“[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?
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