This Sunday the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord which marked the beginning of Jesus public ministry. It focuses on the revelation of Jesus to the nation as Messiah by John the Baptizer who revealed Him to those who were awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promises. In many ways this is the same celebration as last week when in the Epiphany, Jesus was revealed to representatives of the Gentile world. The question first asked by John of why he should baptize Jesus is a good one. Jesus is baptized not to show His need of repentance but to show the extent of ours. Jesus’ baptism is another way in which He chose to identify with us, not in our nobility but in our sinfulness. By stepping into that stream Jesus stepped more deeply into our humanity. Later He would continue this identification with sinners by sharing meals with them. With this celebration the Christmas Season ends although the echoes of its revelation themes will continue in the Gospel reading for next Sunday.

First Reading: Isaiah 42: 1-4, 6-7

1 Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I have put my spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
2 Not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
4 Until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coast lands will wait for his teaching.
6 I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
7 To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

NOTES on First Reading:

* 42:1-4 This is the first of Isaiah’s Four Servant of the Lord Songs. The other three are 49:1-7; 50:4-11;52:13-53:12. All four of them are poems and are usually set as poetry in English translations as they are here in the NAB. Over the years many individuals and groups have been proposed for the role of the unnamed servant: historical Israel, ideal Israel, Old Testament historical characters before or during the lifetime of the prophet, the prophet himself. Christian tradition has always seen the fulfillment of these prophecies in Jesus Christ.

* 42:1 The spirit was promised to the Messianic king in Isa 11:1 and to the entire Messianic community in Joel 3. The New Testament interprets this as having occurred at the Baptism of Jesus, Mark 1:11 and the transfiguration, Matt 17:5.

* 42:2-3 The servant accomplishes his mission quietly. To cry out meant to be one in special need. He stands quiet and strong instead. Not breaking the bruised reed or quenching a smoldering wick is a reference to extraordinary mercy and respect for others. He even recognizes the strength in the weakness of others. The NAB omits the last part of verse 3, “he will introduce justice effectively” and the first part of verse 4, “he will never fail nor be discouraged” although the Jerusalem Bible leaves it in as do most of the translations that follow the Hebrew text rather than the Greek.

* 42:4 Coast lands was sometimes used for apostate Israelites scattered throughout the general population of Babylon. Often it referred to the lands of the Mediterranean or to the pagan lands of the west. In either case they are called to conversion.

*42:5 This verse is skipped over in the reading as given above.

* 42:6 To be given “as a covenant to the people and a light to the nations” goes far beyond the realm of the office of any king, prophet, or priest in usual Old Testament usage. Here the grandeur of the promises speaks of an exceptional personage in the role of the servant.

* 42:7 People must recognize their blindness and imprisonment before they can be cured or freed. These ideas help to explain Isa 6:9-10.

Second Reading: Acts 10: 34-38

34 Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. 35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. 36 You know the word (that) he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, 37 what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

NOTES on Second Reading:

* 10:34-43 Peter’s speech to the household of Cornelius is probably fairly typical of early Christian preaching to Gentiles. For this speech Luke has taken material that was already part of the still young Christian tradition and reworked it to some extent. It is full of Luke’s universalist themes and language.

* 10:35 God’s choice of Israel to be the special people of God so that He might reveal Himself to the world did not mean that He withheld divine favor from all the other peoples of the earth. All peoples of the world are loved by God.

* 10:36-43 This speech has the ring of Luke speaking more directly to his Christian readers rather than Peter speaking to the household of Cornelius, as is indicated by the opening words, “You know.” The speech traces the continuity between the preaching and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and the proclamation of Jesus by the early Christians. The emphasis on this divinely ordained continuity (Acts 10:41) is meant to assure Luke’s readers of the fidelity of Christian tradition to the words and deeds of Jesus.

* 10:38 The early church saw the ministry of Jesus as an integral part of God’s revelation. For this reason they were interested in conserving the historical substance of the ministry of Jesus. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit this tradition led to the writing and preservation of the four gospels. The passion and urgency in the tone of the remaining verses (up to 44) of this speech clearly show the depth of this desire to pass on the teaching of Jesus.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 3: 13-17

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” 15 Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. 16 After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened (for him), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove (and) coming upon him. 17 And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

NOTES on Gospel Reading:

* 3:13-17 The Baptism of Jesus is portrayed in the Gospels as the occasion on which Jesus is revealed to Israel as the “One who was to come.” This incident is analogous to the inaugural visions of the Old Testament prophets in which they are commissioned. Jesus is not simply commissioned but proclaimed to be the Son of God and equipped for His ministry by the Holy Spirit.

* 3:14-15 This dialogue was added by Matthew to the basic account given by Mark. The problem that John appears to have in their dialogue is not one of administering a baptism of repentance to one Who is sinless but rather one of administering it to One Who is superior. It seems to indicate John’s awareness of Jesus’ superiority to him as the mightier one who is coming and who will baptize with the Holy Spirit that he spoke of in 3:11.
In Matthew’s Gospel, to fulfill usually means fulfillment of prophecy, and righteousness usually means moral conduct in conformity with God’s will. Jesus response, “To fulfill all righteousness,” however, seems to mean the saving activity of God as in 5:6 and 6:33. To fulfill all righteousness is to submit to the plan of God for the salvation of the human race. This involves Jesus’ identification with sinners; hence He accepted John’s baptism.

* 3:16 The Spirit coming upon him is a reference to Isaiah 42:1.

* 3:17 Matthew makes his second big modification to the Marcan story by changing the address to Jesus (Mark 1:11) into a proclamation to the nation gathered around Him. The Father’s voice reflects Isaiah 42:1, Psalm 2:7, and Genesis 22:2.

Scripture text: New American Bible with revised New Testament copyright © 1986,1970, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
Commentary Sources:
Vince Del Greco
The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990) (Eds. Brown, Fitzmyer & Murphy)