Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

§14.9 The Character of Discipleship
But if that is so, then the question Why did Jesus not baptize? becomes of
pressing relevance. Jesus' mission fits neatly between two missions marked out
by the practice of baptism (the Baptist's and the post-Easter Jerusalem community
of his followers), with lines of influence and continuity linking all three. But
on this point Jesus' mission is distinct. Why? In the light of our findings regarding
Jesus' table-fellowship, one answer obviously commends itself. That Jesus
did not baptize for the same reason that he did not fence his table-fellowship with
purity restrictions. Even baptism could form too much of a ritual barrier, excluding
those not (yet) prepared to undergo it for whatever reason. No less than the
Baptist, Jesus called for repentance (§13.2a). But the repentance he looked for
expressed itself not in terms of baptism, but in acts of loving concern (Mark
10.21 pars.) and restitution for wrong-doing (Luke 19.8).
The point need not and should not be pressed too much, to argue, for instance,
that Jesus was anti-ritualistic. The tradition of the last supper is sufficient
counter on that issue (Mark 14.12-25 pars.). And if Jesus did indeed call
for the highest loyalty from his disciples (as implied above all by Luke 14.26),
then it can scarcely be denied that such loyalty has an exclusive side to it. Nevertheless
a circle of discipleship which acknowledged its centre in Jesus could
be said characteristically to look outward rather than inward. Any dispute regarding
questions of status and hierarchy was roundly rebuked by Jesus: the
model of discipleship is precisely not the stratified hierarchy of typical social
organisations and national structures. 292 Conversely, any attempt to control access
to Jesus 293 or to withhold recognition from another 'because he was not
one of us' (Mark 9.38-39/Luke 9.49-50) seems to have met with Jesus' equally
strong rebuke. Such a persistent note of a fellowship which is characteristically
open and never simply preoccupied with its own affairs is hard to escape and
should be given more weight than has usually been the case in Christian questing
for Jesus.
14.9. Living in the Light of the Coming Kingdom
The tradition reviewed in the last two chapters could be sliced, tweaked, and expanded
in many ways. But enough has been said to give us a fair idea of the
292. Mark 9.33-37 pars.; 10.35-45 pars. 'There is no suggestion of the twelve functioning
as "priests" to others' "laity"' (Dunn, Jesus' Call to Discipleship 106). In Matthew the authority
given to Peter to 'bind and loose' in Matt. 16.19 is given to 'the disciples'/'the church'
(18.18). Matthew also includes an explicit warning against any attempts within the community
to claim an authoritative status which infringes the authority exclusive to God and Christ (23.8-
12).
293. Mark 10.13-14 pars.; Luke 7.39-50.
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