This short segment of Mark’s gospel
reminds us that there is great truth in the old saying, if we don’t stand for
something, we’ll fall for anything. Perhaps it would be more accurate to
interpret it slightly different in the context of this story and say that
before we come to Jesus, we must be willing to acknowledge out current state,
or situation. The chief priests,
scribes, and elders- the ones who would have been responsible for keeping order
in Jerusalem- are acting like good politicians and refusing to take a
stand. They’ve weighed the risks
associated with both positions, and decided to simply vote “present”, rather
than yay or nay. Showing himself to be
far more clever, and yet also more righteous than any politician or public
official, Jesus puts the authorities in the position of having to choose
between acknowledging their mistake and keeping the support of the crowd, or
sticking to their guns and losing the support of the crowd.
So what is so important about how the
authorities view John the Baptist, and why do they fear him? Josephus helps us answer these questions with
a comment he makes on John the Baptist’s ministry, in his book Antiquities of the Jews. Josephus says, “When others too joined the
crowds about him [John the Baptist], because they were aroused to the highest
degree by his sermons, Herod became alarmed.
Eloquence that had so great an effect on humankind might lead to some
form of sedition, for it looked as if they would be guided by John in
everything that they did.” The
authorities see in John’s rhetoric a powerful subversive force; Jesus sees in
it a proclamation of the gospel. Like
Herod before them, those in power in Jerusalem are motivated by their “fear of
the people”. They don’t consider the
truth of John’s words, but rather their effect on the people. Because Jesus sees John’s words as gospel
proclamation, he sees their missions, his and John’s, as being intricately
linked. John the Baptist is introduced in
Mark’s gospel with a direct quote from Malachi 3:1, “behold, I send my
messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.” Mark doesn’t finish the verse when speaking
of John, but we see in it the prediction of Jesus mission as was illustrated
earlier in Mark 11, “and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly
come to his temple; and the
messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of
hosts.” Thus, John the Baptist and
Jesus are tied together not only in Malachi, but in history, in the story of
God’s work in our world.
God calls us to not only accept the reality of his
presence in the world; he calls us to ourselves participate in his story. It’s worth looking at our own lives, and
asking if we are like the religious leaders of Jesus day, so paralyzed by our
concern for the opinions of others that we cannot take a stand.
“Almighty
God,
Help
us to follow you in faith. May our
belief in you not be merely mental, but allow it to make itself known through
our actions. Embolden us to take a stand
for your truth, for the good news of what you have done for us. May we share the story of your love with all
who are in need of your grace and your mercy.
We ask this in the name of your Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Amen.”
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