MARK 1.4-5: John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (5) And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. (ESV)
Mark’s expression, “John appeared” gives the impression that John’s public ministry started without any leading indicators and without John being a previously well known personality. John was from an extraordinary family and he was well instructed in the teaching of the Old Testament.
But John’s parents were of an old age when he was born and the verses above describe a time thirty years later, so his parents had most likely been gone for quite a long time. Whatever notoriety his father had many years prior had most likely faded into obscurity. John appears to have come onto the scene from nowhere.
And it was in the wilderness, in keeping with Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 40, that John appeared, and his message was as austere as was his personality. “Repent” for the forgiveness of sins. Combined together with the public display of baptism. The baptism itself did not operate to produce forgiveness of sins. Rather, forgiveness was the result of the repentance.
Repentance means in the New Testament language, “change of mind”, and this produces a new way of thinking about sin. Namely, a person fundamentally knows it is wrong and harmful and should be avoided. And a person no longer wants to engage in it as a continuous, ongoing course of life.
The Bible affirms that we all sin (1 John 1.9-10) and herein is the place and priority of repentance. Turning away from the sin and asking God for the forgiveness.
The word “baptism” is a form of the transliteration into English of the Greek word “baptizo”, which means literally, “to submerge in water”. It was used in a Greek writing dated in the fourth century A.D. to refer to a boat being submerged, so the practice in the New Testament of immersion, or submerging, is in keeping with this usage.
But baptism was not about producing salvation in and of itself for those who had been baptized. It was about the messenger getting the people and their hearts ready to be open to the revelation of Jesus and His Gospel message. John’s baptism was an open display, signifying a changed, ready heart. Readiness for the full revelation and teaching of the Gospel by Jesus Himself.