To B or not To B(aptize)

By now I hope you understand that I am wanting to have some fun with this series on “living Biblically”.  But, I am serious about the Bible and I do attempt to study it with the goal of letting my life be formed by it’s central character, that of course being Jesus. It might be important to keep in mind through this that the gift of God to the world was not a book, but a person. We study the book to know the person so we can follow him. I love the book because I love Jesus. I have to keep this in mind because growing up I always heard people say: “He (she) sure knows his Bible.” That was the highest compliment a person could give concerning someone. And, it is a good one! But, I never heard growing up, not one time: “She (he) really knows Jesus.”

I believe it is entirely possible, from personal experience, to know the book and not know Jesus. Maybe, then, this series should be entitled “Living Jesus-ly.” But to do that I must at the same time live biblically, because that is my source of information concerning Jesus.  That and the 700 club. (;

Jesus begins his ministry by convincing John to baptize him.  After he was baptized, standing there dripping wet on the creek bank , the heavens opened, the Spirit of God descended like a dove and a voice from heaven spoke declaring Jesus to be God’s delightful Son. Then, Jesus was driven by that same Spirit into the wilderness where he fasted forty days and nights and faced down the devil.

In living biblically, we follow the river example but not the desert example. Not hard to figure that one out. But, to be fair, we are later commanded to be baptized but fasting and times of solitude seem to be options, although Jesus left several examples (along with the Apostles) of both disciplines.

Jesus was also “led” by the Spirit after it’s visible manifestation by the dove. Paul would tell us to be led by the Spirit. The church I grew up in is debating this whole issue right now with some saying the Spirit is only in the Word. In other words, when one is baptized, a King James Bible falls out of heaven and clunks them on the head. I think the dove would be more gentle.

Baptism is easy, being led by the Spirit isn’t always. Maybe that is why we attach ourselves like a leech to the one and not the other. But, just as Jesus inaugurates his mission by water baptism and the descent of the Spirit, we also begin our mission the same way. To start without either one is a false start.

The beauty of it is in Jesus’ words: “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus didn’t say this is how I fulfill all righteousness, but how we (he and John) do it. Jesus confirms John’s prophetic ministry and authenticates his message while bringing it to an end in the beginning of his own. He would become greater while John would fade. From now on, baptism would be different, because beyond ritual cleansing there would be the something new: The gift of the Spirit, a delighted Father and adopted children. Who wouldn’t want to follow that command? In my years of ministry I have never had to convince people concerning baptism when I preached Jesus.

Oh, and Jesus fulfilled “all righteousness.” I didn’t add any of my own to it. In the Old and New Testament righteousness is not a matter of actions conforming to legal standards, but is about how one fulfills their obligations to a relationship. It is always a relational term. It is connected to God’s saving acts on behalf of his people. God shows righteousness by saving us, we are righteous by our faith in his actions and love. Jesus fulfills all righteousness by his identifying himself with all of sinful humanity in his baptism and later the cross. But only as the Son of God would it make a difference for us.  John was right, he should have been baptized by Jesus, but Jesus instead needed John to baptize him.  He came, like we all do, into this world, needing help from others to fulfill our purpose. He didn’t diminish John but rather affirmed him by saying in effect: “I need you to join with me to fulfill my task and begin this mission of salvation.” Being human means being needy, and Jesus embraced all of what it means to be human. His baptism didn’t just declare him to be the Son of God, it also declared him to be the son of man.

Living Biblically then, means that baptism isn’t just about us getting saved, it is about the Spirit leading us into all the world, for the sake of others. And that’s living pretty Jesus-ly.