Two men stand alone, etched vividly in stained-glass. Look for a moment at their faces—both turned slightly upward toward heaven. From the biblical account we know that they are surrounded by hundreds of people standing on the banks of the river, but our artist wisely focuses only on the two central figures. Their faces are a study in contrasts. About the face of John there is a look of mingled relief and concern. From the beginning, John's ministry had been that of a forerunner, a preparer of the way for the One who was to come after him. In this man standing now before him, John sees the fulfillment of the task for which he was sent. He has done well what God designed for him to do. Now he can shed the heavy mantle of responsibility and place it upon Jesus' shoulders. But John is also haunted by the specter of success. For months now, he has been the center of attention. Some have even ventured to call him the Messiah, though he quickly denied it. Success, however, is subtle in its seduction. Can we trace on John's face just the slightest tint of reluctance to forego the sweet savor of success and fade back into the obscurity of the desert from whence he came? Can John really accept with grace the reality that, even as his star is setting, the sun of Jesus is just rising?

Now concentrate on the face of Jesus. Eighteen years have separated him from his one brief public appearance in the Temple as a child of only twelve years. Even though he has been preparing for this moment all of his life, is there not a slight trace of reluctance to shed the cloak of anonymity and move into the fierce light of public acclaim? See the concentration, the thoughtfulness, and—ultimately—the determination, on the face of Jesus. At this very moment he is resolving all his doubts and committing his life to the high calling of God his Father. The artist in glass has captured well one of the most significant moments in the lives of both John and Jesus; one—the forerunner—the symbol of the old covenant of law; the other—the Messiah—the initiator of the new covenant of grace. This moment, frozen forever in stained-glass, is that final moment before the die is irrevocably cast for Jesus. From this point forward there can be no turning back. The look of determined resolution on Jesus' face in accepting God's will is soon to be followed by God's own affirmation of that faith: ``This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.''

There are at least five vivid contrasts that we may define as we look at the window and the scene it represents.

There is a contrast between the old and the new. John's idea of God was, not unexpectedly, locked in the Old Testament. To him God was a judge of wrath, and the coming of God's Messiah would be a day of judgment. He described vividly what that day would be like for those who rejected his message:

``His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering the wheat into his barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.'' Matthew 3:12

John's idea of God easily carries over into our thinking even today. Many find it difficult to think of God in any capacity other than a divine policeman who is just watching and waiting for us to make a slip. How well this idea was represented by the character Maude on television a few years ago. One of Maude's favorite expressions was, ``God is gonna' get you for that!'' This God may indeed be respected, but never truly loved.

How vastly different was Jesus' understanding of God. Jesus knew Him to be a heavenly Father who loved His children beyond belief. Judgment was a part of this God as well, but it was the discipline of a loving father who hurt with his children even as he disciplined them. Such an understanding of God brings an entirely new dimension to our lives and our feelings about God.

Then there is the contrast between law and grace. John, standing separate and apart from those who came to him, baptized sinners because of their sins. To him, the law was strict and uncompromising. He said to the people:

``The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.'' Matthew 3:10

``For John the emblem of the spirit was the stormy wind of judgment; for Jesus, the dove with the olive leaf after the judgment by water was past.'' In John's eyes, a person came to God simply because he was afraid not to come. The element of love and compassion never entered into his thinking. A French novelist wrote a story called The Woman of the Pharisees, in which he told of a wealthy woman who lived in a small rural village. She was very diligent to visit the people of her village and always took some gift to mark her visit. Before leaving, she would manage to drop a stray word of advice that, by working a little harder or by being more frugal and industrious, the family would be able to live better. Thus, she never left a poor family's house without making them feel worse for her having been there. The law is certainly effective but never kind in its judgments.

By sharp contrast, Jesus went down into the water and, though sinless himself, was baptized with sinners because of his love for them. How better could God's new law of grace be demonstrated than by the sinless Son of God being baptized with the sinning sons of men. Years later, the unknown writer of the letter to the Hebrews wrote:

``For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.'' Hebrews 4:15

Grace forgives the sinner and lifts him out of his sin in a spirit of love.

There is also the contrast between faith and knowledge. John looked toward a God he didn't fully understand. With his background of harsh judgment, he looked forward to a representative from God who would vindicate all that he had been saying. The expression on John's face in the stained-glass window almost seems to say, ``Now we will see things begin to happen!'' It is all too easy for us to have a wrong impression about the kind of person God truly is. H.G. Wells wrote a short story about an Episcopalian Bishop—though he could have used a minister of any denomination—who was always ready with a pious plaudit at the appropriate times. When people came to him burdened with life's problems, he would say to them in his best stained-glass voice: ``Just pray about it!'' For himself, he prayed very little. His life moved on superficially, with little event and without much difficulty. Then one day life collapsed around him. He was stunned and totally unequipped to handle such trouble. At last, he decided to take his own advice and pray. He went into his sanctuary late one Saturday evening, knelt before the altar and folded his hands before him. He could not help thinking how childlike and pious he must look. Then he prayed, ``Oh God....'' Suddenly, from the stillness of the deserted sanctuary, there came a voice crisp and business-like, ``Well, what is it?'' The next morning, his parishioners found their bishop lying face down on the floor, dead. When they turned him over, they saw that his face had been fixed in an expression of horror. Having advised others to pray, when he actually met God face to face it had literally frightened him to death. This was the kind of God John had come to know.

How vastly different was Jesus' experience with God. By contrast, he was fully confident to rest his entire life in the hands of a God he knew as ``Father.'' On Jesus' face in the window we may almost discern a look of acceptance for the sufferings which he knows lie ahead for him. His confidence comes from his knowledge of who and what God is. Out of this same spirit was to come those meaningful words spoken at his death, ``Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit.''

Then there is the contrast between water and Spirit. John himself said it best:

``I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.'' Matthew 3:11

John, with his baptism of water, could wash the body clean but his baptism touched only the physical life. No external ritual, even one so meaningful as baptism, can ever do more than symbolize something that must take place much more deeply in our lives.

Jesus washed the very soul clean with the Holy Spirit. No sin is so great or so black that it cannot be cleansed through the power of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah, anticipating the Suffering Servant who was to come, wrote:

``Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'' Isaiah 1:18

Once washed clean by the Holy Spirit, we are also provided with the strength and the power to live life as God meant for us to live it through His strength.

Finally, there is the contrast between servant and Son. John was the servant who prepared the Son's way. John recognized his limitations. About him it had been written: ``A voice of one crying in the wilderness, `Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.''' How difficult it must have been for John to step back out of the limelight in favor of Jesus, but he did so willingly. Hear his own words:

``A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, `I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.' The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.'' John 3:27-30

Jesus was the Son who came to save the world. The task of John had been preparation; that of Jesus—salvation. The apostle John wrote of Jesus: ``For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him'' (John 3:17). The path Jesus began that fateful day was to lead to the lonely mountain of temptation, the cruel mountain of crucifixion, the awesome mountain of resurrection and, ultimately, the glorious mountain of ascension into the heavens from whence he came.

So we close the chapter on the second of our beautiful stained-glass windows: The Baptism of Jesus. The whole message of God's grace and His fatherhood is contained in the scene represented by this window. Behind the beauty of the art work is the far greater beauty of God's love for us and His grace to us. That grace is reaching out to you right now. Won't you take the gift God is offering you this very moment?

Harold L. McDonald

First Baptist Church

Albemarle, N.C.

March 10, 1991