The Ministry of John: Besides paying attention to the remarks in the last Post, we should delve a little deeper into the ministry of John the Baptist to see the kind of Kingdom he expected. From the Gospels, especially from Luke, we see that John was totally a product of the Old Testament spirit modified only by his special mission of bearing witness to Jesus. His preparation for the ministry was enriched by an ascetic life unparalleled among the Old Testament prophets. His self-effacement before Jesus was total to the point of making himself a slave and that is why he was reluctant to baptize Jesus. Having recognized the superiority of Jesus, the Baptist could not understand the need of baptizing him as against the need of being baptized by him. Here we have a clear example of the two concepts of the Kingdom as understood by John and Jesus. For John, hierarchy and its strict observance were most important in his scheme of things, whereas for Jesus, conforming oneself to what God requires was the sole concern. It is clear from this instance that the direction the Kingdom of God announced by Jesus was going to take was incomprehensible to John the Baptist, given his background and mission (See Matthew, 3: 14-15).
Different Baptisms: Let us look at the difference of the two concepts of the Kingdom from the preaching of John and Jesus. The baptism administered by John was for repentance and it was merely with water. The baptism Jesus would administer was going to be with the Holy Spirit and fire (See Matthew, 3: 11). Luke identifies John's baptism as "in token of repentance for the forgiveness of sins", whereas the same repentance for the forgiveness of sins is offered to all nations in the name of Jesus by the Gospel proclamation. (See Luke, 3: 3; 24: 47). Here is another indication of the reach and scope of the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus. He did not want to restrict himself to the external and symbolic expressions of the inner spiritual reality vivified by the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus himself never baptized anybody, although he did not object when his disciples did baptize (See John, 4: 2). Jesus was to undergo his real baptism in the death of the cross of which all the baptisms till then were only fore-runners and all the baptisms after the cross would be with the Holy Spirit. Our own baptisms are an invitation to die and rise with Christ "...so also we might set our feet upon the new path of life" (Romans, 6: 4).
Different Requirements: There is also a difference in the two concepts of the Kingdom if we consider the different requirements as a consequence of the forgiveness of sins. The Baptist instructed the people to share their material goods with those who did not have any and to do their duty with justice and to be content with what they had (See Luke, 3: 10-14). There was no radical revolution required in their life in order to follow the Baptist's instructions. Not so in the case of the requirements demanded by Jesus. Nothing short of a total revolution in our mode of thinking, sense of values and priorities leading to our death even while we are living in this world would do as a respectable response to the forgiveness of our sins granted to us in and through the Gospel proclamation. That is why Peter advised people to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus in response to their query what they were to do (See Acts, 2: 38). Here baptism is presented as for receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, baptism meaning death to the world, self and Satan and life in the Holy Spirit is the response that is appropriate from us who are forgiven by God. The concept of the Kingdom that emerges here is one where we forgive one another as well as love even our enemies (See Matthew, 5: 43-48; 18: 21-35).
The Difference: However, the most important difference between the two concepts of the Kingdom announced by John and Jesus emerge from the diverse grounds of their condemnation to death. John the Baptist was ordered to be beheaded in the prison by Herod Antipas , the king of Galilee, as he was reprimanded by John for taking away Herodias, wife of his brother Philip (See Mark, 6: 17-18). On the other hand, Jesus was condemned by Pilate to death on the cross forced by the Jews and their leaders as they thought that he undermined their religion by making himself Son of God (See John, 19:7). Thus we see that the grounds for their condemnation were quite different in as far as John advocated moral reformation in worldly life, while Jesus demanded a total revolution in our religious life itself. As their death put a seal on what they stood for and preached, the grounds of the condemnation corroborated their views on the Kingdom itself. Besides, in the case of Jesus, God the Father visibly approved his stand by raising him up from the dead. (To be Contd).
Different Baptisms: Let us look at the difference of the two concepts of the Kingdom from the preaching of John and Jesus. The baptism administered by John was for repentance and it was merely with water. The baptism Jesus would administer was going to be with the Holy Spirit and fire (See Matthew, 3: 11). Luke identifies John's baptism as "in token of repentance for the forgiveness of sins", whereas the same repentance for the forgiveness of sins is offered to all nations in the name of Jesus by the Gospel proclamation. (See Luke, 3: 3; 24: 47). Here is another indication of the reach and scope of the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus. He did not want to restrict himself to the external and symbolic expressions of the inner spiritual reality vivified by the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus himself never baptized anybody, although he did not object when his disciples did baptize (See John, 4: 2). Jesus was to undergo his real baptism in the death of the cross of which all the baptisms till then were only fore-runners and all the baptisms after the cross would be with the Holy Spirit. Our own baptisms are an invitation to die and rise with Christ "...so also we might set our feet upon the new path of life" (Romans, 6: 4).
Different Requirements: There is also a difference in the two concepts of the Kingdom if we consider the different requirements as a consequence of the forgiveness of sins. The Baptist instructed the people to share their material goods with those who did not have any and to do their duty with justice and to be content with what they had (See Luke, 3: 10-14). There was no radical revolution required in their life in order to follow the Baptist's instructions. Not so in the case of the requirements demanded by Jesus. Nothing short of a total revolution in our mode of thinking, sense of values and priorities leading to our death even while we are living in this world would do as a respectable response to the forgiveness of our sins granted to us in and through the Gospel proclamation. That is why Peter advised people to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus in response to their query what they were to do (See Acts, 2: 38). Here baptism is presented as for receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, baptism meaning death to the world, self and Satan and life in the Holy Spirit is the response that is appropriate from us who are forgiven by God. The concept of the Kingdom that emerges here is one where we forgive one another as well as love even our enemies (See Matthew, 5: 43-48; 18: 21-35).
The Difference: However, the most important difference between the two concepts of the Kingdom announced by John and Jesus emerge from the diverse grounds of their condemnation to death. John the Baptist was ordered to be beheaded in the prison by Herod Antipas , the king of Galilee, as he was reprimanded by John for taking away Herodias, wife of his brother Philip (See Mark, 6: 17-18). On the other hand, Jesus was condemned by Pilate to death on the cross forced by the Jews and their leaders as they thought that he undermined their religion by making himself Son of God (See John, 19:7). Thus we see that the grounds for their condemnation were quite different in as far as John advocated moral reformation in worldly life, while Jesus demanded a total revolution in our religious life itself. As their death put a seal on what they stood for and preached, the grounds of the condemnation corroborated their views on the Kingdom itself. Besides, in the case of Jesus, God the Father visibly approved his stand by raising him up from the dead. (To be Contd).
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