"Why would Jesus submit himself to the ritual of baptism" is a question frequently asked by readers of the Gospel according to Mark. Consider the following. Jesus was a Jew born to the Jewish family of Joseph and Mary. He lived among Jews. And he observed the entire Jewish cultural tradition, including religion. In fact, on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus clearly stated that he had not come to do away with the Jewish tradition. Rather, he said that he had come to proclaim such a tradition. Here is the entire text:
fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. they had a ritual known as Mikvah (pool of water). Highly observant Jews always immersed themselves in a mikvah prior to the Sabbath and other holidays as a sign of repentance, especially in Yom Kippur. Converts to Judaism had to observe such a ritual as well. This cleansing ritual was observed also in other instances needing religious purification. The tradition is still observed as a requirement of Jewish religious law (For further examination, see Instructional Handbook of Jewish Practice and Procedure (see latest edition). Present day mikvahs in cities resemble small swimming pools. When Jesus came to be baptized by John and the baptizer resisted the idea a little bit, the teacher told John: "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). Clearly, Jesus answer addressed the need to comply with the expectations of Jewish law. Case closed. Congregational Initiation To this day, all believers wanting to follow Jesus and his teachings become members of a community of faith Jesus called congregation (Greek: ekklesia) [Mat. 16:18]. These believers must observe initial requirements by immersing themselves in a pool of water (mikvah) located in the house of worship. The ritual also may be done in a sister congregation, in a river (as the baptizer did) or in the sea. But the ritual must be done in public as a witness to all people of the personal change of status and commitment of each individual conforming to God's expectations of all human beings. In Christianity the term mikvah was dropped and substituted by the word baptistry. The word church refers to the congregation of such believers. However, the term derives from the old Anglo Saxon kirk. To this day, the church in Scotland is referred as the kirk. The term used in modem English is a derivate of kirk or church. How this variation came about is explained by different theories. An acceptable explanation could be as follows. In the Greek language, Kuirios (hour honor) is the word used to identify a distinguished man. The New Testament states that the disciples of Jesus addressed him as kuirios. It is also possible that later when the congregation of Jesus followers was established, their meeting house was referred as the house of the kfirios, possibly using the word kuryakon or kuriake or even some other derivate.
Be it as it may, baptism is a rite of initiation to become a member of the congregation of the followers of Jesus however the gathering may choose to name itself. Three general expectations are clear from the baptism of Jesus. Here these are:
All believers need purification Purification is the prelude to effective service 1. God's expectations includes all believers God's behavioral expectations are contained in the Commandments listed in Exodus 20:1 17, as follows:
You shall not make idols for yourself You shall not make wrongful use of the name of your God Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy Honor your father and mother You shall not commit murder You shall not commit adultery You shall not steal You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor You shall not covet your neighbor's wife nor anything that belonging to your neighbor Exodus 20 on). The Talmud states that Jewish law is composed of 613 commandments. And some one once calculated that we have thirty five million laws trying to enforce the Ten Commandments. When a lawyer of the Jewish tradition asked Jesus which was the greatest of all commandment, (Matthew 22:34 36), he quoted from the Book of Deuteronomy 6:4 9 to identify loving God as the most important command given by Moses. Here is the entire text:
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. the basis of a binding of love. The relationship is to be unstructured. It is to be unprompted by expected benefit or reward. God loves equally all believers, and the believers love God as an end in itself, not as a mean to something else. Further, the fellowship between God and the believers also has a personal dimension. The Father treats each individual person as the unique soul each is according to his or her peculiarities. The Creator and Master of the universe is also the God of the individual believer. Prophet Isaiah relates to us the words of God in his poem about the promises of the Lord. He writes:
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah (57:15). So then, what will happen when we commit ourselves individually to God to develop a love relationship with the Lord? God will respond in kind to our intent, and a growing fellowship will develop. 2. All believers need purification It should be clearly understood that baptism is not a cleansing agent but a symbol of purification. The believer immersed in the baptismal pool witnesses through an outward sign of what has occurred inwardly in his or her person through a self renewal and a commitment to God to follow through with the intent. Self renewal entails a change of character brought about by a change of attitude, a frame of mind predisposing people to act this way or that way. Non religious people, for instance center their lives around success, immediate family matters, relations with few intimate friends, other self interests and life events in general. On the other hand, motivated by a personal belief system, religious folks undergo a revision of values to conform more to the human spiritual side. While they engage in all aspects of the life of the non religious person, the religious person sift all actions through a highly moral strainer, tossing out or modifying any unacceptable facets. For the self renewed person, purification is most important. Purification begins with what Jesus called a new birth (see John 3), a birth to the spiritual world of which baptism is its symbol. At this birth, a spiritual developmental process commences toward conforming more to God's human expectations. Life is enriched by the wide opening of a dimension only crack opened to the non religious people. The purified or re born or self renewed person is a common human being. The opening wide of the spiritual dimension does not alter his or her status one bit. Rather, in a spirit of humility, to quote Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5), this person pays close attention to developing all personal behavior to conform with the ethical teachings of Scriptures. Spiritual growth is a life long function. It begins at the point of transformation, ending with the death of the person. Life will have its ups and downs. The periods of joy will be challenged by times of sorrow. Yet, both will contribute to the healthy development of the person. 3. Purification is the prelude to effective service Baptism as an act of initiation is purification at its best if the real meaning of the act is clear to the practitioners. Baptism is a public declaration without strings attached through which the person states categorically his or her beginning a life of absolute commitment to serve God for life. Believers have seen serving God from different perspectives. Some believers think that worship is service to God. Often, one can hear people saying: "I got to go to church to serve God." Or you hear: "I am going to church to serve God." In actuality, these folks are going to the congregational meeting to express thanksgiving collectively, to praise God through singing and praying. They go to the congregation to hear the reading of the Word of God and the exposition of its meaning with a specific application by the minister leading worship. They go to receive inspiration to continue living the commitment made to God and to receive motivation to serve. In a symbolic way, worshippers go to church for purification and renewal of vows to continue their faithful service. The pastor of the church where my wife and I have been members over thirty years, our pastor, includes in the benediction at the end of each worship hour the following words: "You came in to worship; now, go out to serve." Many pastors pronounce similar words at the end of the worship hour. God is served by serving His world, We human being are his head, trunk and extremities. God works through his people. The Book of Genesis tells us that when God organized planet earth and created organic and inorganic existence, He placed humans in charged to manage His creation (see Genesis I and 2). Obviously, we have progressed to our present conditions because God equipped humanity with the ability do so. Unfortunately, some have misused creation for personal gain and collective advantage. Some examples are the crusades, the inquisition and dictatorships, performing the most atrocious actions on others. And the abuse of some on others in our day gets worse each day, as the mass media reports. How is God served through us all? I advocate for the church putting in practice the old Jewish principle of dtikkun olam (repairing the world). If really we believe that God has us in charged, we should be busy fixing all that is broken in the world of God. The New Testament is replete of passages urging us to do so. For starters, let us put to work all that Jesus tells us on his Sermon on the Mount and then some. |
| THE BAPTISM OF A RABBI J.C.Cordova, D.Min., LCSW |