Part Two: Baptism

I wonder if Jesus was hesitant as he walked into the Jordan River to be baptized by John. Hollywood and certain Gospels would imply he entered the water confidently, without any doubts, but if he was “fully human,” as the creeds remind, then I have to believe he was hesitant, if not downright scared.

Jesus’ baptism marks the beginning of what scholars call his “public ministry.” From the moment he faces John, his life is his no more. During the next three years, he would be in the company of multitudes who would be asking and expecting things from him incessantly. He would surround himself with followers, teach the good news to all who in one way or another were held captive, until the world rejected and killed him. That is the public ministry he had to look forward to as he knelt before John to be baptized.

As a child, I remember wanting to shout, “Go back. Don’t do it,” because I knew the rest of the story. Looking with older eyes, I wonder if, maybe, he did too. Maybe he knew what kind of followers they were, how endless the need, and horrid his fate. The same creed that reminds us of his humanity, also states he was fully God. As such, then he must have known what would happen once he was baptized? How utterly amazing he went through with it.

Perhaps he knew that to walk into the water was part of a plan, God’s plan, his plan. How different our world would be had he heard my childhood shout. Hear it or not, he walked into the water, into the wilderness, and into lives regardless of the cost so that we might find the life and faith to do the same. The waters, wildernesses, and lives are different for us all, but the faith is the same.