Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

§11.5 Beginning from the Baptism of John
we have seen, the judgmental role attributed by John to the coming one seems to
be much more 'final'.
(4) The traditional Christian interpretation of John's words is that he expected
the Messiah. 159 The problem here, as again we shall see later (§15.2), is
that there was no clear-cut or simple expectation of 'the Messiah' in Second
Temple Judaism. Moreover, messianic expectation did not usually envisage a figure
of fire, as we see in the most likely precedent (in the Psalms of Solomon) for
such an expectation. 160 There is more obscurity here than the traditional Christian
interpretation has allowed.
A question too seldom asked is whether John himself had a clear idea of
who the coming one was to be. In fact the identification could hardly be less explicit
— someone following John who would be stronger and greater than John.
Subsequently John is remembered as sending disciples to ask Jesus, 'Are you the
one coming, or should we expect someone else?' (Matt. 11.3/Luke 7.19). There
is no good reason why this question should not reflect John's earlier expectation.
161 In which case it tells us that John had no clear idea as to who was to follow
him. That the question could be posed in regard to Jesus presumably confirms
the unlikelihood that John had in mind God or the Son of Man. The only
clue John had himself was the judgmental role he attributed to the one to come.
So we should probably not attempt to be more specific than John was himself. In
historical terms, John may simply have had a conviction that someone much
more significant was to follow, and that he had to baptize in preparation for a
much more fearful baptism. 162 With that we will have to be content.
11.5. Jesus' Anointing at Jordan
This event is presumably to be regarded as the real beginning of Jesus' mission
and therefore as deserving of particular attention. Would John's baptism and
159. So also C. H. Scobie, John the Baptist (London: SCM, 1964) 62-67; R. Leivestad,
Jesus in His Own Perspective (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1987) 36-37, 40.1 have serious doubts
as to whether a historical reminiscence of the Baptist's preaching can be detected behind the
strongly theologized reworking of the Johannine tradition (with reference to John 1.29); but see
Brown, John 1.58-63.
160. Pss. Sol. 17.21-43; 18.5-7. The imagery of 'cleansing' (katharizein) is stronger
(Pss. Sol 17.22, 30; 18.5). But R. Bauckham, 'The Messianic Interpretation of Isa. 10.34 in the
Dead Sea Scrolls, 2 Baruch and the Preaching of John the Baptist', DSD 2 (1995) 202-16, sees
evidence in 4Qplsa a [4Q16] 8-10.2-9 and 4Q285 5.1-6 that Isa. 10.34 had already been connected
with 11.1-5 and given a messianic interpretation.
161. See below §12.5c.
162. Similarly Meier, Marginal Jew 2.35, 132.
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