we may conclude that this is the choice of the author.

All the gospels in the New Testament, however, tell the story of John the Baptist, although with some differences. In the gospel of Mark we learn that John was in the wilderness baptizing those who repented of their sins. We are told that Jesus came to John in the Jordan River to be baptized.

The gospels do not explain why Jesus comes To be baptized. As John was baptizing those who confessed their sins, we might assume that Jesus, too, confessed his sins to John before baptism. John does say there is someone coming after him, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit, but in the fourth gospel we are not told that this is Jesus.

The memory of John the Baptist is so strong in the church that it appears near the beginning of all four New Testament gospels, which subordinate John to Jesus. Yet, Jesus seems to find his calling by participating in John's ministry.

Grace and peace...Bob