• John 3:26-30
  And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.

Baptism of Jesus, Donald Jackson, Copyright 2002, The Saint John’s Bible, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This illumination from the Saint John’s Bible places John the Baptist, robed in the prophet’s characteristic purple, in the foreground. Notice his hands and feet. He moves forward, and he gestures in invitation. Interestingly, he is walking away from the scene. He is not contained by the frame of the image. His gaze backward is not to the past but to the scene of the baptism, the story he was sent to proclaim.

In the center of the panel the clouds are torn, signaling the Spirit and the voice from heaven. Immediately below stands Jesus, bathed in gold, with angels swirling above. In the scene are many figures: a crowd on shore, others in the water, and Jesus standing up, almost indistinguishable from the gold swatches surrounding him.

Why is John the focus of the illumination rather than Jesus? He is the Forerunner, placed before the image depicting the main event. His work is finished; the one “who is more powerful” than he is about to begin a ministry that replaces the Baptist and his work (Mark 1:7).

Patella, Michael. Word and Image: The Hermeneutics of the Saint John’s Bible. E-Book Ed., The Saint John’s Bible, 2013.

Sink, Susan. The Art of the Saint John’s Bible: The Complete Reader’s Guide. E-Book Ed., Liturgical Press, 2013.

Journal/Discussion Question

After praying with the Illumination and the Scripture passages, you might want to journal and reflect upon the relationship between Jesus and his cousin, John. How do you understand the passage which reads: “therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

• Was John the Baptist wrong about Jesus? (Full Scene)
• Mark 2:18
  The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
• Matthew 11:7-11
  As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written:
  ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
  Who will prepare Your way before You.’ ‘Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
• Luke 7:28-30
  For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

Journal/Discussion Question

After watching the selection from The Chosen, you might want to journal and reflect upon the relationship between Jesus and his cousin, John