Reading the Gospels Together Baptism/Anointing and Testing of Jesus We have already looked at the baptism/anointing of Jesus when we were considering the stories of Jesus and John the Baptist. Our focus here will be strictly on the reports of Jesus’ baptism and of his testing. In this section we will need to consider Mark 1:9-13, Matthew 3:13-4:11, Luke 3:21-22, Luke 4:1-13; and John 1:24-34. Mark, Matthew, and to a lesser extent Luke, all share basically the same story regarding the baptism of Jesus. Jesus comes from Nazareth in Galilee to John the Baptist at the Jordan River and is baptized by him. At the time of his baptism the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus in the form of a dove and God speaks from heaven announcing that Jesus is his beloved Son. We have already discussed the minor difference we encounter and will not speak of them again here. In the gospel of John, John the Witness also speaks of the sign that God had given him that the one upon whom he sees the Holy Spirit descend and remain is the one who is mightier than he and the one to whom he is to bear witness. The writer of John’s gospel never says specifically that Jesus was baptized and there is no voice from heaven confirming that Jesus is the Son of God. John the Witness makes that declaration and adds to it that Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. One might even speak of John’s story as the “anointing of Jesus” since he does not mention the baptism. These two versions are not significantly different from one another to the extent that they contradict each other. One can easily “blend” them together into one story without violating any of the stories. All of the stories function for their authors as a way of indicating the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus and that is their chief purpose. Following his baptism, Mark, Matthew, and Luke all tell a story of Jesus being taken into the wilderness to be tested by Satan. They vary slightly in the way in which they speak of Jesus being taken into the wilderness with Mark using the strongest language – Jesus is “cast out” into the wilderness – and the others using a softer way of saying the same thing as Jesus is “led” into the wilderness. It is the Holy Spirit that is active in all three gospels. Mark provides a significantly shorter version of the story. Both Matthew and Luke expand Mark’s account and speak of three specific tests that Jesus must face. Once again it is tempting to think that Mark did not know the story in its fuller form and that Matthew and Luke found the story in their common source. That may indeed be the truth but not necessarily so. Again Mark may be the one who omitted the greater detail because he did not think it served his purpose to “rush” Jesus to the cross. At any rate Matthew and Luke share the same three tests although their order is reversed for the second and third test. The first test is whether or not Jesus will satisfy his own needs for bread or live by the bread God alone provides. The allusion is to the OT story of manna in the wilderness. The second test Matthew speaks of, which is placed third by Luke, is whether or not Jesus will cast himself down from the Temple and tempt God to save him. And the third test in Matthew, placed second by Luke, is whether or not Jesus will seek to gain the whole world by worshiping Satan. Jesus meets each test and is thus ready for his public ministry. Though it really matters little, it is likely that Luke is the one responsible for the switch in order since placing the Temple test last puts Jesus in the Temple which is central to Luke’s story. The story of the testing of Jesus in all three gospels serves the purpose of preparing Jesus for his public ministry. Where the OT people of God fail Jesus succeeds. Jesus is found faithful. He is indeed God’s chosen one, the beloved Son of God. Interestingly John mentions none of this. Perhaps John simply was unfamiliar with the story of the temptation/testing of Jesus. But even if he was John likely would have omitted it. We need to remember that for John, Jesus is the God-man. To suggest that Jesus should be tested to see if he would measure up to God’s expectation would have been ludicrous to John. How one perceived Jesus is important in the telling of the story. Mark, Matthew, and Luke think of Jesus more in terms of his humanity. Likely those who first encountered Jesus encountered him as a man – they did not think or realize that Jesus was more than a mere man. It took a great deal of thinking for the first followers of Jesus to realize that Jesus was more than human. John has already arrived at that conclusion in his gospel so he portrays Jesus as he has come to understand him to be – God in human flesh. And that influences how John tells his story. Of course we can benefit greatly from all four gospel writers. It is not a matter of one being more accurate or sophisticated than another. All are brilliant in their work and we benefit from each.