“Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him,
and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor
Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but
among you stands One whom you do not know. It is He who comes after me, the
thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” These things took place in
Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” (John 1:24–28, NASB95)
This is the second half of the questioning of John the
Baptist by the priests and Levites, which we read here, were sent by the
Pharisees. Having established that John was not professing to be the Christ,
Elijah, or the awaited Prophet, but a “mere voice” they now were pressing him
for under what authority or for what purpose he was baptizing people. The first
half of John’s response was that the baptizing he was doing was with water.
Matthew added that John said, “As for me, I baptize you with water for
repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit
to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
(Matthew 3:11, NASB95) John was sent to call people to repentance and to
recognize that repentance by people aligning themselves with God and His
forgiveness through water baptism. It was not the baptism that cleansed anyone
from their sins, but it was their faith, and John was baptizing people in
recognition of their heed to the call for repentance and turning to God.
These encounters with his questioners were recorded in all
four of the gospels and each of them helps to paint a full picture of his
response. This is especially so when we look to the second half of John’s
response. We read in Luke’s account, “John answered and said to them all, “As
for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and
I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His
threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the
chaff with unquenchable fire.”” (Luke 3:16–17, NASB95)
John was sent to proclaim the One who was coming who was
mightier, and as we read was even around at that time walking among them. John
saw himself as very unworthy in comparison to this One, such that he was even
unfit to untie the thong on His sandals. John knew that he was given an
important task to point people to the coming Christ, and that when He came it
was Him who had the power to baptize, not with water, but with the Holy Spirit
and fire. The One coming was truly the Son of God sent by the Father with the
power of the Spirit. He was the One who had the power to forgive sins and to
give life and even to take life. He was the One who was going to separate those
who believed, drawing them to Himself, and those who did not, judging them to
eternal separation through unquenchable fire.
John was not claiming to be anyone special, but on the
contrary saw himself as one sent to proclaim the One who is. And in so doing he
was sent to call people to repentance such that they would hear of the coming
Christ and turn by faith to await Him.
Even today, as believers, we are commanded to mark our
turning away from sin and to Christ by water baptism. Just as with John, this
baptism did not save anyone, but was an outward statement of something that had
changed on the inside. But it is also a baptism that believers are directed by
Christ Himself to observe as we read in what we refer to as the “Great
Commission” in Matthew 28. “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and
lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:18–20,
NASB95) After having heard, and believed, and placed their trust in Jesus
Christ for salvation we read the charge to make disciples who are baptized in
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and who are then taught
about following according to what Jesus taught. This is an enduring directive
that extends past the life of the disciples, as we read “even to the end of the
age.”
So, having been instructed to baptize what do we know about
the process of baptism? There are a variety of forms which have been used by
various denominations and in various settings, but the model of Scripture
appears to be by immersion. When Jesus was baptized by John we read in Matthew
3:16 that Jesus came up out of the water. When the eunuch was baptized by
Philip we read that they came up out of the water (Acts 8:36-39). And in Romans
we have from Paul a description of the baptism of the Holy Spirit which John
spoke of. “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him
through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through
the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans
6:3–4, NASB95)
Putting both the description of the baptism that occurs at
the time of salvation by the Holy Spirit and the baptism of water which follows
by obedience, we get the picture of the latter being a public demonstration of
what has already happened on the inside. In this we are put under water to
symbolize having had our sins buried with Christ, and we are then raised back
up again symbolizing newness of life and that we are committed to walking with
Christ. In being baptized we are making a public proclamation that we intend to
walk with Christ for the rest of our days, and this is all done according in
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (our triune God).
John baptized with water to proclaim repentance in advance
of the coming of Christ. We baptize with water today in obedience as we declare
that we indeed have received the salvation which John said was there in their
midst. In between, we have the coming of our Lord who came to seek and to save
that which was lost.
Water baptism does not save anyone. But we are left with it,
along with communion, as ordinances or commands from our Lord which we are to
follow. Communion is done regularly, just as it marks our regular fellowship with
each other in anticipation of our Lord’s return. Baptism is done once, just as
we are we are saved just once and at that time made new creations in Christ.
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