Baptism, in differing forms, is a ceremony practiced by Christian denominations in which a person accepts the death of Jesus in their place. Although the practice varies in style between faiths, in the biblical original, a new Christian is immersed in water, symbolizing death and burial, then is raised to a new life in Christ. It is a public ceremony and so announces to any witnesses the recipient’s inner conviction.
Although a form of ceremonial washing was practiced in Judaism before the birth of Christ, this Christian baptism is attributed to John the Baptist—as his name attests. Mark’s Gospel records that John, Jesus’ cousin and considered among the greatest of the biblical Jewish prophets, baptized in the river Jordan (Mark 1:4, 5). So when John baptized Jesus, along with a multitude of Jews and foreigners in the Jordan, it was possibly something novel. Add to that his fiery and forthright preaching style—he called the religious leaders of the time “a generation of vipers” (Luke 3:7, KJV)—it’s no wonder he attracted crowds!
repentance
But to make the way for Jesus, who was soon to appear, John summoned all Israel to repentance. Disregarding rabbinic law, he ordered those who had two coats to give their spare one to any who had none; he told tax collectors they were to collect no more than their due; and soldiers were instructed to be content with their wages and desist from robbing people (Luke 3:7–14). Alfred Edersheim, in The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, states, “Never before had it been proposed that Israel should undergo a ‘baptism of repentance.’ ”
Repentance? It means to think differently or to turn around. For some time, Israel had been traveling in the wrong direction, and reformation was essential to their future as a nation. They would survive if they accepted John’s second decree—to believe in the coming Jesus Christ as Messiah. The book of Acts records that the apostle Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus” (19:4, ESV;* emphasis added).
John the Baptist also said the Messiah would “baptize” in other ways in addition to water. “But after me comes one who is more powerful than I. . . . He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11).
As the forerunner to Christ, John fused a link between the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah and their New Testament fulfillment in Jesus. He revealed new meanings at a time when the common people had little faith in their religious leaders, Herod, or Caesar.
John’s baptism also prefigured and revolutionized a simple earthly washing into a heavenly symbol indicative of acceptance into the promised kingdom of God.
Tradition says that in AD 29 Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee and Perea (parts of Israel), imprisoned John the Baptist at Machaerus, a fortress east of the Dead Sea, and executed him some time later. His disciples buried him at an undisclosed site (Matthew 14:12).
In our times, as many traditions and historic practices fade, their meanings lost, many doubt the importance of a water baptism in God’s plan to save us. But He is quite specific about its practice.
Bible baptism
For example, in Acts 2:38 the apostle Peter repeats John’s call and some 3,000 are baptized. After receiving instruction from God, Ananias baptizes Paul (Acts 9:18). The Roman centurion Cornelius receives water baptism, despite the fact that he already received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:47). And arriving at Ephesus, Paul rebaptizes some of John’s disciples (Acts 19:1–6). It is clear from this last example that not only does God consider baptism necessary for new converts, but He also allows believers who accept major new truth to be rebaptized. This is one reason many Christians are baptized again when joining a new church.
However, baptism is much more than a ceremony: baptism is the Christian’s figurative reenactment of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. The apostle Paul writes, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4). So Jesus’ death on the cross becomes ours at baptism.
Renowned theologian Charles Hodge lectured on Paul’s letters to the early Christians for 56 years. He said our act of faith in baptism becomes Christ’s death in us. When Jesus died, His old life—the life that became “sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21)—disappeared, and the sin that killed Him is never to reappear.
When Jesus was resurrected to eternal life, He walked in a new world. Similarly, as we go beneath the water in baptism, our old life spiritually drowns—we’re dead. When we rise, we share in Christ’s walk, anticipating that world He is preparing for us and in which He already dwells.
Previously, at conversion, a new power generated obedience to God. Previously, our conscience desensitized to sin, dull of understanding, and rebellious toward God (Acts 7:51), becomes discerning and enlightened by His Spirit. The Word of God (His grace) then actively works in us, enabling us to walk in Jesus’ steps (Philippians 2:13).
That great Reformer Martin Luther said, “As the dead and buried Christ appeared in the eyes of the Jews, so also the spiritual person (that is, one who is buried with Christ by baptism into death) must appear in his own eyes and the eyes of others.” Christ’s followers live differently from the world because they think differently. On show for Christ, love replaces anger, generosity replaces selfishness, peace replaces turmoil, and hope replaces despair.
a new life
It is said that baptism is an outward expression of an inward (and sometimes new) conviction. This conviction is crucial to our experience in Jesus Christ, for without it we will never fully understand His passion nor the astonishing grace of God. It drives our desire to be closer to Him, through the study of His Word, and leaves us yearning for more of Him. And, as we move to a greater knowledge of Him, we will better appreciate the cost of our salvation and why it had to be completed in Jesus.
Paul explains this notion in his letter to the Colossian church where, in Colossians 2:10, he uses a word that originally meant to “be covered over,” but in most Bible versions is translated as “complete” (NKJV) or “fullness” (NIV). In other words, the Colossian Christians needed to look no further than Jesus for their full, complete salvation.
In Jesus, we’re set free from our sins (Acts 13:39), and our right to heaven is secure; in Him, we’re made holy by the Spirit (1 Peter 1:2), and our suitability for heaven is complete. This means the moment we confess our sin, accept Jesus as our personal Savior, following Him in baptism, our salvation is complete. We can never be “more” saved than at that moment.
And something else quite amazing happens. Says Paul, “Now that you have been set free from sin . . . the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life” (Romans 6:22). Or as Hodge points out, in the Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, we’re now “subject to His controlling influence by the power of His Spirit.”
Although Peter says that baptism saves us, in practice we’re saved only because of our faith in Jesus and willingness to follow Him in His death (1 Peter 3:21). It is really only the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from personal sin, not the literal water in a baptistry (1 John 1:7).
John the Baptist preached repentance and belief in Jesus. And today, 2,000 years on, it’s a message worth repeating. It is a valid and necessary practice, not an out-of-date tradition. For the believer who wishes to follow Jesus completely, it demonstrates to the world that they belong to Him.
