It appears that for Mark, the baptism of Jesus and the divine affirmation of his status as the Beloved Son, are somehow related to Jesus’ immediate move to the wilderness. While the lectionary relates this account to the story of Noah and the flood, it might have been more appropriate to pair it with Exodus. After considering the idea of a parallel between the Jordan and Red Sea, I was struck with the idea that no, this is not a parallel story to that part of the exodus but, rather the symbolic opposite of Israel’s crossing of the Jordan into the promised land.
After his baptism in the Jordan, Jesus leaves the promised land of milk and honey for the wilderness. It is in the wilderness that Jesus becomes the outsider. This will, of course, be the pattern of Mark’s gospel. Just two weeks ago we saw Jesus himself become unclean by touching the leper in order to heal him. This is the pattern of the cross which Peter will reject.
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