The Baptism of Jesus

GOLDEN TEXT: “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the Book it is written of Me,) to do thy will, O God.” —Hebrews 10:7

LUKE 3:15-22

ACCORDING to the marginal translation of verse 15, the people in the days of John the Baptist were in “suspense,” and “all men mused [margin, ‘reasoned’] in their hearts” as to whether or not John was the Messiah of promise. But John answered this question for the people, explaining that he was not. He said, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”—vss. 15,16

The baptism in water administered by John symbolized repentance and the washing away of sins against the Law. It applied only to the Jews under the Law. Through this repentance and reformation which the water baptism symbolized, members of the Jewish nation were restored to harmony with God under the Law, and were eligible, through acceptance of Jesus, to be transferred from the house of “servants” to the house of “sons,” with Jesus, instead of Moses, as their Head.—Heb. 3:5,6

Israelites thus coming “into Christ” received the baptism of the Holy Spirit which came upon the church at Pentecost. (Acts 1:5) This was the happy experience of those who were given power [margin, “the right or privilege”] to become the “sons of God.” (John 1:11,12) But the vast majority of the nation did not receive this blessing because they rejected their Messiah. Under the leadership of their rulers, they persecuted Jesus and put him to death. It was these who, a few years later, received the baptism of “fire,” that is, the overwhelming trouble which in A.D. 70-73 destroyed the nation and scattered the people. John presented some of the details of this, saying concerning Jesus, “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.”—vs. 17

The symbolisms of the Bible are very accurate in their meaning. Here we have all Israel divided into two classes, the “wheat” and the “chaff,” the chaff representing the valueless element so far as God’s plan at that time was concerned. On the other hand, the great mass of God’s professing people at this end of the age who do not qualify to reign with Christ are symbolized by “tares,” that is, counterfeit wheat. They are not actually God’s people at all, whereas the “chaff” in Jesus’ day did constitute a part of the nation of Israel, even though of no value.

In addition to announcing the presence of Jesus, the Messiah, John the Baptist was fearless in condemning the sins of “Herod the tetrarch,” or ruler. This finally led to John’s imprisonment, but not before Jesus came to him to be baptized. Since John’s baptism was for the remission of sin, he did not understand why Jesus should want to be immersed. Jesus simply explained, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.”—Matt. 3:15

It was at the time of his baptism, when Jesus was thirty years of age, that he formally presented himself to his Heavenly Father, dedicating himself to do his will. It was then that he received the Holy Spirit and, by its revealing power, was enlightened with respect to the will of his God. This enlightenment is suggested by the explanation that while Jesus was praying the “heaven was opened.”

The revealment of the divine will to Jesus was not apart from the written Word of his Father. Rather, it was the giving to him of the ability to understand what had already been written by the prophets of the Old Testament. It is these writings that are referred to in our Golden Text as the “volume of the Book.”

Jesus’ dedication to the Father was the burial of his will, the complete surrender of himself to do God’s will. This was beautifully symbolized by his immersion in water by John. While Jesus undoubtedly knew that he had come into the world on some important mission for God, he did not know in detail just what that mission was until he agreed to do all that had been written of him “in the volume of the Book.”

It was through the enlightening power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus learned that God’s will for him was to die as the Redeemer of the world, to be led “as a lamb to the slaughter.” (Isa. 53:7) When enlightened, he knew that he was to be “wounded for our transgressions,” and “bruised for our iniquities,” that the “chastisement of our peace” would be upon him, and that by his “stripes” we would be “healed.”—Isa. 53:5

QUESTIONS

What was signified by John’s baptism?

What did John mean by the baptism of the Holy Spirit and by fire?

What was one of the things the Holy Spirit accomplished for Jesus?

What is the “volume of the Book” mentioned in our Golden Text, and how could Jesus understand what it contained?

How was Jesus fortified for his life of sacrifice and suffering?

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