We have previously seen that Jews practiced baptism, and Jesus underwent this Jewish baptism. What does all this mean, and how did Christian baptism develop?

Jewish Rebirth through Baptism

In Judaism, baptism in water represents a death to the past and a new birth to a completely different future.

It symbolizes death, burial, and new birth. The coming up out of the water did not symbolize resurrection (for many Jewish people did not believe in the resurrection), but of being reborn out of water, like a newborn babe.

This partly explains why Jesus is incredulous that Nicodemus does not understand about being “born again” (John 3:10). Baptism as a means of being “born again by water” was a common practice among Judaism. Entering the water was a way of identifying oneself with the purity of a newborn infant, and indicated that a person was turning away from something in their previous life and making a fresh start in a new direction.

Most everyone within Judaism understood this symbolism. So when someone got baptized, and other people observed or heard about it, they would naturally go ask the person what had changed in their life. If you were a Jewish person and you heard that you neighbor got baptized, you would want to know what they were “dying” to. You would also begin to watch what their “born again” life looked like. You would see if the change they professed really did take place, or if they slipped back into their previous habits and old ways.

Christian Baptism

A lot of this should sound very similar to the instruction you received from your pastor or your church about the symbolism of baptism. This is no surprise, since Christian baptism was derived from Jewish baptism.

With this in mind, we are now in a position to look at some key Scriptures on baptism.

But in doing so, we must remember everything we have seen so far. Just because a Scripture talks about “baptism,” does not mean that it has water baptism in view. Remember, the definition of “baptism” is “being overwhelmed, overcome, or fully identified” with something or someone else.

So in looking at the Scripture passages on baptism, we will first try to determine in context what kind of immersion or re-identification is in view.

If the context is unclear in this regard, we will assume that since Judaism gave birth to Christianity, the baptism in question is a Jewish-style baptism, complete with being dipped, or immersed, in water, and in which a person makes a public profession of a radical change in their life by symbolically dying to the past and being born again into a new, fresh, and different future.

Scriptures on Baptism

We will be looking at these passages: Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:16; several Scriptures on baptism from the Book of Acts, Romans 6, Colossians 2:12, and 2 Peter 3:21.

Are there any other Scriptures you would like me to touch on in the following posts? Let me know in the comments below.

When John the Baptist came preaching and teaching about baptism, he was calling such a remnant to make a public declaration of their desire to follow God in righteousness and faithfulness. Those who came to be baptized by John publicly declared in front of the entire crowd that when they entered the water they were part of the corrupt Judaism, but when they came back up out of the water they no longer identified with the corrupt way of doing things, but were now part of the new order of God which would follow and obey Him in righteousness and justice.

Was John an Essene?

It is because of John’s message of baptism and separation from the corruption of Judaism that many scholars believe that John may have been part of a Jewish sect called the Essenes. The Essenes lived in the Judean desert wilderness, and they too believed that Judaism had become corrupt. To separate themselves from the corruption, they moved out into the wilderness to live, work, and worship in a holy community.

The writings of the Essenes sound similar to some of the things preached by John the Baptist, and their writings also contain instructions for the baptisms of people who join them. Archeologists have uncovered large baptismal pools where the Essenes would have undergone these ritual baptisms of separation.

Baptism in Judaism

But whether John was an Essene or not (I tend to think not), the point that in the days of John, Jesus, Peter, Paul, and the early church, people knew what baptism meant. Not only did every religion in the area practice some form of baptism for various reasons and purposes, but within Judaism, baptisms were a central practice. They indicated a death to the past and a rising to a new life. Following the definition of baptism, a water baptism indicated that a person would fully identify and immerse themselves in a new way of living for the future.

Why Did Jesus Get Baptized?

So when then did Jesus get baptized? When Jesus came to be baptized by John in the Jordan, He was making a public declaration about which type of Judaism He thought was best. The baptism of Jesus was not so He could get forgiveness of sin, for Jesus had not sinned. Nor was the baptism of Jesus for conversion, or to be saved, or to receive eternal life, or any such thing.

No, through baptism, Jesus was rejecting the corruption that had entered the religious and political spheres of Judaism, and was choosing to side with those who sought generosity, honesty, peace, and grace.

The baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan has nothing to do with repenting of sin or getting saved, but everything to do with making a public declaration about which side Jesus is on and what He will live His life for.

John was calling the people to turn away from the corruption, and be restored to a new life of faithful obedience to God, and Jesus responded to that call by getting baptized by John in the Jordan River. Jesus wanted to be fully immersed and identified in the values of the Kingdom of God that John was preaching.

As with other religions, Judaism has various forms of washings and immersions in water. The priests often washed themselves in various ways before sacrifices and ceremonies in the Temple, and men and women had to undergo various ritual washings for other purposes.

Baptism for Converts to Judaism

An ancient Jewish Mikvah site.

One common form of baptism was for proselytes to Judaism. When a Gentile wanted to convert to Judaism, one of the rites of initiation was to undergo a ritual washing of purification called a Mikvah.

The Jewish Talmud, in the Mikva’ot tractate, states that when a Gentile wishes to become a Jew, he must be instructed according to the 613 commandments of the Torah, must be circumscribed, and must go through a Mikvah, that is, be baptized.

The Talmud teaches that when the convert goes under the water, he goes under as a Gentile, but when he comes back out, he comes out as a Jew, born again like a new-born babe, with a new soul, spiritually and ritually pure (Oepke, TDNT, I:536). It is said that just like a baby is surrounded by water in the womb, so in a Mikvah, the person is surrounded by water. And just as the baby, when it comes out of the water, is born to a new life, so also, the person who comes up out of the waters of the Mikvah, is born to a new life as a Jew.

Ongoing Baptisms for Jews

This is a Jewish Mikvah. If you didn't know, you might think it was a Christian baptism, but if you look closely, you can see the Yarmulke on the man's head.

However, once a person becomes a Jew, they will often continue this practice of ritual washings throughout their life. Devout Jews will often go through numerous Mikvahs per year, sometimes as frequently as once per day.

These washings are intended to purify the person from ritual impurity that occurred throughout life (cf. 2 Kings 5:24; Sirach 34:25; Mark 7:4). Undergoing the Jewish baptism was a way of maintaining ritual and moral purity.

The Baptism of John the Baptist

It is something similar John was calling the people of Israel to in his day. The Jewish religious system and political scene had become corrupt, full of power-hungry priests and religious leaders who stole from the poor and the widows to make themselves rich so they could bribe political officials for special privileges and positions.

The baptism of John was not for the purpose of calling people away from Judaism and into Christianity. Christianity didn’t even exist yet. No, the baptism of John was a call to Jews to return to true and proper Judaism, where people were generous with their money, honest in their business dealings, and gracious in their use of power over others (Luke 3:10-14).

John was simply calling the people back to the standards and ideals which God had wanted for His people all along.

First, a word about religious baptism in general.

Religious Baptism

For most religions, water baptism was a form of ritual washing and purification before a particular ceremony, sacrifice, or religious service. It was viewed as a way to cleanse oneself both physically and spiritually before meeting with that religion’s deity. In some religious circles, baptism was used as a rite of healing and exorcism. It was thought that if the water was blessed in a particular way by a priest, it had healing powers which could wash away the sickness or evil spirit.

It was also customary in some regions to “baptize” or wash those who had died, so that any residual uncleanness could be removed from the body, and the spirit of the person could break free of the dead body and be released into the realm of the gods or into the renewal of life and reincarnation.

Egyptian Baptism

Interestingly, the Egyptians believed that it was the god Osiris himself who chose whom to baptize, and he chose them by drowning or “immersing” them in the Nile River.

If a person fell into the river and drowned, or was pulled into the river by a crocodile, it was believed that Osiris has specifically chosen that person for some special role in the afterlife, and the person’s body was treated as a most holy and sacred relic.

No one may touch him, whether relatives or friends, apart from the priests of the Nile, who must tend him with their own hands and treat him as one who is more than an ordinary being. …To be drowned in the river is to enter into connection with the god and thus to be divinized (Oepke, TDNT, I:530).

This idea fits perfectly with the definition of “baptism” as an “immersion” that causes the person to become completely identified with what they were baptized into. The person who drowns or is immersed in the river, become identified and connected with the river, and thus also with Osiris, the god of the river.

Jewish people, however, did not believe that it was possible to become “one with God” and would have considered such an idea idolatrous. In Jewish theology, God is wholly other. So how did they understand the baptism which they practiced? We will see tomorrow.

We looked at one yesterday, the baptism into Moses, although if you count the Red Sea, water was somewhat involved in that one, even though the only ones who got wet were the soldiers of the Egyptian army.

But there are other baptisms in Scripture which clearly do not involve any water of any kind. To some, these Scriptures are confusing because they think of “baptism” as dunking someone in a pool or sprinkling water on their head, and when you come at these Scriptures with that definition of baptism, you end up with a bunch of nonsense.

But when you recall that the word “baptism” means “immersion into” or “overwhelmed by” or “fully identified with” then these passages become much more clear.

The Baptism of the Cup

Jesus refers to a baptism of the cup of suffering in Matthew 20:22 and Luke 12:50. This baptism has nothing to do with water, but instead uses the word baptism with its basic meaning of complete immersion in or full identification with something else. The baptism into the cup of suffering means that Jesus would fully experience and immerse Himself into the sin, pain, and suffering of the world.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit and Fire

Similarly, there is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and of fire in Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16. Depending on how you read these passages, John could be speaking of one baptism or two: a baptism of the Holy Spirit upon believers and a baptism of fiery judgment upon unbelievers (cf. Matt 13:25-30, or one baptism of the Holy Spirit which will come with fire upon believers (cf. Acts 2:3). But whether John is referring to one baptism or two, nothing he says has anything to do with water. He is writing about being overcome or overwhelmed by whatever people are baptized into.

All of this points to the fact that even in Scripture, the word “baptism” means that the person or group getting “baptized” loses their former identity, and is now fully identified with something or someone else. In the Baptism into Moses, Israel identifies itself not as Egyptian slaves or individual people, but as a nation under the headship of Moses.

On the cross, Jesus leaves the realm of joy, peace, and holiness, and fully enters the realm of pain and suffering, sin and sorrow, death and destruction.

In the baptism of the Spirit, the former body of sin passes away, and a new creation is born to everlasting life.

So What about Water Baptism?

What does this mean then for the water baptisms, and not just in Christianity, but also in Judaism, and in the numerous other religions around the world and throughout time that practiced some form of baptism in water? Now that we know the definition and meaning of the word “baptism” we are able to better understand the religious significance of water baptism in these other religions, and in Christianity itself.

We turn to begin looking at water baptisms in other religions tomorrow.

This does not help us when we try to figure out what a Biblical author is talking about when he writes about “baptism.”

But when we recognize (as we saw in the post yesterday about the definition of baptism) that “baptism” means “immersion into” or “identification with” some of the tricky passages in Scripture become much more clear.

Baptized into Moses

Take, for example, 1 Corinthians 10:2 where Paul writes about the Israelites being “baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”

What does this mean?

If we think of baptism only as getting dunked under water, Paul’s statement is difficult to understand.

But when we understand the word baptism to mean an immersion or a complete identification with something else, the statement becomes clearer.

God protected the people of Israel by use of the pillar of cloud and fire, and God helped them escape through the sea to escape the Egyptian army. But both of these protective actions were mediated by Moses. Divine protection was sent from God in response to the prayer of Moses on behalf of the people (Exod 14:10-31).

As a result, the people came to believe in God and in Moses (Exod 14:31). They saw that Moses was God’s servant, and that their survival depended upon Moses interceding to God for them. Every time there is a problem, they go to Moses asking him to intercede for them. Every time they sin and God thinks about destroying the Israelites, Moses begs for God to forgive them.

Fully Identified with Moses

From the events at the Red Sea, the people of Israel fully identified themselves with Moses, and he with them. In the cloud and in the sea, Moses and Israel became one.

Something along these lines would probably make a better translation of 1 Corinthians 10:2, “Israel fully identified itself with Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”

In support of this idea, Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians 10:3 to write about how they all acted as “one” after this, eating the same food and drinking the same drink. He goes on to warn that this “unity” only goes so far, and addresses some issues that the Corinthians were facing.

But the point for us here is that the “baptism into Moses” has nothing to do with we normally think of as baptism.

Tomorrow we will look at some other tricky texts about baptism that become more clear when we understand the definition of baptism as “immersion into” or “identified with.”

The wide variety of opinions on this question are revealed by the diversity of forms, methods, and teachings about baptism. Some groups baptize infants, while others baptize only adults. Some groups get baptized every year, while others will get baptized numerous times per week. There is even a group out there that gets baptized for dead people.

So it is no wonder that people are confused about what baptism is.

What is Baptism?

Much of this confusion can be clear up by simply defining baptism.

The first thing that we must realize about the word baptism is that, like many confusing words in Christianity, it is not a translation of a Greek word, but a transliteration. Since there is so much division and strife over what the word means, Bible translators have traditionally chosen to leave the word untranslated, and just change the Greek letters of the word into English, and leave it to the reader to figure out what the word means.

The word baptism is a transliteration of the Greek words baptizma or baptizō. The most basic definition of the word is “to dip” or “to immerse.”

But do not think that this solves the ancient religious debate about baptism by immersion vs. sprinkling. It doesn’t.

Baptism means “Immersion”…

…but not necessarily immersion into water.

In Greek literature, “baptism” rarely refers to what we think of as “baptism with water.” Instead, the word refers to a wide variety of events or ideas. It is used to refer to a sinking ship or a drowning person, and also to someone who is overcome by sickness and disease and “sinks” into death. In some Greek references, it refers to people who sink into sleep, intoxication, or impotence, or even to those who are overwhelmed by faults, desires, and the magical arts (Oepke, TDNT, I:530).

So “baptism” does not inherently include any idea of getting dunked under water, but rather refers to being immersed, overwhelmed, or overcome by something else. It means you are no longer who you were before, and are now fully identified with something or someone else.

Therefore, whenever you see the word “baptize” or “baptism” in Scripture, it would be wise to stop and change the word into “immersion” or “identification” and then ask yourself, “Immersed or identified with what?” This will help clear up numerous confusing passages in Scripture which talk about “baptism.” We will look at a few of these passages in the next two posts.

Baptism Did not Originate with Christianity

Baptism is not a uniquely Christian rite. Early Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Eastern religions practiced various forms of baptism. A form of baptism is also a central religious rite in Hinduism, various Indigenous American religions, and of course, in Judaism. Other types of washings and purifications by water are practiced in nearly every other religion in the world, including Islam, Buddhism, and Shintoism.

In nearly every case, the washing with water represents purification and a movement toward holiness so that the individual worshipper may approach God to offer sacrifices or pray.

Of great interest to some historians is the fact that the ancient Sumerians, at their temple in the city of Eridu, worshipped the water god Ea. Astrological religions equate this deity with Capricorn, which is the sign of the zodiac that indicates winter solstice, the death of the previous year and the rebirth of the new year.

Of even more interest is that in Greek Hellenistic religion, the god Ea was called Oannes, or Ioannes. In English, we would say “John.” As a result of this, some have taken this to mean that the accounts in the Gospels of John the Baptist were fabricated, or “borrowed” from the ancient Sumerian myths. John does, after all, preaching that the old way is dead, and the promised Messiah is coming who will usher in a new era of peace for the entire world, and that those who want to participate in this new era must show it by going through the waters of baptism, much as the followers of Ea would have done 3000 years earlier.

John Really did Baptize

It is best, however, to realize that John the Baptist was a real historical figure, and he really did come to the region of the Jordan preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And many people came from Jerusalem and Judea to listen to him preach, and to be baptized by him in the Jordan River. And Jesus Himself came to be baptized by John in the Jordan (cf. Luke 3:1-22).

The fact that John is preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins does not seem to fit with the fact that Jesus, who was sinless, would need to get baptized by John (Matt 3:14-15). But this dilemma fades away once we begin to understand the cultural and theological significance in baptism.

To understand this significance, let us begin by looking at the word baptism. Like the word “church,” much of the problem surrounding baptism can be done away with simply by properly defining the word itself. This we will begin to do tomorrow.

But for now, does it concern you to know that baptism was (and is) practiced by other religions in other times and cultures? Do you think this helps or hinders the significance of baptism?

I asked her if she had ever been baptized before. She hadn’t.

So I asked her why she wanted to get baptized.

She said, “Well, …isn’t that what God wants?”

I encouraged her for her desire to obey God and do what He wants, but I also told her that God doesn’t really care too much if she gets baptized or not.

She was shocked to hear me say this, and possibly, you are too.

Baptism is not for God

I went on to explain to her that baptism is not for God. He already loves her and forgives her and accepts her completely as a result of the death and resurrection of Jesus. I told her that baptism is a public declaration of her desire to follow Jesus. It is like publicly stating, “I am a follower of Jesus!” If that is what she wants to do, and she wants to do that through baptism, that would be fine.

However, I went on to tell her that there were numerous other ways of making a public declaration about her choice to follow Jesus, and one of those other ways might be more meaningful for her and for those who know her. We went on to talk about what some of those other ways might be, and she told me she would think about it. She said she was not sure she was ready to make any of those other public declarations.

Isn’t this interesting? She was ready and willing to get baptized, but not ready to make a public declaration among her friends and family about her desire to follow Jesus.

Wondering about Baptism

It made me wonder. How many people who get baptized today really understand what they supposedly are doing? How many understand what baptism really represents? If baptism today truly represented what baptism did in the days of Jesus and the early church, how many people would really undergo baptism?

The solution to this problem, I believe, is not to resurrect baptism.

It is hopeless to try to educate an entire generation of Christians on what baptism indicates, and also educate an entire culture of people about what it means when their friends and family members get baptized. There is deep symbolism and significance in baptism. It symbolizes something revolutionary.

Yet since most people (including Christians) do not understand the symbolism, the solution is not to just keep baptizing people since “That is what we’ve always done.”

But we cannot really “re-education” everybody either. For the symbolism of baptism to work properly, the symbolism has to be understood not only by those getting baptized, but also by those who observer the baptism, including the surrounding non-Christian culture of friends, neighbors, and coworkers who hear about it.

The Baptismal Solution

So rather than try to educated the entire world on the function and symbolism of baptism, wouldn’t it be easier and more meaningful to find an equivalent function in our own culture which symbolized the same thing that baptism symbolized in the days of Jesus and the early church?

But to find this, we must look back to Scripture and biblical culture to relearn the meaning and significance of baptism, so that we can understand the symbolism and function. Only then can we look for some equivalent function and symbol in our own time and culture.

We will begin looking at the Scriptures about baptism tomorrow.

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The church has a skeleton which is identical in all types of churches. Unity and peace can develop in Christianity if we recognize this skeleton as the simple, bare-bones definition of church. But when we focus on the outer trappings, the skin, hair, and eye color, the clothes, the muscle tone, and other outward appearances, division and strife form within the church. Let us return to the skeleton church and grow in unity once again.

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