In this post, we will begin to consider what Scripture teaches about baptism – not primarily to know more about baptism, but to understand more about Christ and His work of salvation.
To start, we will simply focus on what the four Gospels teach about baptism because these lay the foundation for this topic in the New Testament. We can see that baptism is discussed more frequently in the four Gospels than the rest of Scripture combined. The Gospels’ teachings about baptism can be organized around three different points.
The first aspect of baptism in the Gospels we need to consider is the mindset of Judaism.
When trying to understand the Gospels’ teaching on baptism, one might ask the question: Where did baptism come from? We don’t find anyone being baptized in the Old Testament, and we almost never find words relating to baptism used in the Old Testament. However, the first person we encounter in Mark’s Gospel is John the Baptist, who comes baptizing. How, then, would original readers of the Gospels have interpreted baptism?
The first thing that would have shaped the thinking of the original audience would have been the meaning of the terms being used for baptism. The terms for baptism come from the Greek root bapto, which was used by ancient Greeks to denote a ship sinking into the water and being submerged.
This word almost never appears in the Old Testament, only showing up twice in the canonical books of the LXX (Isaiah 21:4; 2 Kings 5:14), indicating the New Testament writers used a term to describe baptism that was free from any theological preconceptions. When we look at how the word for baptism was used in the Old Testament, it is significant that baptism is not connected lexically to religious ceremonies in the Old Testament, for the word is never used in the Law or in connection with any washings or covenant ceremonies commanded by God. Additionally, in the two instances where the Old Testament uses this word in the LXX, it means to flood or to submerge, never to pour or sprinkle.
The second thing to understand is how these terms became connected to religious ceremonies since they did not have religious meaning in the OT. The Jewish tradition that developed between the close of the Old Testament canon and Christ’s birth adopted various ceremonial washings that were called baptisms (for example, Mark 7:1-4). These baptisms entailed washing the entire body for ritual cleansing.
When we understand the mindset of Judaism about baptism, it becomes clear why this term and practice was used by John and then by Jesus, and what it signified. Baptism was understood as an immersion in water for the purpose of cleansing, which represented being washed from anything unclean, yet also an immersion not continuous with any OT practice.
Second, we need to consider how baptism relates to the ministry of John the Baptist.
John the Baptist’s ministry is described in all four Gospel accounts, indicating its significance in God’s plan of salvation. The first significant point about John’s baptism was that it occurred in water (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, John 3:23). A second important point about John’s baptism is that it was a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3, Matthew 3:6, Mark 1:5). Repentance and confession of sin by the one being baptized were essential, non-negotiables of John’s baptism ministry. Additionally, John shows a person’s parents were of no value in obtaining this baptism (Luke 3:7-8, Matthew 3:7-9). He clearly calls people to genuine repentance, indicating their Jewish lineage did not matter if they refused to repent of their sins and confess their need of the Messiah. In other words, being children of Jewish parents did not result in receiving baptism apart from personal repentance and confession of sins.
Finally, we need to consider how baptism connects with the mission of Jesus.
The most important baptism John performed during his ministry was his baptism of Jesus. The account from Matthew 3:13-17 is critical for understanding who Jesus is and His salvation for sinners. The best explanation for why Jesus was baptized was because of how He so intimately identified with sinful humanity. Everything He accomplished in His life, death, and resurrection was for our sakes, meaning His baptism was for us as well, meeting the divine requirement God placed upon His people. Since Jesus’ baptism fulfills all righteousness, it undoubtedly must be the model upon which all Christian baptism is based.
With that in mind, then, there are some things we can learn about baptism from our Savior’s example. First, we see Jesus was baptized as a man, not an infant. When Christ came to be baptized, He was baptized in the same manner as everyone else, old enough to understand what He was doing and the significance of the moment. Second, we observe Jesus’ baptism was not linked with His circumcision. Nothing in the Gospels even hints Christ’s baptism was connected in any way to His circumcision. Third, we see Jesus’ baptism was by immersion, indicating this act is submersion in water.
Not only, however, should we look at the baptism of Jesus to understand better what the Bible says about baptism, but we must consider the baptisms Jesus’ disciples performed during His earthly ministry. We see in John’s Gospel that Christ’s disciples were baptizing people before the Great Commission because He wanted to train the disciples to know what to do when He was gone and the Spirit was given (John 3:22-25, 4:1-2). In fact, we might argue that Jesus’ entire ministry was to train His disciples to carry on the gospel mission once He ascended into heaven. He taught them what it looked like to make a disciple, and He had them baptize new disciples so they understood the process of making and baptizing disciples.
In Scripture, we find that Jesus was baptized again at the end of His life. However, this time was not a literal but a figurative baptism, because He referred to the cross as a baptism He had to undergo (Mark 10:38, Luke 12:49-50). Everyone across the credobaptist and paedobaptist spectrum agrees the baptism imagery is that of water flooding the world, the Egyptians, and/or Jonah as an act of divine judgment.
The problem with forgiveness of sins is that God is just and righteous. The Lord cannot merely forgive sin as if it never happened without sin’s penalty being paid and divine wrath being satisfied. Baptism not only indicates that sins are forgiven through repentance and faith but that those forgiven have been judged by God and survived. The floodwaters of baptism must point to divine judgment if they are to point to divine forgiveness because the only way the Lord can forgive our sins is to judge them at the cross. Baptism, then, does not merely say that the repentant believer is forgiven, but that God’s just wrath against that sinner has been satisfied through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Christ’s ministry has much to teach us about baptism. When we understand that baptism not only symbolizes our purification from sins by faith but the satisfaction of God’s wrath through judgment at the cross, our depth of appreciation and love for our Lord increases exponentially because we see how great a love He has displayed. We are no longer children of wrath and the devil, but we are sons of God. That truth is exactly what we see baptism means from the Gospels. It is a picture where believers are reminded that because Christ died and rose again, God’s wrath against us has been satisfied, all our sins have been washed away by Jesus’ blood, and we stand clean and righteous before our Judge and Maker.
The post What Do the Gospels Teach about Baptism? appeared first on The Cripplegate.
