Read John 3:22-36

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” (Ephesians 4:5, NLT)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

Part 149: 1 Baptism. As was mentioned in the last devotion, the Bible includes 4 perspectives on the Baptism of Jesus of Nazareth. To briefly sum it up, in Mark, Jesus was baptized by John, with no mention of any crowd. Upon coming out of the water Jesus saw the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descend upon him like a dove. Then he heard the voice of God tell him, “You are are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

In Matthew, John reluctantly baptized Jesus after trying to talk him out of it. Following his baptism, Jesus saw the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove. Then the voice of God announced, presumably to all who were there to witness it, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

In Luke, Jesus is baptized by his cousin John during the same time that everyone else is getting baptized. Following his baptism, the heavens opened up and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form as a dove and settled on Jesus. Then the voice of God proclaimed, “You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

Finally, in John there is no mention of Jesus baptism at all; rather, John reveals that he saw the Holy Spirit descend like a dove upon Jesus and he proclaims that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This has been assumed to have happened during Jesus’ baptism, even though it is not explicitly in the text.

With those perspectives summarized, it must be made clear that all four perspectives give us different ways of understanding one baptism. This may seem to be an unnecessary distinction to make; however, it is theologically and doctrinally important to make this distinction because by being baptized and commanding his disciples to baptize, he instituted it as a holy Sacrament.

In Matthew, Jesus stated to John that he was to be baptized because it was important that he fulfilled all that God required. What’s more, in the great commission, he commanded the following: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, NLT).

In Jesus’ baptism we have the model for all other baptisms in Jesus’ name. For Jesus, there was only one baptism, through which Jesus received the Holy Spirit and was sent out for preparation in the wilderness and, from there, sent into ministry. Thus, there is only ONE baptism. There was only one baptism for Jesus. Only one baptism for his disciples, and only one baptism for any person being brought into faith in Jesus Christ. Paul also acknowledged there being only one baptism (Ephesians 4:5).

The importance of acknowledging one baptism is that is acknowledges that what God does is final. Once baptized, God’s grace has been given to us and begins transforming us through the Sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. This transformation is a lifelong process in which we are being perfected in God’s love. There is no need to be “rebaptized” or baptized a second or third time, for our first baptism covers us sufficiently.

The challenge for us is to have faith that God is working within us through the Holy Spirit. We cannot control God or control outcomes by going through more than one baptism. If we were baptized at birth, we can remember our baptism and take the Christian faith upon ourselves through our confirmation of that baptism; however, there is only one baptism.

Likewise, if you have not been baptized but are feeling called to Jesus’ mission and ministry, then I would like to personally encourage you to get involved in a local church and begin to discuss baptism with your pastor. Baptism is necessary because it is a public profession of Jesus Christ as Lord, and it is a witness to the power of the Holy Spirit. For those of us who have been baptized, let us reflect on our baptism and our call to follow Jesus Christ. What does it mean that we’ve been baptized and have confirmed our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Let us be challenged to take our baptism seriously and open ourselves up to being ambassadors of God’s Kingdom as opposed to the kingdoms of this world.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“At Baptism, I received grace – that quality that makes me share in the very nature of God.” – Mother Angelica

PRAYER
Lord, as I remember my baptism, spark in me a renewed commitment to you as Lord. Amen.

Read Mark 1:9-11; Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 3:20-22; John 1:29-34

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, ‘Look! There is the Lamb of God!’”  (John 1:35-36, NLT)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

Part 148: 4 Views. Naturally, following a devotion on John the Baptist we will move into one of many parts on Jesus. Today’s focus will be on Jesus’ baptism. The great thing about the New Testament is that the most widely-read accounts of Jesus’ life, teachings, and ministry were all included in the canon. What I mean by that is that Mark, Matthew, Luke and John were all the most widely-read and most universally agreed upon in ancient Christianity. So, they were included even though there are differences between them.

But as most blessings, there is a hidden curse there as well. Overtime, the four stories are read so much and become so familiar that they begin to blend together in the minds of the people reading them. This is not just regarding individual people, but entire communities and churches are guilty of doing this. One of the most common places this happens is in the Nativity Story. Also, the Passion Story has this sort of hodge-podge storytelling happen to it as well. Another area in the Gospels this happens is with regard to Jesus’ baptism.

What is certain is that all of the Gospels have Jesus’ baptism in it; however, each of the Gospels tells it slightly different. The best way to study the difference between the accounts is to read them all, side by side. I hope you have read the suggested Scriptures above. For the purpose of space, I will merely list out the differences here.

• In Mark, the earliest Gospel we have: Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan.
  • As Jesus came out of the water HE saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descend upon him like a dove.
  • Then HE heard the voice God telling him that he is God’s son…and that God was pleased with him.
• In Matthew: Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan, though John tried to talk him out of it.
  • Jesus told John he must do it to carry out all that God requires.
  • Following the baptism, Jesus saw the heavens open and Holy Spirit descending up on him like a dove.
  • Then God’s voice proclaimed, implicitly to the people witnessing this, “This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
• In Luke: When all the people gathered were being baptized, John also baptized Jesus.
  • In that moment, the heavens were opened (notice it does not state someone saw this…but that this HAPPENED) and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in bodily form like a dove.
  • Then God’s voice proclaimed, “You are my son, with whom I am well pleased.”
• In John: There is no mention of Jesus being baptized. Go ahead, take a look.
  • All that is mentioned is that John saw the Spirit descend upon him like a dove.
    • Most assume that this happened when John baptized Jesus; however, that is because people are reading the other three Gospels into it.
      • It may be a safe assumption, but it is still an assumption.

These are the 4 views of Jesus baptism. They are very similar; however there are some marked differences between them. One thing can be certain, Jesus was baptized and that baptism was like the shot heard around the world. In Jesus, a fire was stoked that not even the Roman Empire could put out. The challenge for us is to remember our own baptism and our own confirmation in the Christian faith. Do you remember the fire you once had, provided you had it, for Jesus? Do you still have that same passion and/or fire burning within you today? If not, why? What can you do to have it re-stoked within you? Today you are challenged to find your fire for Jesus Christ once again, for the harvest is plenty and the workers are few (Luke 10:2).

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
The Holy Spirit cannot be contained.

PRAYER
Lord, fill me with your holy, uncontainable, unquenchable Holy Spirit. Amen.