Gospel:
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
Gospel Trivia:
The first verses intends to provide a historical context of John the Baptist and of Jesus, but we should note:
- the first date -- fifteenth year of the reign of the emperor Caesar and Pilate was governor of Judea -- would have been sufficient;
- but also included are references to Herod and his brother Philip, and high priests Annas and Caiphas
The first two are Romans, and the latter four are Jewish, indicating that the gospel writer wanted to provide a political and historical context of the arrival of John the Baptist and Jesus.
Thereafter, a reference is made to the prophet Isaiah. The context is expanded to both secular and sacred history suggesting the universal dimension of the advent of Jesus.
All of history has prepared for the coming of the Person who blurs the line between the divine and the human. He who is divine has become one of us.
Reference: Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Manila: St. Paul Publications, 1988), p. 291-292.
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