Mark 1:4
John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
John appears baptizing in the wilderness, or the desert. In scripture, wilderness places are often associated with disorder and evil. After murdering Abel, Cain is left wandering the infertile expanses; the Israelites drift disobediently through the wilderness; and later in Mark (and in the other Gospels) remote places are explicitly linked with the activity of Satan.
Where the desert represents distance from God and loss of life through sin, the water of baptism represents new life. This is why the phrase ‘baptizing in the wilderness’ is so striking – it compares by paradox. We wouldn’t normally associate baptism – immersion in water – with desert places, which by definition lack water. We are thus invited to imagine a parched land, but also a pocket of relief, an oasis. We have wandered, thirsty and in need of refreshment. But to our great relief we find the invigorating refreshment of water. And we are dipped in it! (This is the literal meaning of baptism) How refreshing! We have here, then, a vivid sign of what John’s baptism signified: the forgiveness of sins; spiritual refreshment.
Ultimately, Jesus came to bring life. His baptism is even greater than John’s (more on this in a few verses’ time). As we celebrate Easter, we recall that the early church set this time aside for baptisms. This is of course no coincidence, for the Christian reality is that we have entered the water of Christ’s death and emerged refreshed, renewed, and alive.
Author: Nick Raven
13/04/2020