The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 7

the baptism of John was the profession of of Confirmation, which ls the complotion of their penitence. Hence they "·ho wore the sncrament of Baptism. John baptized baptized with his baptism confessed their with water only, but Christ with wnter nnd eins, and thus made the first step towards the Holy Spirit. John bnptized the body the forgiving mercy which wns to bo found only, Christ baptizes the soul. By how in Christ; and the seal of his forgiveness much, therefore, the Holy Spirit transcends they were to look for in his baptism, which the water, and the soul excels the body, by is a baptism for the remission of sins to so much is Christ's baptism more excellent all true penitents and fail.Lful believers. than that of John, which wns only prepara- Christ's baptism was, therefore, the pe1~ tory and rudimentary. If it be o.sked why fection and oonsu.mmation of the baptism it was needful that our Lord should be of John. baptized with John's baptism, the best Ver. 6.-Clothed with camel's hair. This answer is that given by Christ himself, WO,S a rough, coarse garment, characteristic "Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh of the doctrine which John taught, namely, us to fulfil all righteousness; " it becometh penitence and contempt of the world. us-me in receiving this baptism, and you Camels abounded in Syria. And a leathern in imparting it. Christ was sent to do the girdle about his loins. Not only the pro- whole will of God; o.nd as in his circum- phets, but the Jews and the inhabitants of cision, so in his baptism, •• he was made to Syria generally, used a girdle to keep the be sin for us, who knew no sin." long flowing garment more closely about Ver. 10.-Straightway (<u6l01r) ooming up them, so as to leave them more free for out ot the water, he saw the heavens journeying or for labour. Thus our Lord opened (ux,(oµlPous); literally, rent aaunder. says (Luke xii. 35), "Let yolll' loins be The word <v6l01s occurs more than forty girded about, and your lamps burning." times in this Gospel, and is so character- And he did eat locusts and wild honey. istio of St. Mark that, in the Revised Version, The insect called the locust ( <i.1<pls) was per- it is uniformly rendered by the so.me Eng- mitted to be eaten (see Lev. xi. 22). It lish synonym, "straightway." He saw. was used e.s food by the common people in Elsewhere we are told (John i. 32) that St. Judma. The Arabs eat them to this day; John the Baptist saw this descent. The but they are considered as a common and earliest heretics took advantage of this state- inferior kind of food. They are a sign of ment to represent this event as the descent temperance, poverty, and penitence. The of the eternal Christ upon the man Jesus for wild honey (µeJu ii-ypiov) was simply honey personal indwelling. Later critics have made by wild bees, either in the trees or in adopted this view. But it need hardly be the hollows of the rocks. Isidorus says that said here that such an opinion is alto- it was of an inferior flavour. Both these gether inconsistent with all that we read kinds of food were consistent with the elsewhere of the circumstances of the austere life and the solemn preaching of Incarnation, and of the intimate and indis- the Baptist. soluble union of the Divine and human Ver. 7.-The latchet of whose shoes I am natures in the person of the one Christ, from not worthy to stoop down and unloose. This the time of the" overshadowing of the Virgin was the menial office of the slave, whose Mary by the power of the Highest." The business it was to take off and put on the Spirit descending npon him ot his baptism shoes of his mneter, stooping down with all was not the descent of the eternal Obrist humility and respect for this purpose. Thus upon the man Jesus. It was rather the John confessed that he was the servant of conveyance to one who was already prepared Christ, and that Christ was his Lord. In for it as God and man, of office and e. mystical sense· the shoes denote the authority as the great Prophet that should humanity of Christ, which by its union with come into the world. St. Luke says parti- ihe Word became of the highest dignity cularly (iii. 21) that it was when Jesus had e.nd majesty. St. Bernard says, " The been baptized and was praying, that the majesty of the Word was shod with the Holy Spirit descended upon him; plainly sandal of our humanity." showing us that it was not thl'Oogh the Ver. 8.-I baptized you with water; but baptism of John, but through the meri- he shall baptize you with [or in] the Holy torious obedience and the prayer of the Son Ghost. It is as though he said, "Christ of God, that the heavens were "rent will pour his Holy Spirit so abundantly asunder," and the Holy Spirit descended upon yon, that he will cleanse you from all upon him. your Bina, and fill you with holiness and Ver. 12.-Driveth him (l,,13,1;,,,. ..); liter- love and all his other excellent graces." ally, driveth him /rnth. That Holy Spirit, Christ did this visibly on the day of Pente- which not long before he had re- cost. And this he does invisibly in the ceived at his baptism, impelled him with aacmme11t of Holy Baptism, and ip, the rite great energy ; so that of his OWll accord h11 llB, J. 1-45,] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BT. MARK. 3