(Mark 1: 4-11)
Teresa will tell you that I have this habit of talking to the television. Maybe ranting would be a better description, especially during the evening news, but I also talk back to commercials like the ones for drugs that promise a miracle cure if you can survive the side effects. But the one’s I really like are the commercials for some sort of new product that does amazing and unheard-of things like stopping leaks or slicing and dicing vegetables. The pitchman breathlessly describes the amazing qualities of their gizmo and, if that’s not enough to get you to buy it, they excitedly exclaim: “But wait, there’s more!” At that point they either tell you that you can two for the price of one, just pay separate shipping and handling, or they’ll throw in a complimentary carrying case, tote or some other gizmo. So don’t delay, be one of the first one hundred callers to get this amazing offer. Operators are standing by to take your call. Call now while supplies last!
And that’s what I take from our scripture reading for this morning; but wait, there’s more! Mark is telling us that John the baptizer is out in the wilderness dressed like some sort of wild man wearing camel hair clothing cinched up with a leather belt, eating locusts and wild honey, and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. We are told that people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were coming out to confess their sins and be baptized by him. This is significant because, up to this point, the forgiveness of sins is found exclusively in the Jerusalem temple by the offering of an acceptable sacrifice according to the Law of Moses and approved by the priests. But now the people are flocking out into the wilderness to be baptized in the Jordan River and get their sins forgiven for free. The sheer magnitude of this response sent a message to the established Jewish religious leaders that the people felt the old order of doing things was inadequate and that they were seeking a much more holistic redemption on a whole new scale that didn’t include them. You get the feeling that maybe the people thought the whole going to the temple and buying an acceptable sacrifice was just a routine that was lining the pockets of the powers that be. Go and sin no more, and we’ll see you next week. For the spiritual seekers the mere maintenance of sin no longer sufficed. They were looking for more, something transformational rather than transactional.
So they go out to the wilderness to hear John the Baptist teach and preach a message they are not hearing in the temple or their local synagogue. They hear him proclaim; The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. He turns to the people and tells them that he has baptized them with water, but wait, there’s more, this one I am talking about will come and baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Wow! Can you imagine that? Not only am I going to get baptized and have my sin forgiven; I’m going to get baptized with the Holy Spirit. This concept of the Holy Spirit was not new to the Jews of the time as they were familiar with the engagement of the Spirit with Old Testament prophets but never with common, every-day people. Now they’re hearing that they too can have a relationship with the Holy Spirit. Now that’s really something, and there’s no extra charge, no separate shipping and handling.
And that’s what the Apostle Paul was trying to explain to some disciples he met in Ephesus on one of his mission trips. In Acts 19 Paul asked the disciples if they received the Holy Spirit when they became believers, to which they replied: Now, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. Paul asked them into what they were baptized, and they answered: Into John’s baptism. Paul responded: John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling people to believe in the one who was to come after him, this is, in Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit came upon them.
So, this extra gift of the Holy Spirit, what is it and what can it do for me you might ask? Well, I guess the best way for me to explain it is to tell you what Jesus and Paul say about the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. In John’s gospel, chapter 3, verses 5 and 6, Jesus says to Nicodemus: I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to the Spirit. Jesus was explaining to Nicodemus the importance of a spiritual rebirth, saying that people don’t enter the kingdom by living a better life, but by being spiritually reborn. Jesus was telling Nicodemus, and us, that he is sending the Holy Spirit so that his spiritual presence would still be among mankind. It’s that spiritual presence that moves and motivates us to act in God’s service. It’s a personal connection. And, in John 4, 20-24, Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that the time has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” God is spirit means he is not a physical being limited to one place. He is present everywhere, and can be worshiped anywhere, at any time. With the Spirit, it’s not where we worship that counts, but how we worship. In Acts 1: 4,5; Jesus gave them this command: Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is telling his disciples that the Spirit is being sent so that God would be with and within his followers after he returns to heaven. The Spirit would comfort them, guide them to know his truth, remind them of his words, give them the right words to say, and fill them with power.
The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2: 14, that the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. Non-Christians cannot understand God, and they cannot grasp the concept that God’s Spirit lives in believers. It all seems silly to them. No one can comprehend God, but through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, believers have insight into some of God’s plans, thoughts, and actions. Through the Holy Spirit we can begin to know God’s thoughts, talk with him, and expect his answers to our prayers. In Galatians 3: 5 Paul asks: Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you have heard? People still feel insecure in their faith because faith alone seems too easy. People still try to get closer to God by simply following the rules. You know, “I’m a good person. I obey the law. I go to church almost every Sunday,” and they think, or at least hope, that’s all it takes. But the Holy Spirit gives Christians great power to live for God. Yeah, I know it may seem difficult or that it takes a long time to see any results, but often times the Holy Spirit’s greatest work is teaching us to persist, to keep doing what is right even when it no longer seems interesting or exciting. And finally, Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 1: 4,5; For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. Quite simply, the Holy Spirit changes people when they believe the gospel.
And it’s that change that we want so much. The kind of change that led people out into the wilderness to be baptized by some guy dressed in camel hair who ate locusts and wild honey. That kind of change that not only gives us the forgiveness of sin but a life of peace, joy and meaning. This baptism of the Holy Spirit must be understood in the light of his total work in Christians. The coming of the Spirit upon us marks the beginning of the Christian experience. We cannot belong to Christ without his Spirit. We cannot be united to Christ without his Spirit. We cannot be adopted as his children without his Spirit. The Spirit unites the Christian community in Christ. The Spirit is the power of our new lives, the more we’ve been wanting and waiting for. It’s there, there for the asking. All you have to do is ask in Jesus’ name.
Please pray with me.
Gracious and loving God, how grateful we are for your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and that he loved us so much that he sacrificed himself on the cross for the redemption of our sins. And how grateful we are that we can call upon his name for not only forgiveness, but also for the gift of the Holy Spirit who walks with us and guides us along the way as we work to do your will and your way. Unite us through the Spirit as a Christian community to live new lives in Christ Jesus so that we can be an example to others to the more that is out there when a person commits their life to Christ. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.