The average reader of that corpus of literature Christians call the New Testament don’t realize that John the Baptist was as powerful a figure as Jesus. John and Jesus were the charismatic leaders of parallel movements, each drawing very large followings. It is possible that John’s movement had more followers than that of Jesus.
For the sake of my rendering of gospel narrative, I allow the conceit that the two are “cousins,” according to infancy stories in Luke.
Seen through a modern lens, John’s wild appearance and messianic preaching suggest someone on the spectrum. His ministry, from what we know of it, is centered in repentance and renewal as preparatory to the arrival of the kingdom and a final judgment: “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2) John’s sacrament was for the remission of sins, but more than that, it was a personal self-healing, a confession, a turning back to the holy one, a rebirth to new ways.
Jesus accepted the sacrament, and then made it integral to his own movement.
What leaps out to me from the scriptures is that each man points to the other and asks, Are you the one? And by that, each one means Elijah, returned.
Another interesting thing that leaps out to me is that there was never a suggestion that the parallel movements merge. John went his way and Jesus went in another direction.
I find it possible—and this is pure speculation—that officials might have been concerned that the movements might merge, particularly because the texts suggest that the two groups maintained contact. Already, the great throngs of people who could be swayed by preaching presented a threat of uprising; a broader coalition of the disenfranchised would have raised the level of such a threat.
The great difference between John’s ministry and that of Jesus is that only John could administer the sacrament. So, the movement would have died whenever John died. Executing him while he was in prison—and any excuse would have done—was an effective and quick way to destroy his movement and disband his crowds.
By contrast, Jesus gathered a group of willing disciples—a move that I can only think was strategic. He put the sacrament of baptism front and center in his own movement, but he empowered his disciples to offer it, as well as to perform healing. This ensured that the legacy of John would live on, and also made this movement an official target, once John’s movement was ended.
An additional similarity between the thought of John and Jesus has to do with trees bearing fruit. Trees and fruit are metaphors, I believe, for physical and spiritual self-care; how well we tend to ourselves is reflected in the mental choices we make and physical actions we take in the world. How do we tend the tree of our soul? The tree that is not well tended will bear rotten fruit or, worse, no fruit, at all. The ministries of John and Jesus make it plain that such a tree is only useful as fuel for the fire.
© 2020 by Elisabeth T. Eliassen and songsofasouljourney.blogspot.com
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