​Baptism (part 3) - The Baptism of Jesus

Introduction. God gave John the Baptist the work of revealing Jesus to Israel and to show the importance of baptism to the people of God. His entire ministry was summed up: “preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet.” John himself said: “I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” (Lk. 3:3-6; Jn. 1:31). Even his name bears testimony to the importance of baptism in the early years of the gospel. As Jesus began His work, He too used baptism to make disciples, making and baptizing even more than John did (Jn. 4:1-2).

What did Jesus do with this new ordinance after His resurrection? God clearly made baptism the focal point of John’s preaching, so much so it became a part of his name. What did Jesus do with all the work and preparation God gave to baptism through the preaching of John? The answer is obvious when we read the first and last few verses in the Gospel of Mark (Mk. 1:1-5; 16:15-16):
  • The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the Prophets... John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him
  • And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
While many act like the words of Jesus stand alone or that the apostles were only hearing these things for the first time, that is not the case. Israel already knew God had placed baptism into the gospel through John’s preaching. They knew it was connected to repentance and to the remission of sins, and they also understood that everyone was commanded to do it.

At the conclusion of the book of Matthew, after revealing that all the authority previously given to Moses, the prophets and John the Baptist was now given to Him (see Heb 1:1-4), Jesus intended that baptism would continue to be a part of making disciples just as John’s baptism had done.
  • And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:18-19)
At the end of Luke, Jesus also made clear that the same “remission of sins” and “repentance” that John had been preaching in the early days of the gospel would also continue into the gospel age:
  • Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Lk. 24:46-47)
Since all the apostles were already disciples of Jesus, it must have been obvious to them that Jesus intended baptism to have the same pivotal role in their work as it had held in John’s. While Jesus was alive, the apostles administered John’s baptism for the remission of sins. Now they were to take this message to all the nations and continue with the basic truths about repentance, baptism, and remission of sins.

Since this was to “begin at Jerusalem,” and we have that sermon recorded, we can assess whether these conclusions are true. Did Peter speak of baptism, repentance and remission of sins of sins? If he did, then we know they were permanently placed in the gospel and we should be preaching them today just as they did. As Peter was preaching the first gospel sermon under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, his words cut so deeply into the hearts of his hearers, they interrupted him seeking salvation (Acts 2:36-40):
  • they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins... those who received his word were baptized”
Peter preached exactly what Jesus commanded and the Holy Spirit revealed. Baptism would remain linked to repentance and remission of sins just as it had done from the beginning. Carefully look at the charts as they show the passages side by side. There can be no doubt that what John was commanded to start with baptism, Jesus, and His apostles, at His command, continued.
  • John preached a “baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” (Mk 1:5)
  • Peter preached   “repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.” (Acts 2:38)
  • Jesus said: ‘My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’ (Mt. 26:28)
  • Jesus was “making and baptizing more disciples than John    (Jn. 4:1)
  • The apostles were to: “make disciples of all nations baptizing them” (Mt. 28:19)
  • ‘I came baptizing with water.’ ‘He who sent me to baptize with water’ ‘John baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.’ ‘all baptized by him in the Jordan River,’ (Jn. 1:31,33; 3:23; Mk. 1:5)
  • ‘See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?’ ‘Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him’ ‘Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized” (Acts 8:36, 38; 10:47)
With all these similarities it is evident that God had introduced John’s baptism to become a type of “baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.” He educated Israel about baptism through John the Baptist. God revealed the role it would play in remission of sins, that it would always be joined to repentance (no infants), that it would be in water, and that it was an immersion. Jesus took the foundation John built regarding baptism and created the true essence of what it was intended to become.

Jesus clearly kept the same element: water, and the same purposes: remission of sins, and make disciples. Yet baptism also went through a major revision and transformation. Not only did water baptism continue to make disciples and give remission of sins, but it was also given extraordinary powers! Power so manifold in its immensity that God had to use many other types and shadows as illustrations to fully reveal the power and greatness God gave to baptism after Jesus death on the cross. While we will look at each of them individual in later articles, we will simply name them here:
  • John’s Baptism                                        --> Jesus crucifixion (Rom 6:1-11; Col. 2:11-12)
  • Noah’s Ark (1Pet. 3:21)                          --> Israel passing through the Red Sea (1Cor. 10:1-3)
  • Covenant of circumcision (Col. 2:11)   --> The new birth (Jn. 3:3-5)
The power God gave John’s baptism was insignificant compared to the potency Jesus gave it after the resurrection. Paul explained the difference to some who had only been baptized with John’s baptism. “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 19:3-7).
Conclusion. John’s baptism pointed toward the future. It was a baptism of preparation - a baptism of repentance unto the remission of sins based on the death Jesus had not yet died. John’s baptism was a mere shadow compared to the baptism of Jesus. With the blood of Jesus now shed “unto the remission of sins,” Jesus baptism has the power to truly and forever wash them away. As Paul himself had already been told: “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16)​