Over 30 years ago, I studied for three years and earned a bachelor’s degree in Bible. Then I went on and finished a master’s degree in Biblical Studies. I’ve been in full-time ministry for a significant portion of those 30 years. I now do a radio program called “Read The Bible” (Lea La Biblia).
And then I write a blog post about baptism in the gospels… and forget to mention the baptism of Jesus!
Wow. That’s an inauspicious start. The good thing is, we’ve got commenters like Jordan who will graciously point out the error of my ways, even giving me the benefit of the doubt that my omission may have been intentional.
No. I messed up. One of the key events concerning baptism in the gospels is Jesus’ own baptism. It’s in all four gospels, with varying degrees of detail. It’s the moment when he publicly accepted his role as Messiah and was publicly declared to be the Son of God. It was something he did “to fulfill all righteousness.”
It’s really important. And needs to be considered as we study baptism.
Jordan also provided a link to an article about baptism in the Old Testament, along with a disclaimer that he disagrees with many of the conclusions, but appreciates the list of verses. I’ve never emphasized the connection between these Old Testament washings and New Testament baptism, but it’s worth a look.
OK… what else did I miss?
I’m looking forward to reading the discussions on baptism. Churches of Christ have an interesting history with this subject, on that has often reduced baptism to a human work focused narrowly on the question of salvation that became a sectarian doctrine. My hope and what I believe is possible is that we can develop a deeper and more robust view of baptism that is understood as a necessary work of God in Christ that we participate in by faith. In this way, I believe we can develop an even higher view of baptism but one that is anchored in the grace of God and therefore is not held in a sectarian manner towards other Christians who hold a different understanding.
Grace and Peace,
Rex
Amen, Rex!
Baptism is often reduced to a simple question: “Do you have to be baptized in order to be saved?”
This betrays a bad instinct that we’ve inherited from a frontier revivalism that needed to boil down the work of God into a easy-to-preach, easy-to-remember formula. When baptism is only cast in the light of a transaction by which my personal salvation is guaranteed we’ve missed the boat on baptism! I believe baptism is tied in to discipleship and the desire to participate in God’s coming Kingdom now. It is a submission to God’s righteous mission.
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