Jesus' Baptism

by Steve Bastin

The New American Standard Bible mentions the word “baptism” or some form of the word over 100 times in the New Testament.  Does that not mean that baptism is important?  Things can be important when they are only mentioned once!

The apostle Paul mentioned seven things of which there is only one for Christians.  There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith and one God.  And in the middle of that list there is “one baptism.”

All four of the gospel accounts mention the baptism of Jesus.  There are very few things that are mentioned in all accounts, the gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  For example, the birth of Jesus is only mentioned in Matthew and Luke.  Of course, the death and resurrection are in all four accounts.  But the baptism of Jesus is in all four as well.

There are no baptisms in the Old Testament.  Paul refers to the Israelites being “baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,”  in his letter to the Corinthians, but the word baptize is not used in Moses’ account in Exodus.

There are washings by the priests in the Old Testament before entering the tabernacle.  There was a bowl of water that stood outside the tabernacle for that purpose, but they were not baptized, only their hands and feet were washed.

John the Baptist

After the time of Jesus there are references to a “proselyte baptism” for those converting to the Jewish religion, but there is nothing of this in the Bible.  In the Bible, baptism begins with John the Baptist.  There are a couple of references that clearly point to God as the source of John’s authority to baptize the Jewish people.  Here is a comment attributed to John the Baptist in John’s writings, “I did not recognize Him (a reference to Jesus), but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’”

There is also the question that Jesus asked the chief priests and the elders of the people, “I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.  The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?”  Implicit in this is the understanding of everyone, including Jesus, that John was acting under the authority of God when he baptized.

John baptized in preparation for the coming Kingdom of God.  He demanded repentance for  those coming to be baptized.  In at least some cases he demanded evidence of that repentance before he would baptize.  With repentance required before baptism it is clear that John was not baptizing babies.  That idea is foreign to the whole New Testament.  It was long after the death of Jesus and his apostles before the church began baptizing babies.

It was not “original sin,” but personal sin that stood in the way of being baptized

by John.  A change of mind concerning personal conduct was required by John before he would baptize a person.

The people of Israel were joyfully anticipating the inauguration of God’s kingdom.  “And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.”  John had a powerful message and an audience that gladly received his words as he preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus’ Baptism

Luke tells us that Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his ministry after his baptism.  Thirty was the age at which Levites could begin serving the Lord at the tabernacle and later the temple.

Mark gives us a very definite description of Jesus’ baptism.  “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens:  ‘You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.’”

There are several things to be noted in this description.  Jesus was baptized “in the Jordan.”  He was not baptized with water from the Jordan.  He was not baptized beside the Jordan.  Water from the Jordan was not put on Jesus as he stood in the water.  He was baptized “in” the Jordan and came “up out of the water” following his baptism.  According to the normal meaning of the Greek word, baptize, Jesus was immersed in the river.

Later, when Jesus sent his disciples out to baptize, we do not have to wonder what he was commanding them to do.  As baptism for Jesus was an immersion in water, so the baptism that he commanded was an immersion in water.

Philip, an early disciple of Jesus, taught a man from Ethiopia.  As they were traveling in the man’s chariot, he exclaimed, “Look!  Water!  What prevents me from being baptized?”  They went down into the water.

Peter was preaching in the home of Cornelius when God poured out the Spirit upon Gentile believers.  In response, Peter asked, “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”  Luke, the author of Acts, goes on to explain that Peter “ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”

Immersing people in water as a religious condition of God’s acceptance has been practiced from the days of John the Baptist.  Jesus submitted to John’s baptism and then sent his disciples out to baptize in his name.  There was never any doubt as to what Jesus meant then and there is no doubt about what it means to obey Jesus in baptism now.  Those who follow Jesus are immersed in the water.

It is also important to notice God’s reaction to Jesus’ baptism.  There are two things that God did.

One, the Spirit came upon Jesus at his baptism.  Two, God declared publicly that Jesus was His son and that He was well-pleased with him.

Some Observations

Baptism was necessary for Jesus.  How can it not be necessary for those who follow him?

Here is Matthew’s record of the event.  “Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.  But John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?’  But Jesus answering said to him, ‘Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’  Then he permitted Him.”

There is a simple conclusion that follows from the words of Jesus.  All righteousness was fulfilled in his baptism.  Jesus could not have been wholly right with God without submitting to the baptism of John the Baptist.

John was “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,” according to Mark.  Jesus had no sin.  According to the writer of Hebrews, “we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”  He spoke of Jesus.

John’s mission was to baptize every Jewish person.  Jesus was Jewish, therefore he fell under obligation to be baptized just as every Jew was under obligation.  Jesus could not avoid baptism and “fulfill all righteousness.  Therefore John baptized Jesus.

When Jesus sent out his disciples, he sent them with these words, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”  It follows that everyone is obligated to be baptized today in the same way that every Jew was obligated to submit to the baptism of John.  Baptism is necessary for us just as it was necessary for Jesus.

Just as Jesus received the Spirit at his baptism, believers today receive the Spirit at baptism.  Peter declared  to those who asked, “What shall we do?”  “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  They were promised the Holy Spirit in baptism.

Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”  The water and the Spirit go together.  The new birth is completed in water when the Spirit comes to renew and make alive the one who was “dead in sins.”

In stressing unity in the church at Corinth, Paul wrote, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”  The new birth is not a birth without the Spirit and there is no new birth without the action of the Spirit as one is immersed in water.

As Jesus received the Spirit at his baptism, we receive God’s spirit when we are immersed by the authority of Jesus Christ.

Believers are also declared to be sons of God when by faith they are baptized.  Paul wrote of this in his letter to Christians in Galatia:  “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

Just as Jesus was declared the Son of God at his baptism, God declares us sons of God at our baptism.

Further Remarks on Baptism

Just as Jesus’ ministry could not begin until he had submitted to the ordinance of God to be baptized, so we must begin our service to God in baptism.  There are several passages in the New Testament that make it clear what is at stake in our baptism.

Mark tells us of Jesus’ instructions to his disciples after his resurrection and before his ascension:  “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

Some have remarked that Jesus does not condemn the one who believes and is not baptized.  It is interesting that Jesus divides the world into two groups.  This is consistent with every passage in the Bible.  There are the lost and the saved.  There are the “sheep” and the “goats.”  There is heaven and there is hell.  There are sinners and there are saints.  There is no third group.  You are either in the baptized believers group or you are in the unbelievers group.  How can one say that they believe in Jesus and ignore what Jesus said about being baptized?  To believe in Jesus, in the Bible, is to be baptized.

Peter compared our salvation with the situation of Noah who was saved through the water that bore up the ark while purging the world of sinners.  “Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

While there was a whole lot more than water involved in the salvation of Noah, the water was an important element.  The same is true for our salvation.  Peter points out that it is through the resurrection of Jesus that we are saved.  But he also includes baptism as being a part of that salvation.

Paul is often cited as an example of an apostle who believed in faith only for salvation.  Trouble with that view is that Paul never said any such thing.  In fact, in discussing his own salvation he relates the words of Ananias to him, “Now why do you delay?  Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.”  If Paul were saved when he believed (on the road to Damascus) why does he understand that his sins were washed away when he was baptized?

It is the same Paul who wrote to the Romans, “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”  The new life followed baptism in the thinking of Paul.  The new life begins, as Jesus said, when one is born of the Spirit and the water.

Conclusion

There is nothing “magical” about baptism.  It is a practice begun by God through the prophet, John.  Jesus submitted to baptism at the hands of John.  Jesus practiced baptism (through his apostles) during his ministry on earth.  Jesus sent his disciples into the world with instructions to baptize those who would be his disciples.

Over the years men have made all sorts of changes in what was instituted by God.  They have changed immersion to sprinkling and pouring.  They have changed the purpose from forgiveness of sins to a public declaration.  They have changed the one being baptized from believers to babies.  The Bible is still true and God’s way is still right.