Reading the Gospels Together Jesus and John the Baptist – Part 3 For the most part Matthew follows Mark, his primary source, very faithfully; however, Matthew does expand the story of John the Baptist in a few ways and Matthew also makes Mark’s allusions clearer. Like Mark, Matthew introduces John the Baptist as the herald who announces the coming of Jesus. Matthew maintains Mark’s allusion that John the Baptist is Elijah. But, where Mark had merely told of the ministry of John the Baptist and given John only one sentence, Matthew expands the message that John proclaims. Matthew informs his readers that John came to call people to, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” For Mark, this is the first announcement of Jesus. Matthew will report that the first words of Jesus are also, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” but he has already given those words to John. And Matthew provides his readers with more words of the proclamation of John the Baptist. John the Baptist’s words are harsh accusing the religious leaders of being “a brood of vipers” and warning them that they are like a tree about to be cut down or chaff to be burned in the fire. As we will see, Matthew shares these words with Luke so he may have found them in the source he and Luke share. But there is another possibility to consider and that is that Mark also knew these harsh words of John the Baptist but chose to omit them since they did not serve his purpose for Jesus. As we have seen earlier in considering the birth stories, just because Mark does not include something does not mean he is unaware of it. So, instead of asking why Matthew added these words, perhaps a better question to ask is, “Why did Mark omit them?” And when we think of it from this point of view it is likely that Mark omitted a great deal about John the Baptist because he wanted his focus to be on Jesus and the cross. Everything in Mark’s gospel serves that one purpose. Matthew, on the other hand, finds these words to be helpful since they bring judgment against the religious leaders of Israel – something Matthew will stress later – and they provide Matthew with an opportunity to lift up the call to righteousness which will be an important element of Matthew’s message. Matthew also makes some minor adjustments to Mark’s story of the baptism of Jesus by John. Mark had told his readers that John was anticipating one who is mightier than he and Matthew makes that even more specific. John the Baptist protests Jesus request that he be baptized. And in so doing John lowers himself even more by subjugating himself to Jesus. Matthew also emphasizes that the baptism of Jesus is not for Jesus’ sake but to fulfill all righteousness – an element of Matthew’s gospel that will rise in importance as his gospel unfolds. Mark and Matthew are in complete agreement but Matthew makes what Mark alludes to more specific. Matthew also changes the scene slightly so that John the Baptist and presumably others see the coming of the Spirit in the dove and hear the words of God about his beloved Son. Once again, it may be that we should think of this difference more as something Mark does than Matthew since Mark will make a great deal of the “hiddenness” of the Messiah until he is seen crucified and dead on the cross. The next time Matthew mentions John the Baptist is to tell his readers of John’s arrest and the movement of Jesus to Galilee. Matthew follows Mark exactly at this point although the intervening material has taken some of the edge off of Mark’s presentation. The next time Matthew mentions John the Baptist is the scene regarding why the religious leaders and the disciples of John the Baptist fast and the disciples of Jesus don’t. Matthew follows Mark faithfully although Matthew does shorten the story somewhat telling only the essentials. Mark and Matthew are in complete agreement. The next time Matthew mentions John the Baptist he interjects material that is completely absent from Mark’s gospel. This is material that Matthew shares with Luke so likely Matthew found it in the source he and Luke share. Matthew reminds his readers that John the Baptist is in prison and from prison John sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus if he is “the one” or if they are to look for another. John’s inquiry provides Jesus with an opportunity to point to his actions which fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah regarding the coming Messiah. Matthew does not tell his readers if the answer Jesus gives to those who have made the inquiry is satisfying to John or not. That is a question that is simply left hanging in Matthew’s gospel. Matthew now moves on to tell his readers of the praise that Jesus bestows upon John the Baptist. Who is John the Baptist? Matthew makes it clear to his readers that John is the “messenger sent to prepare the way” fulfilling both the prophecies of Malachi and Isaiah. And Matthew makes it abundantly clear to his readers that they are to understand John the Baptist as Elijah – something Mark has clearly alluded to but not said in such specific words. As Elijah, John the Baptist becomes something of a bridge from the OT covenant to the new act God is doing in Jesus. John brings an ending to one phase of God’s work and announces the beginning of another; however, it is crucial that these two phases are understood as connected and are really the same work of God. The response of people to John the Baptist is one of rejection – just as will be the response of many to Jesus. One can hear the frustration in Matthew’s presentation. Nothing will please those who refuse to hear. Nothing that Matthew offers in this new material – not found in Mark – contradicts anything in Mark’s presentation of John the Baptist. But it is useful for Matthew to proclaim the purpose of Jesus’ coming and to grieve the rejection of Jesus by many. Mark could well have included this whole episode in his gospel as well. Most likely this is an instance where Mark was unaware of this material. The next time Matthew mentions John the Baptist he is once again following Mark closely and faithfully. The story is of Herod’s misunderstanding regarding the identity of Jesus and the gruesome story of the beheading of John the Baptist. And, again following Mark, Matthew faithfully relates the story of Jesus asking his disciples who people say that Jesus is only to be presented with mistaken identities. Matthew is following Mark completely at this point. The same is true regarding the telling of the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus. Matthew’s story is essentially that of Mark, although once again Matthew makes Mark’s allusions more specific. Matthew says in no uncertain terms that John the Baptist is Elijah which is precisely what Jesus’ disciples understand. Matthew and Mark are in complete agreement. Like Mark the last time Matthew mentions John the Baptist specifically is in the story of the controversy between Jesus and the religious leaders regarding the authority of Jesus and that of John the Baptist. And just as we noticed in Mark that there may be one last allusion to John the Baptist as Jesus hangs on the cross, that same allusion is present in Matthew since he tells the exact same story in exactly the same way. As we listen to Matthew and Mark it becomes abundantly clear that they are in agreement with one another fully when it comes to John the Baptist. Matthew may have a bit more material and Matthew may clarify some of Mark’s allusions but the outcome is exactly the same – John the Baptist is the fore-runner of Jesus. John is Elijah. And the fate of John the Baptist foreshadows that of Jesus.