Baptism's many Purposes

“[John the Baptizer]:  I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire….Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John, but John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?”  Jesus replied, “Let it be so now.  For it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”  So, John consented.  Matthew 3:11, 13-15

John’s mission on the Jordan river was well attended in his ministry.  The Jews had the practice of mikvoh, a Judaic ritual bathing that had language around what we understand as baptism.  People would step in and out: they went in unclean and came out clean.  They even used the language of “new birth,” especially for Jewish converts who wanted a marking ceremony. 

John the Baptizer expanded the meaning to include repentance and conversion, ladening the waters as an expressing of God’s forgiveness and grace.  This conversion was expressed in the Greek word metanoia, which means “change of mind”, but was expanded it to mean a change of heart, of values and of lifestyle.

For me, the burning question that arises around Jesus’ baptism is this:  Why did a sinless Jesus ask John to baptize him?  I think one answer lies in Jesus’ task on earth in living among people and bringing their identity into his.  He wanted to identify with sinful people – “The Son of Many came to seek and save the lost… (Luke 19:10)  So he started where they needed to start – at the place of repentance and conversion.  Since Jesus asked others to follow him, he included the baptism waters as a path.

But there is more.

Jesus’ baptism was a defining act of his obedience to God.  It demonstrated his commitment by the announcement of baptism, a public display of his truth and relationship with the Father.  Its import is announced by the Father, himself:

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.  At that moment, heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love,  with him I am well pleased.”  Matthew 3:16-17.

Jesus used it to demonstrate his allegiance to God and God used it to announce to the world his relationship with Jesus. The dove is a symbol or metaphor for the visitation or inhabitation of God’s Holy Spirit.  

This was a turning point for Jesus.  Things would never be the same thereafter.

How was your baptism a defining act?

How was your relationship with God changed by your baptism?

With what symbol would you mark the receiving of the Holy Spirit in your life?

The Household of Faith

Do not speak harshly to an older man, but speak to him as a father; to younger men as brothers; to older women as mothers; to younger women as sisters - with absolute purity.   1 Timothy 5:1-2

Since we have been adopted as sons and daughters, the sibling relationship emerges as prominent in describing how the family of God should operate.  I am thinking that our own sibling groups may often fall short of a being a guide.  Some of the biggest contentions in our life might be with our siblings.  

Yet, in the New Testament the relationship between believers is referenced as "brethren."  It comes from the Greek word, delphos, which means "from the womb." It is cast as our commonness with Christ as if brothers/sisters by blood, hailing from the source of life of the Trinity:  a common bond intended to honored.

Since our sibling groups on earth aren't always the best example, how does the Bible describe this sibling group?

First, the sibling ethos rests in mutual love.  In John 15:12-13, "Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this:  to lay down one's life for one's friends."  This means to go the distance for each other, to be in service to the ones we love.  Here are ways to do this:

    - be of service to your siblings (Galatians 5:13)

    - cause no one to stumble;  don't get in the way of faith for anyone 1 Corinthians 8:11-13

    - look to the interests of others (Romans 14: 15, 21; Philippians 2:4)

    - share resources (Heb 13:16; 6:9-10; 10:24 -25)

    - to the point resources are shared so there is equity (Acts 4:32, 34-35; Acts 11:29)

    - hospitality is a top priority, a core-value (3 John 1:5-8, 9-10)

    - act in unity, since in being one-minded and one-hearted (1 Peter 3:8  (Please note that this is "harmony" - of a blended chord not a single note and of same motivations - not self, but Christ's.)

    - Paul censures all rivalries - pitting one against the other - selfish ambition and disunity.  (Philippians 1:27-30; 4:2-3)

Paul's treatise on this unity is in Philippians 2: 1-5, finally declaring Christ as our ultimate example in verses 6-11.  The sibling question becomes one of who is really in charge and that equity is to rule our relationships because the honor or loss of one is felt by the entire kinship group, as seen in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.  "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."

These seem to be the most demanding choices of the faith, to be in full allegiance with the family of God:  No black sheep, no first born privileges (except Christ), no exclusions.  We need this solidarity with each other is the ultimate expression of love when we all live a caste-based society with a hierarchy, which often results in the  sequestering of human sustenance and privilege.    

Also, we need this solidarity because it becomes the greatest tool for evangelism.