Wednesday 28 June 2023

Psalm 61

Background

Following the dialogue with Nicodemus and the gospel’s reflection on salvation in and through Jesus (John 3:16-21), this passage describes Jesus and his disciples going into the Judean country where they baptise people (3:22). This is one of the only references in the New Testament to baptisms taking place as part of the ministry of Jesus, though the gospel writer later highlights that it was the disciples who were baptising rather than Jesus himself (John 4:2). This leads to the peculiar situation where both John the Baptist and Jesus’ disciples were engaged in ministries of baptism (3:32-24)! The location of ‘Aenon near Salim’ (3:23) is disputed, but most scholars place it in the region of Samaria.

Jews held different views of purification rites, and the gospel notes that a dialogue took places about this issue between John’s disciples and a ‘Jew’. The reference to a ‘Jew’ is odd since John’s disciples were also Jews, but it probably reflects a later period where there was a clearer division between ‘Christians’ and ‘Jews’ and the author imports this distinction back into this story. The conversation leads the disciples of John the Baptist to go to him and point out that many were now being baptised by Jesus across the Jordan (v. 26), presumably wondering how his baptisms connected to the baptisms of Jesus’ disciples.

John’s response to the query begins by noting that he had been sent ahead of the Messiah and so had a subordinate role to him. His own position was like that of the friend of the bridegroom, while Jesus was like the actual bridegroom at whose voice the friend rejoices (v. 29). Some scholars detect here an allusion to the Old Testament depiction of Israel as the ‘bride’ (Isaiah 54:6), suggesting a messianic overtone to this image. Since his own work was preparing for Jesus’ arrival, John was overjoyed! The dialogue ends with John’s declaration, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (v. 30), a phrase that could characterise the lives of all who serve Jesus as their Messiah and Lord.

To Ponder:

• Do you think it would have been a challenge for John the Baptist to minimise his own ministry? In what ways might we over-value our ministries when it may be that God is calling us to bring them to an end?
• • In what way do we magnify Jesus in our lives?