Repentance is just the beginning
Monday, Nov. 25
Mark 1:1-20 Click here to read
Today we are returning to the gospels—specifically the Gospel of Mark. Don’t forget the lessons of Leviticus and Numbers, though. The gospels are a continuation of the Old Testament story, not an overturning of it.
The baptizing of John has its roots in the sprinkling of blood or water on the altar as a sign of repentance and cleansing. The call to repent is familiar from the repeated pattern in the wilderness of drifting away from God then making sacrifices for atonement. And, of course, the whole process of Jesus being the ultimate sacrificial lamb to take away the sin of the world makes sense only in light of the Old Testament sacrificial system.
John himself is a prophet in the tradition of what we read about in Numbers Chapter 11. He is also a Nazirite, following the teachings we saw in Numbers Chapter 6.
As we get deeper into the Old Testament we will see an expectation develop that there is more to God’s story than an endless repetition of the sin-sacrifice-atonement cycle. The people come to expect a savior who will restore the broken relationship between God and his people for good.
That is where the gospels come in. Jesus is that savior. The new covenant isn’t a radical change from the old covenant; it is a radical move forward to complete the old covenant.
Unfortunately, many Christians don’t keep up with the new reality. Many are stuck in the mode of the baptism of John and fail to move forward into the baptism of Christ. It’s not that we get baptized twice, but that the baptism we received is not the limited baptism of repentance, but the new life of baptism with the Holy Spirit that is initiated with the arrival of Jesus.
Among other things, this helps in understanding why Jesus himself had to be baptized. In all of the accounts of the baptism of Jesus in the gospels, three things happen: The Holy Spirit gives him power, his identity is divinely confirmed, and he is sent to do God’s work.
Each of those things also happen in our baptism. Notice too that all three are works of God, not works of the person being baptized.
A phrase I have often heard is that we as the church should strive for disciples, not just decisions.
Yes, repentance is the first step, but it’s not the goal of Christianity. Even forgiveness is a means to an end: experiencing completely new life through Jesus Christ.