Summary: Jesus began his ministry by being baptised, although he need not have done. He ended his ministry by passing it onto his disciples. Jesus accepted being baptised because it now figured prominently in the “new covenant”, which he inaugurated (Lk 22:20; cf. Jer 31:31) and to which he commissioned his disciples.
Scripture focus: Matthew 3:13-17; Acts 10:34-48
Date: Sunday, 10 January 2010 (Austral Church of Christ)
Inspiration for Pleasing God
There is a funny but sad scene in the 2000 movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, directed by the Coen brothers, in which one of the main characters is spontaneously baptised. The three main characters are escaped convicts on an adventure to recover hidden money stolen from a bank. Along the way, they come across a public baptismal service. One of the convicts is so inspired that he quickly runs into the water to be baptised, then justifies his actions as follows:
DELMAR: Well that’s it boys, I been redeemed! The preacher warshed away all my sins and transgressions. It’s the straight-and-narrow from here on out and heaven everlasting’s my reward!
EVERETT: Delmar what the hell are you talking about? – We got bigger fish to fry!
DELMAR: Preacher said my sins are warshed away, including that Piggly Wiggly I knocked over in Yazoo!
EVERETT: I thought you said you were innocent a those charges.
DELMAR: Well I was lyin’ – and I’m proud to say that that sin’s been warshed away too! Neither God nor man’s got nothin’ on me now! Come on in, boys, the water’s fine!
For Delmar, baptism not only washed away his sins before God, but, perhaps more importantly to him, also cleared him of all his crimes before the criminal justice system –although, in a funny twist of fate, the three characters are eventually pardoned by the state governor due to their musical prowess.
Throughout Church history, many have argued back and forth on issues as trivial as how long should be the hair of worshippers and whether those coming forward for Baptism should be sprinkled or immersed. These are issues of interest, but, for those of us committed to “a simple confession of faith”, we would do well to take stock of Jesus’ opinion on Baptism, as well as that of the first Christians.
There is no doubt that Baptism was a prominent and important feature of faith amongst the earliest disciples of Christ. In the remembrance of our own baptism, may we take up the call that Jesus intended when he instructed the apostles to, “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20). 1
Matthew 3:13-17
For the author of The Gospel According to Matthew, there is an important connection between the ministry of Jesus and the ministry of the Church. Just as God-the-Father sent him, so Jesus sends us (John 20:21). The ministry of Jesus began publicly, with his baptism, and it ended with the commission which he left to his disciples to fulfil (Matt 28:18-20).
Unlike with the ordinance of Communion, the pedigree for the ordinance of Baptism is harder to trace.
In Old Testament Judaism, ceremonial cleansing by water and/or blood was an important part of the religious duties of the priestly classes, as well as for common worship.2 Of course, the differences between these ancient rites and Baptism in the early Church are significant. Baptism for the first Christians was once-for-all, rather than continual, and it procured a radical cleansing from sin rather than provided a temporary measure. However, in the writings of the OT prophets we discover that a new baptism was promised (Ez 36:25; Zec 13:1).3 Herein lies the clue to the practise of Baptism in Jesus’ time.
During the historical period between that covered by the two testaments of our Bible, the common belief was that the Spirit of God was no longer present on the earth.4 Because of this, there existed a movement of people who sincerely felt that the nation of Israel had somehow lost the blessing of God.5 They then developed theologies and rituals to re-attract God’s blessing. Baptism became a dominant feature for these people. The Essene community at Qumran and John the Baptist are good examples of this movement.
John preached a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Lk 3:3). This call to repentance, that John encouraged, was to prepare the people for the coming Christ of God (Mt 3:11) and for the Kingdom which he would usher in (Mt 3:2; Lk 3:7-14). In this way, John’s baptism was a symbolic announcement of what was to come and at the same time acted as a catalyst for that future activity of Jesus. Herein we see the continuity and discontinuity between John and the first Christians: while John’s baptism looked forward to the coming Kingdom, the baptism that Jesus commanded looks backward and celebrates the effective entrance of that Kingdom into the world.6
Regardless of from where the ordinance of Baptism originated, the fact is that Jesus presented himself before John to be baptised (Mt 3:13). This surprised John because, even though he looked out for and heralded Jesus’ arrival, in his own words, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Mt 3:14)
John protested that he was unworthy to baptise Jesus. In this he was correct, but something bigger was at stake: “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:15). What did Jesus mean by this?
Note that for Matthew, the writer of this gospel, John’s baptism did not effect the forgiveness of sins –that was accomplished only by the death of Jesus (Mt 26:28). In being baptised by John, the people were repenting of their sins, as a preparation for the kingdom of God, which was coming near, not being forgiven for their sins (Mt 3:2).
Likewise, Jesus did not present himself for baptism because he needed it –John admitted this point himself– but because it was the right thing to do at that time, being before his death. The implication is that the baptism that Jesus would bring –announced by John as being of the Spirit and of fire (Mt 3:11)– would come later. Jesus submitted to John’s baptism because he was faithful to God and to his mission. His ministry was to encourage conduct in accord with God’s will, which begins with repentance, by faith, and results in forgiveness because of the shed blood of Jesus our Saviour.
In his baptism, Jesus bound himself to the destiny of humanity and showed himself to be intent on doing what God requires. Jesus, “humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death –even death on a cross” (Phlp 2:8). It was for this attitude that Jesus was commended by the voice of God and the descent of the Spirit upon him (Mt 3:16-17).7
Something To Think About
The first question that comes to my mind is that of the necessity of Baptism for salvation. Because I will always take a ‘soft’ approach to sacramental theology, due to my Salvationist background, let me simply point out that Jesus did not himself baptise, although he allowed it for a time by his disciples (Jn 4:1-2). Baptism only took on relevance following his death.
We also need to consider that if we agree that Baptism “signifies” an already accomplished work in the life of a disciple, and if we recognise that the NT does not prescribe or even indicate any order to the rite other than that it must be “in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”, then we might perhaps interpret Jesus’ commission as instituting reception into the Church/community-of-disciples more than anything else.8
So, rather than arguing over the rubrics of Baptism, let us instead be committed to inviting and welcoming new believers into fellowship and discipleship in this Jesus movement! Let us concern ourselves with the call to baptise, with discipling and teaching others to do all that Jesus commands (Mt 28:18-20). His words are the words of life (Jn 6:66-69) and his way of love requires obedience (Jn 14:15; cf. 9:31).
Indeed, baptism is more of an issue of obedience than it is of effecting salvation. Following the apostle Paul’s simple formula (Rom 10:9-10), salvation requires inward belief along with outward confession. And I can’t imagine a better outward confession than the public declaration of baptism.
We see this formula at work when Peter preached to the household of Cornelius (Acts 10:34ff). Their belief led the members of that household to being filled with the Holy Spirit; yet, Peter recognised that they still required the public confession dimension, so as to fully enter into the Church. Thus, they were all promptly baptised also with water.
There is no question that Jesus believed the right things about God, yet he still submitted himself to the obedience of John’s baptism. May we who share the gospel, and invite others into the fellowship of the Church, not present faith-unto-salvation as “cheap grace”, but remember be honest in declaring that the call to obedience is just as much a part of the gospel as is faith. Indeed, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments (Jn 14:15)”.
Conclusion
There is no question that Baptism is an important ordinance of the Church. Yet, in recalling the story of Jesus’ own baptism, let us be inspired by his example and seek to please God in the same way: by being humble and striving to glorify God in all that we do.
Endnotes
- All scriptural quotations are taken from The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville, TN, USA: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. ↩
- See Ex 29:21; 30:17-21; Lev 8:6; 11:24-40; 12-15; 16:1-28; Num 8:6-13; 19:11-22. ↩
- Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI, USA: Baker Book House, 1988), pg 257. ↩
- “Intertestamental literature conceded the absence of the Spirit. Prophetic inspiration had ceased with Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, as attested by the closing of the Old Testament canon. Ezekiel’s vision of the second temple acknowledged the departure of the Shekinah (“glory”, Eze 11:22-23); the Spirit was no longer present.” (C. F. H. Henry, God, Revelation, and Authority,vol 6 (Wheaton, IL, USA: Crossway Books, 1999), pg 381.
“The background of New Testament thought is best located in Palestinian Judaism. During this time the Spirit’s activity was basically regarded as a past phenomenon in Israel’s history, a phenomenon that had indeed given Israel its Torah, its prophets, and the whole of its Scriptures but had ceased when the prophetic office ended.” (David S. Dockery (ed), Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN, USA: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), pg 825. ↩
- “The desolate condition of Jerusalem would in some sense continue until the pouring out of God’s Spirit. From 586 to 538 b.c. the land of Judah was abandoned in the absolute sense. Under the leadership of Ezra, Nehemiah and the postexilic prophets, the Temple was reconstructed and the city was restored. By 445 b.c. Jerusalem’s walls had been rebuilt. The city thrived throughout the intertestamental period. For most of that time, however, Jerusalem was under the domination of some foreign power. First the Persians, then the Greeks and finally the Romans exercised sovereignty over the land. The Shekinah glory no longer resided in the Holy of Holies. The land was without the living voice of prophecy. For these reasons, Jerusalem was still considered to be desolate during the period between the testaments.” (James E. Smith, The Major Prophets (Joplin, MO, USA: College Press, 1992). ↩
- Elwell and Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, pg 258. ↩
- David E. Garland, Reading Matthew: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the First Gospel, Reading the New Testament series (Macon, GA, USA: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2001), pg 37. ↩
- “The gospel is the starting point for the Church . The Church comes into being when the gospel is received –that is, when persons accept and enter the Kingdom through faith in Jesus … The Church has a bias toward obedience rather than observance because of (Jesus’ lordship). It is called not to perpetuate ritual but to step out in trusting obedience to its Lord’s commands … In order for there to be true unity in the (universal) gospel, there must be freedom in the diversity of culturally conditioned forms, rituals, ceremonies and governments in the Church as a whole …In order to protect this universality, the Church must allow for considerable diversity in the expression and nurture of faith, so that acceptance of a particular culture or ecclesiastical tradition and thereby nullify the universality. It is a disservice to the gospel to insist that grace must be received through the mediation of a particular ritual or procedure, and there is no evidence in the New Testament from which a case can be argued for such a view.” (Phil Needham, Community In Mission: A Salvationist Ecclesiology (London, UK: The Campfield Press, 1987), pg 7-8. ↩
