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- Written by Bryant Evans
Introduction to Christian Baptism
Baptism is unique to the New Testament. While some preparatory teachings are contained in the Old Testament, it was not until the ministry of Jesus that baptism became a requirement for salvation. Let’s look carefully at the beginnings of baptism in the New Testament.
A firm definition of baptism is necessary. The word arises from the Greek word BAPTIZO which simply means to immerse or bury. One serious shortcoming of the King James Translation was their failure to translate the word at all. They simply turned the Greek word into an English word, hence BAPTIZO became BAPTIZE. It is thought that fear of persecution from the King of England and others who practiced sprinkling, caused them to hedge on the translation. Nevertheless, scholars today are in agreement that immersion was the mode of baptism practiced in New Testament Days. In Matthew 3:16 and Mark 1:10 Jesus “came up out of the water” which would be unnecessary in the case of sprinkling or pouring. The same is seen in Acts 8:38, 39. Complete immersion is the only way that fits both the meaning of word and the examples from Apostolic times.
We first find Jesus’ predecessor, John, in the wilderness of Judea. There John, Jesus' cousin, was found baptizing as a means to prepare for the coming of the Messiah (Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3). In these passages, John speaks of three baptisms; water (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8 and Luke 3:16); Spirit (Matthew 3:11;Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16), and fire (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16). Of these three, John practices only water baptism. Jesus is said to be the one who will practice the others. However, by the time Paul wrote Ephesians 4, there was but one baptism (Ephesians 4:5). We will discuss both Spirit and fire baptism in subsequent articles and we will show that neither Spirit nor fire baptism was connected with individual salvation. But, for now let us focus on water baptism. It is significant that John’s baptism was not for salvation. Prior to the cross, sins could not be removed for no sacrifice had been offered. John’s baptism was for repentance (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3; Acts 19:4) and looked forward to he coming remission of sins in Christ Jesus. John stood in a line of prophets dating back to the likes of Samuel, Isaiah, Elijah, Amos and others. The primary call of a prophet was to repentance. In John’s case, however, actual full and final forgiveness was near in Jesus. If John’s baptism resulted in full salvation, then what need was there for Jesus to die at Calvary and why would the disciples of Acts 19 be baptized again? John’s baptism was preparatory to the coming of Jesus. We observe John’s comments that one “mightier” is coming (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16). John was, of course, looking toward the coming of the Messiah who’s message, baptism and results would be far greater than his own. This first account of baptism in the first century was temporary only and looked forward to something greater.
The Gospel writers report that Jesus himself was baptized by John. The event was even a bit confusing to John who recognized his own need for baptism by Jesus (Matthew 3:14; Mark 1:9; Luke 3:21). Why would Jesus need to be baptized? He had no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5) and thus had nothing to repent of. We conclude that Jesus was baptized for some reason other than repentance. It is Matthew alone who records Jesus’ reason for being baptized. “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Jesus wanted to be baptized to complete all the commands of righteousness. One modern translation says it this way: “Let it be so for now. For in this way we shall do all that God requires” (TEB). Although there was absolutely no need for Jesus to submit to baptism, he did so as an example for those who would follow him. The people of John’s day were expected to comply with the righteous expectations of Jehovah God and Jesus offered himself as an example to them. We may conclude then that baptism was a significant and important activity in the mind of Jesus.
The significance of this baptism is further underscored by what immediately followed. As Jesus came up out of the water the spirit of God descended upon him and pronounced that he was “well pleased” with his Son (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). This “baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” will be inextricably linked to Christian baptism which will begin about three years later. The example of John’s baptism and Jesus’ own submission to it, should cause us to reflect on whether baptism was essential or just a voluntary act arising out of some personal decision. What cannot be questioned is that baptism was taught and commanded through John, Jesus submitted and God approved.
