The Baptism of Christ

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

In the liturgical calendar, today is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which signifies the end of the Christmas season.

**[PAUSE]** Which is the perfect opportunity to tell my FAVORITE baptism joke of all time…

Ol’ Bubba the town drunk stumbled across a baptismal service on Sunday afternoon down by the river. Being the curious sort – and slightly drunk - he proceeded to walk down into the water and stood next to the Preacher.

The Preacher turned and noticed the old drunk and said, "Mister, are you ready to find Jesus?"

Ol’ Bubba looks back and says, "Yes, Preacher. I sure am."

The Preacher then dunked the fellow under the water and pulled him right back up. "Have you found Jesus?" the preacher asks.

"No, I didn’t!" Bubba says.

The Preacher then dunks him under for quite a bit longer, brings him up and says, "Now, brother, have you found Jesus?"

"No, I did not Preacher."

The Preacher in disgust holds Bubba under for at least 30 seconds this time - waiting until he starts bubbling – and then brings him up out of the water and says in a harsh tone, "Friend, are you sure you haven’t found Jesus yet?"

Ol’ Bubba wipes his eyes and says to the preacher..."No, but let me ask you something…Are you SURE this is where he fell in?"

**[PAUSE]** Here’s a new one for you:

The young son of a Baptist minister was in church one morning when he saw for the first time the rite of baptism by immersion. He was greatly interested in it, and the next morning proceeded to baptize his three cats in the bathtub.

The first kitten bore it very well, and so did the other young cat, but the old family cat rebelled. It struggled with him, clawed and tore him, and got away.

With considerable effort he caught it again and proceeded with the ceremony. But she acted worse than ever, clawed at him, spit, and scratched his hands and face.

Finally, after barely getting her splattered with water, he dropped her on the floor in disgust and said: “Fine, be an Atheist.”

**[PAUSE]** The Baptism of the Lord is noteworthy because it marks the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and confirms his identity as the Son of God. This event is documented in all the gospels except John.

Christ’s baptism remarkably shows all three Persons of the Trinity at the same time: the Son being baptized, the Holy Spirit descending, and the Father speaking from the heavens. In this event, the Father and the Holy Spirit confirm the deity of Christ, and Jesus submits to his Father’s will.

**[PAUSE]** Mark 1:4-11

…John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And the whole Judean region and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.

Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

**[PAUSE]** This past week has certainly had a very specific theme running through it.

It’s been a week of new beginnings.

A week of fresh starts.

** The week began with New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day… a time for reflecting on the past while looking forward to the coming year.

Looking forward to the excitement of the unknown. The beauty of that clean slate to start the year with.

Whether you made New Year’s resolutions or not, we all begin each year hoping and praying for it to be better than the preceding year – and making plans on ways to make sure that comes to pass.

**[PAUSE]** Running behind all of that this week, as a backdrop, if you will…was this text.

And I just love that on this first Sunday in January we start the New Year with this particular passage, this passage about the baptism of Christ.

Because baptisms are all about new beginnings.

About starting off fresh.

**[PAUSE]** Now, different faith traditions do baptism differently.

One thing that all those traditions with all those differing beliefs about baptism have in common – they all look at baptism as a new beginning.

**[PAUSE]** Our beliefs about baptism, our ancestry as baptizers, has its roots in Judaism.

I think many modern Baptists, shoot – many modern Protestants, are not aware that baptism was a long held Jewish ritual.

** By the way, the English word “baptize” is a transliteration of a Greek word meaning “to dip, submerge, or immerse.”

So when we call him John the Baptist – or John the Baptizer – we’re basically calling him “John the Dunker”… John was baptizing people by completely submerging them under the water.

** Many of us have probably heard this text taught like John the Baptizer was doing something NEW, something UNUSUAL, something RADICAL and unheard of, by baptizing his followers by immersion.

But he really WASN’T.

**[LONG PAUSE]** The Jews had many, many rituals about washing.

Rituals having to do with clean and unclean.

Because ritual cleanliness was important to them.

One had to be ritually clean in order to worship in the temple.

“Washing away” your sin before you came into the presence of God.

**[PAUSE]** There were many circumstances where full body immersion was required. This ritual bathing was called “tvilah”.

“Tvilah” was done in living water – flowing water like a stream or the Jordan River – or in a “mikvah”, which was a specially constructed bathing chamber connected to a water source (like a spring).

**[PAUSE]** There were some specific instances one was supposed to immerse oneself, to perform “tvilah”.

Conversion to Judaism, skin conditions, various bodily fluid issues, women after menstruation, after contact with a corpse, and so on…

** OR, just to ensure that one was ritually clean before entering the temple to worship.

**[PAUSE]** The historian Josephus – from whom we get most of our knowledge of ancient Judaism outside the Biblical texts – wrote of a sect of Jewish philosophy in addition to the Sadducees and Pharisees that we’re used to hearing about.

This sect was called the Essenes. They were pretty ascetic – spartan, severe, frugal if you will.

They had some pretty strong beliefs about celibacy, the absence of personal property and of money, the belief in living in community, a strict observance of the Sabbath, and they devoted themselves to charity and benevolence.

They also ate together after prayer and immersed themselves in water every morning.

**[PAUSE]** Most scholars feel that John the Baptizer was either an Essene or influenced by the Essenes.

** There was a community of Jews that lived in Qumran – that some scholars think may have been Essenes, or at least similar to them. This community is known for having created the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Like other orthodox Jews, the Qumran community baptized for reasons of ritual purity. But their “Manual of Discipline”, or the community rule, also stated that a person could not become clean if he failed to obey God's commandments. "For it is through the spirit of God's true counsel concerning the ways of man that all his sins be expiated," observes the Manual, "and when his flesh is sprinkled with purifying water, it shall be made clean by the humble submission of his soul to all the precepts of God."

**[PAUSE]** So it wasn’t the fact that John was baptizing in the river Jordan that was significant.

It was WHY he was baptizing.

He wasn’t baptizing people to wash away their sins…

It wasn’t so they could be ritually clean and thus able to worship in the temple…

No, John was baptizing them to symbolize their REPENTANCE.

**[PAUSE]** Now, that’s a good Baptist word, isn’t it?

Repentance.

Many have this idea of repentance as being SORRY, as being REMORSEFUL.

As asking forgiveness.

But it’s MORE than that…

The Greek roots mean “to turn away from” or “to change one’s mind” or – LITERALLY – “to think differently”.

John wasn’t baptizing people to make them ritually clean so they could go on about their lives.

John was baptizing people into a new life.

A new way of living.

Turning away from the old way towards something new.

A new way that would lead to Jesus’s baptizing with the Holy Spirit.

**[LONG PAUSE]** The Didache, which is, if you’re not familiar with it, an instruction manual of sorts for the early church – it gives us tremendous insight into how the early Christians did church, their rituals and doctrinal practices.

BTW, the word “Didache” is Greek for “Teaching”…the first line of this document is: "The teaching of the Lord to the Gentiles (or Nations) by the twelve apostles".

** The Didache has a section concerning baptism:

1. Concerning baptism, baptise thus: Having first rehearsed all these things, "baptise, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost," in running water;

2. But if thou hast no running water, baptise in other water, and if thou canst not in cold, then in warm.

3. But if thou hast neither, pour water three times on the head "in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost."

4. And before the baptism let the baptiser and him who is to be baptised fast, and any others who are able. And thou shalt bid him who is to be baptised to fast one or two days before.

**[LONG PAUSE]** What about us Baptists today?

Our beliefs about baptism are one of the primary things that separate us from other Protestant denominations.

** So what DO we believe about baptism?

**[PAUSE]** Ask a non-Baptist (or even some Baptists) if they could name ONE distinctive of Baptists and you’re likely to get “Baptism by immersion (dunking) and no baptizing babies.”

** Baptism is only for believers

The New Testament show us that baptism FOLLOWED conversion, never preceded it, and was not REQUIRED for salvation.

Since Baptists look to the Bible as our SOLE authority for faith and practice, we believe that baptism is ONLY for those who have already committed their life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

That public profession of faith, and the baptism that normally follows, are public proclamation that you are giving your life to God, that you are laying it all at the feet of Christ Jesus.

That your life is now His, to do with as He will.

** Furthermore, Baptists point out that in the New Testament a commitment to believe in and follow Jesus as Lord and Savior was always VOLUNTARY. Therefore, baptism as a sign of such commitment should also always to be voluntary.

Baptists do not baptize infants, and young children, because they are deemed capable of making an informed, voluntary decision regarding the commitment to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior.

**[PAUSE]** Baptists are one of the few denominations which practice believer’s baptism by immersion and do so as a SYMBOL of being saved – not as a requirement for salvation.

** The phrase I usually use is “baptism is a public proclamation of a private decision.” You’ve given your life to Christ and dedicated yourself to following His teachings – you baptism is a public demonstration of that commitment.

** Baptists believe that the Bible teaches that baptism is important but not NECESSARY for salvation.

For example, the thief on the cross, Saul on the Damascus road, and the people gathered in Cornelius’ house all experienced salvation without the necessity of baptism.

Baptists believe that the Bible teaches that baptism symbolizes that a person has been saved and is not a means of salvation.

Baptism is not a means of channeling saving grace but rather is a way of testifying that saving grace has been experienced.

It doesn’t wash away sin, but SYMBOLIZES the forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ.

Thus, baptism is symbolic and not sacramental.

**[PAUSE]** Permit me a brief aside here to talk about ordinances versus sacraments.

We Baptists belief in two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, or communion.

We call them ordinances because it was ordained by Christ that we follow those two practices.

They are rituals that symbolize our commitment to following the way of Christ Jesus.

They do not, in and of themselves, offer any salvific value – performing the rituals does not confer upon the practitioner any grace or salvation. There’s nothing supernatural happening.

Whereas, a sacrament is believed to bestow grace or salvation upon the person participating in the ritual. That baptism literally washes away sin or that the wine and bread of communion literally turn into blood and flesh.

An ordinance is SYMBOLIC and a sacrament is SUPERNATUAL.

THAT, in an overly-simplified nutshell, is the difference between ordinance and sacrament.

**[LONG PAUSE]** If you’ve spent much time at all in a Baptist church, you’ve probably learned about baptism symbolizing the death of our lives and our rebirth into a new life in Christ.

A symbolism that mirrors the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Himself.

**[PAUSE]** When we are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we are symbolically starting a NEW LIFE as a Christ follower.

A new beginning…

A new life as a Child of God.

In whom He is well pleased.

**[LONG PAUSE]** Please pray with me…

God, we are so tired.

The holidays were a wonderful, busy time, as we celebrated the birth of Jesus.

As we return to life without festive celebrations, we long to avoid feeling let down or discouraged.

Teach us to listen for your gentle voice.

Help us awaken to the quiet stirrings of new life in our hearts and in our communities.

As your children, called into being by your word, remake and renew us, that we may follow you with joy. Amen.