Category Archives: Baptism

The baptism of Jesus: That voice from heaven

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waterOne of the most famous elements in the story of the baptism of Jesus is the pronouncement from heaven: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

That’s how Matthew records it, and it’s the version I grew up with. (Though I hear the King James in my head: “This is my beloved son…”)

Mark records the voice as saying: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Same idea, but speaking directly to Jesus. Luke records it as Mark did. John mentions no voice, just the coming of the Spirit in the form of a dove.

Who was the voice for? It doesn’t really seem to have been for John. He doesn’t mention it when he is quoted as describing the event in the gospel of John, chapter 1. And he later comes to have real doubts as to Jesus’ identity. That seems strange for one who heard confirmation from heaven (though it’s surprising how often people doubt visions and voices in Scripture).

There’s no indication that anyone started following Jesus because of the voice. Either no one was around to hear it, no one understood it, or they were unmoved by the experience.

It almost seems to me that the voice was for Jesus. It reminds me of this incident from John 12:

“Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.” (John 12:28–29)

The crowd didn’t seem to hear what the voice said. They heard it as thunder or as an angel speaking to Jesus. No one seems to have heard the message.

Something similar happened at Saul’s conversion:

“My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.” (Acts 22:9)

What do you think? Was the voice from heaven there for Jesus’ sake? Was it for John? Or did it serve another purpose?

The baptism of Jesus: Why was he baptized?

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waterWe talked last week about John the Baptist. Now we need to talk about Jesus’ baptism. Each of the gospels mention it, though the perspective changes from book to book. Mark is pretty sparse on details (as he often is), though he does mention that voice that proclaimed the identity of Jesus and the Father’s pleasure with what had been done. Luke’s account is very similar. Matthew adds the protests of John, where he said, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” We’ll talk more about Jesus’ reply to John.

John’s gospel doesn’t mention the baptism itself, but it does mention the descent of the Spirit in the form of a dove. No mention of the voice from heaven, either.

So why was Jesus baptized? “To fulfill all righteousness” is the quick answer, quoting Jesus’ words from the gospel of Matthew. But it raises as many questions as it answers. Matthew often talks of fulfillment, yet it’s hard to see how this act fulfilled any prophecy. And he says this was about fulfilling righteousness, not Scripture.

Then you have the fact that John’s baptism was about repenting from sin and receiving forgiveness for that sin. Jesus had no sin. (It’s an interesting fact that Jesus began his ministry by being baptized for sins that he didn’t have and ended it by being crucified for sins that he didn’t have)

If you had to give a brief answer to the question “Why was Jesus baptized?”, what would you say?

John the Baptist

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waterAn appropriate place to begin a study of baptism is with the person of John the Baptist. John burst on the scene as the one preparing the way for the Messiah. As part of this, he issued a radical call for repentance, with baptism being a sign of that repentance.

I’ve neglected a bit the importance of John’s baptism. His baptism was unusual enough that it brought the religious authorities out from Jerusalem to investigate. John wasn’t just baptizing converts; he was baptizing Jewish believers.

After Jesus’ baptism, John’s disciples became jealous. Why? Jesus’ disciples were baptizing more people than John’s disciples were. After John’s death, his followers continued the practice of baptizing those who were coming to God. They continued for decades, according to the book of Acts.

What I hadn’t really thought about before was the importance baptism played in the Messiah’s movement. We’re living a time when many in our fellowship are seeking to de-emphasize the role of baptism, even as many in the broader Christian world are focusing on it even more. We need to explore the functions and meaning of baptism, but we have no need to be embarrassed about presenting baptism as an essential part of the Christian faith. It’s been that way since the start.

My basic beliefs about baptism

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waterAbout 5 years ago, I made a statement of my basic beliefs about baptism. Having reviewed the passages on baptism, I want to repeat that statement as a launching point for a discussion to follow:

I believe in baptism…

…of adults
…in water
…by immersion
…as part of saving faith
…for the forgiveness of sins
…accompanied by the reception of the Holy Spirit
…to enter into the body of Christ

Baptism in the New Testament letters (Part 2)

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waterLast post, we looked at places where the New Testament letters mention “baptism” or “baptize.” We should also mention passages in the epistles that might be referring to baptism without using the word.

1 Corinthians 6:11 talks about Christians having been washed. This could refer to having been washed in baptism, having been symbolically washed in the blood of Christ, or both.

In the same way, Ephesians 5:26 speaks of the church having been washed “with water through the word.” The reference to water suggests a link to baptism; the reference to the word suggests a symbolic reference.

Titus 3:5 speaks of the Christian conversion as experiencing the “washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” This is an obvious reference to baptism or an obvious reference to something else, depending on your point of view.

Hebrews 10 encourages Christians to draw near to God. Borrowing language from the Old Testament regulations concerning the purification of priests, the author mentions “having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” Is the mention of water merely part of the priestly symbolism or is the author speaking of baptisms role in the purification of the Christian?

I personally believe that 3 of the 4 contain a direct reference to baptism; I’m not so sure about the passage in 1 Corinthians. But we’ll get into all of that in future posts.

What passages would you add to the list?