Baptism of the Lord       This Sunday, January 10th, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord.       St. John the Baptist tells us, “For this I came baptizing with water, that he [Jesus Christ] might be revealed to Israel.” John testifies, “I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God” ( Jn 1:31-34 ). The evidence, the proof, John says, that Jesus is the Son of God is the Holy Spirit descending and remaining upon Jesus ( Jn 1:32-33 ; cf., Mt3:16 , Mk 1:10 , Lk 3:22 ). This was the first remarkable sign when John baptized the Lord Jesus.       There was a second remarkable sign: “A voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’” ( Mk 1:11 ; cf. Lk 3:22 , Mt 3:17 ). This voice from heaven also came at Jesus’ transfiguration: “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased, listen to him” ( Mt 17:5 ; cf. Mk 9:7 ) and, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” ( Lk9:...

The Gospel of the Forty Days: A Suffering Messiah       We are continuing to identify what commands (Ac 1:2) and teachings (Ac 1:3) the resurrected Lord Jesus gave, or might have given, during the forty days before His ascension. Last week we looked at First Century Jewish messianic expectations in general, and one thing is immediately clear: no one expected a suffering Messiah.       As Christians, we think of the “Suffering Servant” prophecies of Isaiah (42:1-7; 49:1-9; 50; 53), but these were not applied to the Messiah in the First Century. Usually they were understood to refer to the sufferings of the people of Israel as a whole. Yet, a few of the “servant” references in Isaiah clearly indicate an individual. The “servant” in Isaiah 52:13, the Targum (later Jewish rabbinical writing reflecting First Century traditions) has inserted the term “Messiah” in place of the term “servant.” But this oracle refers to a King Messiah prospering and be...