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3rd SUNDAY IN ADVENT (Cycle B)

Readings:
Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11
Luke 1:46-50, 53-54
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28

Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition ); NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), and LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).

The two Testaments reveal God's divine plan for humanity; therefore, we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).

The 3rd Sunday in Advent is Gaudete [gow-DAY-tay] Sunday, from the Latin word that means "rejoice" and comes from the first word in the entrance antiphon, which begins: "Rejoice in the Lord always."  The phrase is from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians, and the passage tells us why we should rejoice: "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say, rejoice! The Lord is near!" (Phil 4:4-5). The third candle we light on our Advent Wreath is the "Shepherd's Candle."  It represents the joy the shepherds felt when they beheld the Christ-child and the joy we feel as we draw closer to reliving that event on Christmas Day.

The Theme of the Readings: Rejoice for the Bearer of Good News has Come!
The First Reading announces God's divine messenger, the "anointed one," in Hebrew mashiach (translated as "messiah" in English and christos in Greek). A "Messiah" is a consecrated agent and messenger of God. Isaiah proclaims that God will anoint His future Messiah to fulfill a dual mission as a messenger and a comforter. As God's divine messenger, he brings "glad tidings" like a king's ambassador announcing victory in a time of war and the redemption and release of prisoners. The prophecy foretells a Messiah who will proclaim a new age for the people of God. He will establish a new world order where oppression no longer reigns and where accord and well-being will prevail for people of all nations. Jesus announced to His Synagogue congregation at Nazareth that this prophecy was fulfilled in Him (Lk 4:17-21).

The Responsorial Psalm passage is from the Virgin Mary's canticle of joy. Mary began her hymn of praise by calling God her savior and the source of her salvation. Mary gave a prophecy for future generations and her relationship with them prompted by the Holy Spirit, saying all future generations will call her blessed. Because of Jesus's love for His mother, Mary's prophecy requires action by all Christians whose duty is to honor Mary just as her son loved and showed honor to her according to the Law (Ex 20:12; Lev 19:3; Dt 5:16). The command to honor one's parents is the only one of the Ten Commandments that grants a promised blessing for obedience. When Jesus made the beloved disciple responsible for Mary's care as his mother at the foot of the cross, she became the mother of every disciple of Christ Jesus throughout all generations!

The Second Reading is from St. Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, in which he tells us why those who belong to the divine Messiah, Jesus Christ, should rejoice, giving thanks and praise to God for our deliverance. Paul wrote about the promise of Isaiah's oracle in the First Reading. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, He delivered us from bondage and captivity: bondage to sin and captivity from the darkness of the grave.

St. John the Baptist announced the coming of Isaiah's promised Messiah (Mt 3:1-3; Mk 1:1-8; Lk 3:1-5), and for the past two weeks, our Gospel readings have focused on the mission of St. John the Baptist. In this week's Gospel Reading, we learn more about his mission. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke identify him as the prophetic voice crying out in the wilderness prophesied in Isaiah 40:3-4 (last Sunday's First Reading and Gospel Reading). His mission was preparing the covenant people for the coming of the promised Redeemer-Messiah through a baptism of repentance (Mk 1:4).

St. John's mission should remind us that Advent is a season of preparation. We need to prepare ourselves for the possibility of the coming of God the Son in His Second Advent, knowing that His return can happen at any moment. If we prepare by cleansing our souls in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the continual renewing of His life within us through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we will be ready and can rejoice because, as this Sunday's antiphon announces, "The Lord is near!" (Phil 4:5).

The First Reading Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11 ~ Rejoice in God's Glad Tidings
1 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, 2 to announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God. [...] 10 I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. 11 As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise spring up before all nations.

In this passage, the prophet Isaiah delivers an oracle about a future messenger who is God's "anointed" ("messiah"), coming to proclaim a year of divine favor (verses 1-2). A year of divine favor was an outpouring of God's Spirit upon an individual called to serve as His agent to the covenant people. God will anoint this future Messiah to fulfill a dual mission as a messenger and a comforter. As God's divine messenger, he brings "glad tidings" like a king's ambassador announcing victory over an enemy in a time of war and the redemption and release of prisoners. His message also proclaims a new world order where there will no longer be any oppression and where accord and well-being will prevail for people of all nations.

The "year of favor from the LORD [Yahweh]" in verse 2 recalls God's command for Israel to keep a "Sabbath year" every seventh year and a "Jubilee year" every fiftieth year (Ex 21:2-11; Lev 25:8-19; Jer 34:14; Ez 46:17). These were years when the Israelites were to extend forgiveness to their fellow Israelites in the same way God showed them His forgiveness and mercy. God commanded them to forgive debts, free Israelite slaves, and return any sold land to its original tribal family in a Jubilee year. The divine year of grace will offer a similar deliverance from oppression and forgiveness in the oracle, not only to Israelites.

Notice in verse 2 that this day of God's favor is also a "day of vindication" because both the righteous and the wicked will receive justice. God's messenger/messiah is more than an ordinary prophet because he possesses the fullness of God's Spirit in himself to deliver God's blessings to Israel and all humanity. The prophet compares the joy of receiving God's gift of deliverance to a bridegroom's delight in his bride and a farmer's joy in reaping a rich harvest (verses 10b-11).

When Jesus visited His hometown of Nazareth on the Sabbath in the Gospel of Luke, He chose to read this prophecy from the scroll of Isaiah: He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord" (Lk 4:17-19; quoting LXX Is 61:1-2). Then, Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."  In making this announcement, Jesus proclaimed Himself God's anointed messenger, the Messiah prophesied by Isaiah. The "glad tidings" He brings is the "good news" (Gospel) of His Kingdom (Mt 5:17; Mk 1:15), and the liberation He promises is freeing humanity from bondage to sin and the captivity of death.

Perhaps you have noticed that the First Readings from the three weeks of Advent have come from the Book of Isaiah (63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7; 40:1-5, 9-11, and 61:1-2, 10-11). These prophetic passages foretell the sending of the Messiah and the ministry of God the Holy Spirit. The Catechism informs us: "The prophetic texts that directly concern the sending of the Holy Spirit are oracles by which God speaks to the heart of his people in the language of the promise, with the accents of 'love and fidelity.' St. Peter will proclaim their fulfillment on the morning of Pentecost. According to these promises, the Lord's Spirit will renew the hearts of men, engraving a new law on them. He will gather and reconcile the scattered and divided peoples, transforming the first creation, and God will dwell with men in peace (CCC 715).

Responsorial: Luke 1:46-50, 53-54 ~ Rejoice in God's Mighty Works
Response: "My soul rejoices in my God."

46 And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; 47 my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day, all generations shall call me blessed:
Response:
49 the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. 50 He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.
Response:
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy."
Response:

Today's responsorial psalm is from the Virgin Mary's beautiful canticle of praise, which we call "the Magnificat."  Mary's hymn is in response to her kinswoman Elizabeth's exclamation of praise for Mary's belief in God and the honor God has shown her as "the mother of the Lord" in Luke 1:45. Some scholars have concluded that Mary's Magnificat, like the Benedictus of Zechariah (Lk 1:68-79), was an early Aramaic Jewish-Christian hymn, predating Luke's Gospel. Other scholars disagree, citing the numerous references to the Greek Septuagint Old Testament passages within the two chants (Fr. Raymond Brown, The Birth of Jesus, pages 350-55 and the opposing view from Fr. Raymond Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke, page 361). One test to support the second theory is how easily the Greek translates into Hebrew or Aramaic.

Mary's hymn of praise is divided into three parts, two of which are in our reading:

  1. She praises God for what He has done for her (verses 46b-49).
  2. She praises God's mercy to the poor and disadvantaged (verses 50-53).
  3. She praises God's faithfulness to Abraham's descendants, the nation of Israel (verses 54-55).

46 And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; 47 my spirit rejoices in God my Savior...
Mary begins by calling God her Savior. The word "Lord," Kyrios in Greek, is understood to be a substitute for God's Holy Name, Yahweh. Kyrios appears consistently in the Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation to replace the divine Name, YHWH. God is the source of Mary's blessing and her salvation. The expression "rejoices in God my Savior" echoes the hymn of praise of another holy woman blessed with a child by God's intervention in the prophet Samuel's mother Hannah's hymn of praise in 1 Samuel 2:1.

In verse 48, Mary says, "... for he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations shall call me blessed:..."
The NJB, closer to the original Greek translation, has "he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant," an echo of Habakkuk 3:18. Her humble station is the first reason for Mary's praise. She declares that all generations will pronounce a beatitude over her because of God's divine plan for her life and her willingness to submit to His plan. The verb makariousin, in the future tense, reflects the adjective makaria that Elizabeth used in verse 45 (Fr. Fitzmyer, The Gospel of Luke, page 367).

Mary utters the prophecy of future generations and her relationship with them prompted by the Holy Spirit. The prophecy, spoken by Mary under the Holy Spirit's influence, requires action by Christians. Since we are to live in imitation of Christ, we must honor Mary just as Jesus honored her according to God's Law (Ex 20:12; Lev 19:3; Dt 5:16). To honor one's parents is the only one of the Ten Commandments that carries a promised blessing. When Jesus gave Mary into the beloved disciple's care as his mother at the foot of the cross (Jn 19:26-27), she became the mother of every beloved disciple of Christ Jesus (also see Rev 12:17).

49 the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. 50 He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.
Verse 49 is the second reason for Mary's praise. She uses the same title for God found in the "daughter of Zion" passage in Zephaniah 3:17 (LXX) and Psalms 89:9 (LXX). Notice in verses 49-50 that Mary names three attributes of God: His might, holiness, and mercy. That God "has done great things" for her echoes Deuteronomy 10:21, in which Yahweh promises the children of Israel He will do "great things." These are great saving acts for the covenant people of every generation if they remain loyal, obedient, and reverently fear offending God. Mary acknowledges the promise God fulfilled for her by making her the mother of the Redeemer-Messiah. It is a "great thing" that will bring about her salvation and the salvation of her people and all future generations who accept Jesus as their Savior (also see Dt 11:7 and Judg 2:7).

 "Holy is his name" or "His name is holy" in verse 49b refers to God's divine Name, YHWH (translated with vowels, Yahweh). It is an echo of Psalms 119:9, while "His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him" echoes Psalms 103:17. The ancients believed that a name expressed the very essence of a person, or in this case of God, who is the great "I AM" and about which God told Moses, "This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations" (see Ex 3:15). The first person to use the Divine Name was the first woman, Eve, in Genesis 4:1.

When Mary speaks of "fear of the Lord" in verse 50, an attitude God repeatedly urges in Scripture (i.e., Ex 18:21; Lev 25:17, 36, 43; Dt 6:13, 24; 8:6; 10:12, 20), she uses a phrase repeated almost verbatim from Ps 103:17. She is not speaking of servile fear but reverence toward God in recognizing His sovereignty and fear of offending Him. These are the positive aspects of keeping on the path to righteousness, which leads to salvation. Mary's hymn begins in praise for what God has done for her and expands to what God has done for her people.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
The wealthy, who are arrogant of mind and heart, are the enemies of the poor and humble. Therefore, they are the enemies of God (see Is 2:12, 17; 4:15; 13:11; Wis 3:10-11; etc.). Mary is speaking of the promise of God's ultimate justice for those who have suffered and those who have caused the suffering. She includes a quote from Psalms 107:9 ~ For he satisfied the thirsty, filled the hungry with good things. In His divine justice, God will judge men and women according to their works (Mt 25:31-46; Lk 6:20-25). The rich who misuse their material gifts/blessings will experience a reversal of fortune in that they will be "sent away empty."

54 He has come to the help of his servant Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy.
Mary's concluding statement echoes the promises of Isaiah 41:8-9 from the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament (the standard translation in Mary's time), Psalms 98:3, and Micah 7:20.

Mary understands her destiny is to give birth to the Redeemer-Messiah, the legitimate heir of King David prophesied to be born of a virgin (Is 7:14; Mt 1:22-23; Lk 1:32). Her Son will not only fulfill the promise of the Davidic covenant that the throne of David's kingdom will endure forever in a Davidic heir (2 Sam 7:11b-16; 23:5; 2 Chr 13:5; Ps 89:3-4, 28-29; Sir 45:25; 47:11/13), but He will also fulfill the three-fold covenant made to Abraham.  One of those promises was of a worldwide blessing (Gen 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14). Her divine Son will fulfill God's covenant promises, and His vow is not to abandon His covenant people. As St. Paul declared, all those promised blessings find fulfillment in Christ Jesus, son of David, son of Mary, and Son of God (Gal 3:8-9, 25-29).

Mary's beautiful hymn of praise illuminates her humility and faith; this is, of course, the way God created her. In Catechism citation 722, the Church teaches: "The Holy Spirit prepared Mary by his grace. It was fitting that the mother of him in whom 'the whole fullness of deity dwells, bodily, should herself be full of grace.' She was, by sheer grace, conceived without sin as the most humble of creatures, the most capable of welcoming the inexpressible gift of the Almighty. It was quite correct for the angel Gabriel to greet her as 'Daughter of Zion: Rejoice.' It is the thanksgiving of the whole People of God, and thus of the Church, which Mary in her canticle lifts up to the Father in the Holy Spirit while carrying within her the eternal Son."

The Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 ~ The Christian's Reason to Rejoice
16 Rejoice always. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 Test everything; retain what is good. 22 Refrain from every kind of evil. 23 May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it.

St. Paul explains how Christians should conduct themselves while waiting for the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this season, it is not only sound advice concerning waiting for Jesus's promised return, but it is good advice for all of us preparing for the Christ-mass event that celebrates the birth of the Redeemer-Messiah.

In verses 16-19, St. Paul gives us the plan for a fulfilled Christian life: be filled with joy, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances, even while suffering. When a Christian allows events that cause sadness to overwhelm him, he demonstrates a lack of faith and trust in God's plan for his life. We can offer every aspect of our lives, even suffering, to God for our good and the good of others when we pray in accord with God's will for our lives and do not "quench the Spirit" (verse 19) by fighting against God's plan.

20 Do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 Test everything; retain what is good. 22 Refrain from every kind of evil.
The Holy Spirit grants the charism of the gift of prophecy. New Testament prophets were Christians to whom God gave special graces to instruct, encourage, console, and correct the faithful. However, Paul warns not to accept someone who claims to have spiritual gifts without discerning the quality of their words and works. If you take the time to test what you hear or read against Christ's teachings and His Church, you will not be misled into evil by a false teacher who teaches contrary to the wisdom of the Church (verse 21).

23 May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it.
St. Paul prayed for the continuing sanctification of the community at Thessalonica. He wrote about the three aspects that compose a well-ordered person: "spirit, soul, and body" (verse 23). The "body" is our temporal, material self that decays at death. The "soul" refers to the spiritually immortal part of a person that animates the body. God creates each soul individually and infuses it into the body at conception. Separation from its body only occurs in physical death. Since the soul was created for a particular body, it is incomplete without its body. This incompleteness of a soul without a body is the reason our bodies and souls will reunite in Jesus's Second Advent in the great Resurrection of the dead.

The "spirit" St. Paul refers to is the gift of the infusion of the life of God that we receive in Christian baptism. The "spirit" of God dwelling in us makes us children in the family of God, unlike non-baptized humans who are still children in the family of Adam. Since God desires that all humanity comes to salvation, a perfectly ordered person in this earthly life must possess all three: spirit, soul, and body in a state of grace while waiting for "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (verse 23). God, "the one who calls" us, "is faithful," and we can have confidence that "He will accomplish"/will bring about the return of the Christ as has been promised (verse 24).

The Gospel of John 1:6-8, 19-28 ~ St. John the Baptist Announces the Coming of the Messiah
6 A man named John was sent from God. 7 He came for testimony, to testify to the light so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light but came to testify to the light.
19 And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, "Who are you?" 20 he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, "I am not the Christ [Christos = Messiah]." 21 So they asked him, "What are you then? Are you Elijah?"  And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." 22 So they said to him, "Who are you so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?" 23 He said: "I am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said." 24 Some Pharisees were also sent. 25 They asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?" 26 John answered them, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie." 28 This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Notice the choice of words in verse 6: "sent from God." The verb "sent" in Greek is apostello. The verb carries the sense of sending an envoy with a special commission. It is the verb form of the noun that Jesus used to signify the twelve men He ordained as the spiritual fathers of the New Israel, His Kingdom of the New Covenant Church: the Apostles (apostolos in Greek).

All of God's holy prophets sent as God's messengers before the coming of the Word were not the true Light; they were instead the reflection of the Light to come. They prepared the world by proclaiming (witnessing to) the coming of the true Light, the Davidic Messiah. The more literal translation from the Greek text is: "he came for witness [martyria] to bear witness [martyreo]." Martyria (also spelled marturia) is a noun and means "witness bearer," while martyreo (also spelled martureo) is a verb denoting "to bear witness." Our English word "martyr," meaning "one who bears witness by his death," comes from the Greek root of these words: martyus, meaning "witness."

Yehohanan ben Zechariah (John son of Zechariah) was the son of a chief priest and, therefore, a chief priest himself. St. John was the last of the Old Testament prophets. According to Mosaic Law, a chief priest served as a deacon for five years, from 25 to 30. In his 30th year, he assumed his full duties in the hereditary priesthood as a descendant of Moses's brother Aaron (see Num 4:3 and 8:23). St. John's mother, Elizabeth, was the Virgin Mary's kinswoman. Most Bible translations render this kinship word as "cousin."  The Greek word is sugenes (pronounced su-gen-ace) and means "kinswoman or relative." The word for "cousin" in Greek is anepsios (pronounced ah-nep-see-os). This is not to say that Elizabeth was not a "cousin" of Mary, but perhaps the inspired writer used the more general term sugenes to indicate that she was not a "cousin" of the first degree. Elizabeth was much older than Mary; considering how early girls married, she was perhaps older by two generations.

Both of St. John's parents were descendants of the hereditary priesthood. Zechariah traced his descent from Abijah (or Abia, 8th of the 24 divisions or courses of the Temple priesthood (see 1 Chron 24:10). Elizabeth traced her lineage back to the first high priest, Aaron, brother of Moses (Lk 1:5). All chief priests could trace their line back to Aaron and his sons because, according to the Law, the priesthood belonged to Aaron's descendants. The importance of Luke's account that Elizabeth was the daughter of a chief priest is that John's hereditary claim to the priesthood was impeccable.

19 This is the testimony [martyria] of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?'
The theme from the Prologue to the Gospel of John is that God sent John the Baptist to witness to the light (Jn 1:6-7). Verses 20-27 contain his testimony/witness. See CCC# 717

The Priests from the Temple in Jerusalem and the Levites came to question John. The Levites were a lower degree of the ministerial priesthood. They served as teachers of the Law and performed assigned functions in the Temple, much like a deacon in the Catholic Church (see Num 3:11-13; 18:1-7). They came to John to demand an answer to the question: "Who are you?"  These men are the religious authorities of the people of God. The prophetic symbolism associated with John's ministry was too strong to ignore. For example, there was his connection to Isaiah's prophecy of one coming out of the wilderness and to Malachi's prophecy that someone like Elijah would announce the coming of the Messiah. John dressed like Elijah. The religious authorities wanted to see what the "signs" meant. The coming of the Messiah was, in the 1st century AD, a national expectation. The delegation probably came from the Sanhedrin (the supreme council of the Jews) to answer whether this was the time to fulfill the prophecies.

20 he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, "I am not the Christ [Christos = Messiah]."
It is curious how John answers this official delegation. He uses a triple combination of positive and negative clauses; the literal translation is "he avowed and did not deny, and avowed..."
#1 = positive [he admitted];
#2 = negative [did not deny];
#3 = positive [but admitted].
This phrase is a significant combination of three, which in Scripture always indicates that the next phrase or event is of great theological importance in God's divine plan for man's salvation. What did John "admit" or declare? He declared that he was not the Messiah (Christ). Some scholars suggest the "I" is emphatic in his declaration, "I am not the Christ."

21 So they asked him [literal Greek = so they questioned him further], "What are you then? Are you Elijah?"  And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."
The more literal translation is: They questioned him further (look for a repeat of this phrase). They asked John if he was the 8th century BC prophet Elijah because everything about John fit the prophecies about the return of Elijah:

For some scholars, it is a problem that John the Baptist does not seem to identify himself as Elijah when this connection seems clear in other passages of the Gospels:

There is no single answer as to why John denies that he is the prophet Elijah, but given the evidence, we can speculate. The angel Gabriel's prophecy to John's father, Zechariah, was that his son would come in Elijah's "spirit and power" (Lk 1:17) and not as Elijah himself.

Some possible answers to the dilemma:
#1: Perhaps sensing the delegation's hostility, John didn't want to "play his hand" quite yet by claiming he has come in fulfillment of the prophecy concerning Elijah. They could charge him with blasphemy or inciting a riot against the Romans who held political control of Judea.

#2:  Perhaps John is denying that he is Elijah because he is discerning that they are asking if he is the reincarnation of Elijah. Reincarnation was not consistent with Old Covenant beliefs, nor is it acceptable in the Christian faith; divine judgment follows physical death (Heb 9:27). The claim of reincarnation would be considered blasphemy. John was not the reincarnation of Elijah any more than Elijah's successor, Elisha, was the reincarnation of his master. Elisha received the fullness of the spirit of prophecy that God placed on His servant Elijah. John received this same anointing of the spirit; therefore, in that sense, he is Elijah's successor. Pope Gregory the Great reconciles this apparent discrepancy by teaching that John was not Elijah, but he exercised toward Jesus the function of Elijah by preparing his way (Patrologia Latina  76:1100).

#3 Some Bible scholars suggest that perhaps John did not fully realize his prophetic role. Those who believe this is the cause for John's denial point out that in Matthew chapter 11, when John is imprisoned and awaiting his execution, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus: "Are you the one who is to come or are we to expect someone else?" Their point is that this passage indicates John does not completely understand God's plan. But other scholars suggest John's disciples and not John were the ones confused, and he sent them to Jesus to confirm His identity.

22 So they said to him, "Who are you so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?"
They want to know if he is "the Prophet" of Deuteronomy 18:18-20. In Acts 3:22-24, the Apostle Peter identifies Jesus as the Prophet like Moses when he quotes the Deuteronomy passage: "Moses, for example, said 'From among your brothers the Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me; you will listen to whatever he tells you. Anyone who refuses to listen to that prophet shall be cut off from the people.'  In fact, all the prophets that have ever spoken, from Samuel onwards, have predicted these days." Jesus is not only the new Joshua, who will lead God's people into the Promised Land of Heaven, but He is also the new Moses, the Lawgiver and covenant mediator (see Heb 3:5-6; 7:11-19; 8:6).

Did you notice in their questions to John that the chief priests connected the prophecies concerning Elijah and the prophet-like Moses passage? You can appreciate how the Exodus symbolism and Elijah's prophecies are foremost in the people's minds and religious authorities. These two great men of God summed up salvation history (at that point), with Moses representing the Law and Elijah the prophets of God. When John denies that he is "the prophet," he again denies that he is the Messiah. However, it does not appear to be completely clear if 1st century Jews understood that the Prophet and the Messiah were one individual or two (see Jn 1:24-25). When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, some people in the crowd asked, "Who is this?" others responded, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee" (Mt 21:10-11).

There are two other events/passages in the New Testament where Elijah and Moses come together. The first is the Mount of Transfiguration experience (Mt 17:3; Mk 9:4; Lk 9:30), and the second is connected to the two witnesses in the Book of Revelation. In Revelation 11:3-6, they represent the Law and the Prophets (Moses and Elijah) with the power to turn water into blood (Moses in Ex 6:17-19) and to stop the rain (Elijah in 1 Kng 17:1).

23 He said: "I am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said."
This Old Testament quote is from the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah in 40:1-11. John identifies himself as the prophetic and preparatory voice of Isaiah 40:3. The passage initially prophesies the forgiveness of the tribes of Israel and their return from exile. Isaiah prophesied the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (722 BC), which took place in his lifetime, and the future destruction of the Southern Kingdom of Judah fulfilled 135 years later (587/6 BC).

Isaiah's message of hope promises God's forgiveness and that nothing will prevent the covenant people from returning to their homeland. He uses the symbolic language of the hills leveled and the valleys filled in to prepare an eschatological superhighway for God's people. The prophetic voice announces the return of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to the land of Judah after the completion of God's judgment of the seventy years of the Babylonian exile. However, there is no record of a mass return for the ten northern tribes; only a small number returned to the region of Galilee. Now, John is the prophetic voice who will prepare a road, not for God's people to return to the land of Israel, but for God to come to His people. John's call for repentance and his baptism of ritual cleansing of the multitude along the banks of the Jordan River opened up the hearts of men, leveled their pride, filled in their emptiness, and prepared them to receive the Messiah (see CCC# 719-20).

24 Some Pharisees were also sent. 25 They asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?"
In the Greek text, verse 24 reads: the Pharisees questioned him further, repeating verse 21.
The Pharisees in verse 24 seem to be the second group of emissaries from the Sanhedrin. The first group was composed of chief priests and Levites. Perhaps they went back to Jerusalem to report on John's responses to their questions, and now the Sanhedrin sent the "big guns," the theologians and leaders in the Sanhedrin (Jewish high court), to question John again. Considering John's previous answers, they want justification for his baptism of repentance. If John the Baptist is not claiming any eschatological role, why is he performing an eschatological action like ritual immersion?

26 John answered them, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie."
To undo the strap of his sandal was a slave's task. It is a phrase repeated in the Synoptic Gospels (Mt 3:11; Mk 1:7 & Lk 3:16), except in those passages where it is in the plural as "sandals." In his answer, John distinguishes between his baptism and the baptism that Jesus will offer (see Jn 1:33; Mt 3:11; Mk 1:7-8; Lk 3:16). John baptizes with water for repentance. John is not forgiving sins but instead preparing the people for future forgiveness through Christ's sacrifice. The difference is that Jesus will baptize with the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) and fire. This distinction between the two types of baptism is common to all four Gospels and a theological break from traditional Old Covenant belief. In Hebrew thought, baptism or ritual immersion/cleansing with water and a holy spirit came together. This distinction between the Old Covenant concept and the New Covenant reality is also emphasized in Acts 19:1-6. In that passage, St. Paul encountered some of John the Baptist's disciples who were baptized with his baptism but had not received "the Spirit" of God. This distinction between ritual cleansing with water and a new kind of spiritual blessing recalls the prophecy of the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36:25-26: I shall pour [sprinkle] clean water over you, and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your filth and of all your foul idols. I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you  (NJB).

28 This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John closes this passage with a geographic reference for the location of John's spiritual purification ritual. "The far side" indicates the eastern shore of the Jordan River. The Bethany in verse 28 is not the same town where Lazarus and his sisters lived on the Mt. of Olives near Jerusalem. Bethany means "place (or house) of grace." Some ancient texts list the place name as Bethabara, "place of the crossing." Since archaeologists have not discovered, nor has any document disclosed, a town of this name dating from the 1st century AD, most scholars believe that this was the site where the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River when they first entered the Promised Land to begin the conquest of Canaan (Josh 3:14-17).

In the 3rd century, Origen, the Biblical scholar and former head of the famous Christian school of Theology and Catechesis at Alexandria, Egypt, lived and studied in the Holy Land and agreed with this interpretation. In his opinion, the site of St. John's ritual purification and Jesus's baptism was the "place of the crossing" that had become a "place of grace" (Bethany), and John 1:28 should read "Bethabara." An ancient 6th-century AD mosaic called the Madaba map locates Bethabara, but it is across the Jordan River on the western side. Of course, a river crossing would have two sides (entering and exiting the river), so this map tends to confirm the theory that this is the site of that historic crossing and the location of Jesus's baptism. We also know from the diaries of ancient pilgrims that they commemorated Jesus's baptism on both sides of the Jordan River, and Christian churches were built on both sides. In 1999, archaeologists discovered the ruins of two Byzantine churches on the river's east and west sides, about 5 miles north of the Dead Sea. At the site on the east side, the archaeologists also found coins and pottery dating to the 1st century AD, to the time of John the Baptist, perhaps dropped by the crowds awaiting his baptism of repentance.

The site of St. John's ritual purification in preparation for the coming of the Messiah on the east side of the Jordan River was a fitting location for St. John the Baptist's ministry. It was where Joshua (Yahshua/Yehoshua) led the children of Israel across the river into the Promised Land (Josh 3:14-17), and it was the exact location where the prophet whose power and spirit that empowered St. John entered into heaven (2 Kng 2:6-11). On the east bank of the Jordan River, St. John the Baptist baptized the new Joshua (Jesus and Joshua bore the same Hebrew name). The new Yahshua's mission was to free humanity from captivity to sin and death and to lead the people of God into the Promised Land of Heaven.

Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Isaiah 61:1-2 (CCC 714*) 61:1 (CCC 436*, 695*, 716*, 1286*)

Luke 1:46-49 (CCC 2097*) 1:48 (CCC 148*, 971, 2676*); 1:49 (CCC 273, 2599*, 2807*, 2827*); 1:50 (CCC 2465*), 1:54 (CCC 706*)

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (CCC 2633*), 5:17 (CCC 1174, 2742, 2757), 5:18 (CCC 2638, 2648); 5:19 (CCC 696); 5:23 (CCC 367)

John 1:6 (CCC 717); 1:7 (CCC 719); 1:19 (CCC 575*, 613); 1:23 (CCC 719)

Joy (CCC 30, 163*, 301*, 736*, 1829, 1832*, 2015, 2362)

Characteristics of the awaited Messiah (CCC 713*, 714*)

God's love for Israel (CCC 218*, 219*)

The Church as the Bride of Christ (CCC 772*, 796*)

Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2014; revised 2023 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.