The Bible Book

195

According to Luke (3:23), Jesus

is about 30 years old at the time

of the baptism. He travels to the

River Jordan from Galilee to meet

with John. The latter has gained a

reputation for the act—exhorting

local people to confess and repent

of their sins, and then washing

them clean in the water of the river.

When the two men first meet,

John is surprised by Jesus’s

request to be baptized, because he

knows that Jesus is the Messiah.

John exclaims: “I need to be

baptized by You, and do You come

to me?” (Matthew 3:14). Reassured

by Jesus that there is no mistake,

John then lowers Jesus into the

waters and baptizes Him.

Purpose of the act

Biblical scholars have long debated

the precise significance of this

event, since the stated purpose

THE GOSPELS

This detail from The Baptism of

Christ, by A.H. Philippe Sauvan-

Magnet, c.1500, shows John pouring

water over Jesus’s head. Matthew’s

account suggests He was submerged.

Baptisms in the New Testament

Baptism by John (Matthew 3:6)

Baptism of Jesus (Mathew 3:13–17)

Baptism by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:12–13; Galatians 3:27)

(Luke 3:16)

Baptizing believers (Acts 2:41; 8:36)

Baptism of the Israelites (1 Corinthians 10:1–2)

Baptism for the dead (1 Corinthians 15:29)

John the Baptist Like Jesus, John the Baptist is

born in miraculous circumstances.

In Luke (1:5–23), an angel of the

Lord visits Zechariah, an aged

priest, and his barren wife

Elizabeth. He announces that they

will have a son and that he will

become a great man of God. Such

is Zechariah’s disbelief at this

revelation—owing to their age—

that God strikes him dumb.

Zechariah recovers his speech

when Elizabeth gives birth to

their son, John. Luke confirms

that the birth occurs just months

prior to that of Jesus (1:36). John

becomes a preacher, living an

austere and hermitic life in the

desert. He preaches a message

advocating both confession and

repentance, and offers baptism

in the River Jordan to all who

heed him. John speaks, above

all, of a “greater one” who will

come after him—the Messiah

prophesied in the scriptures.

John’s preaching ultimately

leads to his downfall, when

he warns King Herod against

marrying his brother’s wife. The

king marries her anyway, but

she never forgives John, and

John is eventually beheaded on

the whim of her daughter, Salome.

of John’s baptism is a “baptism of

repentance for the forgiveness

of sins” (Mark 1:4). However, as the

New Testament confirms, Jesus

was completely without sin—Paul

writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that

“God made Him who had no sin to

be sin for us.” Jesus therefore has

nothing to repent for, yet still asks

for baptism. The general consensus

is that, in this case, the act of

cleansing is merely symbolic. ❯❯

See also: The Temptations of Christ 198–99 ■ The Transfiguration 234–35 ■ The Crucifixion 258–65 ■

The Empty Tomb 268–71 ■ The Great Commission 274–77

Baptism with fire

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