Breaking the Word

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to him and objected, "Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins." (Mk 2:18-22)

Every religion has pious practices. Jewish religion has prayer almsgiving and fasting as the main religious practices besides many others. Every Jew and every disciple of religious leaders continued this practice. ‘Fasting’ was one of the distinctive elements of the religious practices. Hence it was no doubt that it raised a problem in the mind of the people.

Jesus presented himself, not openly though, as the bridegroom. His presence in the world is the time of marriage. He has come into the world to marry the world. Marriage is not the time for ascetical practices. It is the time of celebration, rejoicing. And hence Jesus’ presence in the world suspended all the ascetical practice and particularly that of fasting.

Jesus has ushered in the new age. Old practices do not have significance anymore. If an effort was made to compromise the old and the new then result is ruin. Jesus arrival is like the new wine or like the new cloth. Old should not be mingled with the new.   

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.  He is the one of whom I said, 'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.' I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel." John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.'  Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God." (Jn 1:29-34)

John the Baptist knew (he did not know but the one sent him to baptize told him so) that Jesus existed before him. At the first sight, as Jesus was approaching him, he made the statement about Jesus. And the statement speaks about Jesus and his existence. Jesus existed before John the Baptist, though he came for the mission. Order of the arrival did not reveal the order of existence and status. Jesus was ranked higher than John the Baptist and this came out of the mouth of John the Baptist himself.

John the Baptist saw the Spirit coming down upon him like a dove and remained with Jesus. John the Baptist received in revelation who Jesus was and he had also witnessed for himself what had happened. What had happened or what he had seen was the proof for what was revealed to him.

John the Baptist testified that Jesus was the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. This itself, was a revealed truth. John the Baptist received in revelation who Jesus was and what his activity would be. To this fact he became the witness. Jesus is a man of God and a man from God and he is God himself and he had come to do the work of God with Spirit.