Romans 6:1-4 In the church of Paul's day,
immersion was the usual form of baptism.
That is, new Christians were completely
"buried" in water. They understood this
form of baptism to symbolize the death
and burial of the old way of life. Coming
up out of the water symbolized resurrection
to new life with Christ. If we think of our
old sinful life as dead and buried, we have
a powerful motive to resist sin. We can
consciously choose to treat the desires and
temptations of the old nature as if they were
dead. Then we can continue to enjoy our
wonderful new life with Jesus.
* * * * * * *
Matthew 3:6 When you wash dirty hands, the
results are immediately visible. But
repentance happens inside with a cleansing
that isn't seen right away. So, John the
Baptist used a symbolic action what people
could see, baptism. Here, baptism was sign
of repentance and forgiveness. Repent means
"to turn", implying a change in behavior.
If is turning from sin toward God. A changed
life with new and different behavior makes
your repentance real and visible.
* * * * * * *
Matthew 3:11 John baptized people as a sign
that they had asked God to forgive their sins
and had decided to live as He wanted them to
live. Baptism was an "outward sign" of
commitment. To be effective, it had to be
accompanied by an "inward change" of attitude
leading to a changed life ~ the work of the
Holy Spirit. John said that Jesus would
baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. This
looked ahead to Pentecost (Acts 2), when the
Holy Spirit would be sent by Jesus in the form
of tongues of fire, empowering His followers
to preach the gospel. John's statement also
symbolized the work of the Holy Spirit in
bringing God's judgement on those who refuse
to repent. Everyone will one day be baptized
~ either now by God's Holy Spirit or later by
the fire of His Judgement.
* * * * * * *
Matthew 3:13-15 When Jesus came to John and
asked to be baptized, John felt unqualified.
He wanted Jesus to baptize him. Why did Jesus
ask to be baptizes? It was not for repentance
for sin, because Jesus never sinned. To fulfill
all righteousness means to accomplish God's
mission. Jesus saw His baptism as advancing
God's work. Jesus was baptized because (1) He
was confessing sin on behalf of the nation; as
Nehemiah, Ezra, Moses and Daniel had done; (2)
He was showig support for what John was doing;
(3) He was inaugurating His public ministry;
(4) He was identifying with the penitent people
of God, not with the critical Pharisees who
were only watching. Jesus, the perfect man,
didn't need baptism for sin, but He accepted
baptism in obedient service to the Father and
God showed His approval.
* * * * * * *
Mark 1:4 In John's ministry, baptism was
a visible sign that a person had decided
to change his/her life, giving up a sinful
and selfish way of living and turning to
God. John took a known custom and gave it
new meaning. The Jews often baptized non-
Jews who had converted to Judaism. But to
baptize a Jew as a sign of repentance was a
radical departure from Jewish custom. The
early church took baptism a step further,
associating it with Jesus' death and
resurrection. (See example Romans 6:3,4;
1 Peter 3:21)
* * * * * * *
Colossians 2:11-12 In this passage,
circumcision is related to baptism;
therefore, some see baptism as the New
Testament sign of the covenant; identifying
the person with the covenant community.
Baptism parallels the death, burial and
resurrection of Christ. It also portrays
the death and burial of our sinful old way
of life followed by resurrection to a new
life in Christ. Remembering that our old
sinful life is dead and buried with Christ
gives us a powerful motive to resist sin.
Not wanting the desires of our past to come
back to power again, we can consciously
choose to treat our desires as if they were
dead. Then we can continue to enjoy our
wonderful new life with Christ (see Galatians
3:27 and Colossians 3:1-4).
* * * * * * *
Mark 3:21,22 If baptism was a sign of
repentance from sin, why did Jesus ask to
be baptized? Several explainations are often
given (1) Jesus' baptism was one step in
fulfilling His earthly mission of identifying
with our humanity and sin; (2) by endorsing
the rite of baptism, Jesus was giving us an
example to follow; (3) Jesus was announcing
the beginning of His public ministry; (4)
Jesus was being baptized for the sins of the
nation. The Holy Spirit's appearance in the
form of a dove showed tht God's plan for
salvation was centered in Jesus. Jesus was
the perfect human who didn't need baptism
for repentance, but He was baptized anyway
on our behalf.
* * * * * * *
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