Gary: In service of my risen Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Maranatha!

VOCATION

JESUS CHRIST’S MISSION WAS REVEALED AT HIS BAPTISM

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” MARK 1:9-11

There is continuity between John’s baptism of repentance (Mark 1:4) and the trinitarian baptism instituted by Jesus (Matt. 28:19). Both were symbols of cleansing and had remission of sins in view (Mark 1:4; Acts 2:38). They were not identical, however, and those baptized by John needed Christian baptism too (Acts 19:5). Christian baptism is an initiatory sign pointing to a relationship with the Christ who has come (it is called baptism in Christ’s name in Acts 2:38; 10:48; 19:5); John’s baptism was a preparatory rite, signifying readiness for the coming of the Christ and for his judgment (Matt. 3:7-12; Luke 3:7-18; Acts 19:4).

John’s baptism was a radical innovation. Previously, only Gentiles converting to Judaism had been required to undergo a symbolic washing. Now, however, God through John was commanding all Jews to signify their repentance by being publicly washed. Most Jewish leaders thought John’s requirement was heretical and insulting (Matt. 21:25-26).

Jesus insisted that John, his cousin, must baptize him, overriding John’s protests (Matt. 3:13-15). In his role as Messiah, “born under law” (Gal. 4:4), Jesus had to submit to all God’s requirements of Israel and to identify with those whose sins he had come to bear. His baptism proclaimed that he had come to take the sinner’s place under God’s penal judgment. This is the sense in which he was baptized “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15; cf. Isa. 53:11).

His baptism was a manifestation of the Trinity: the Father spoke from the sky, and the dove descended, a sign of the Spirit’s anointing. The meaning of the dove descending and abiding was not that Jesus had not previously been Spirit-filled but that he was now being marked out as the Spirit-bearer who would become the Spirit-baptizer (John 1:32-33) and so bring in the age of the Spirit that was to fulfill Israel’s hopes (Luke 4:1, 14, 18-21).


Title: Concise Theology: A Guide To Historic Christian Beliefs
Section: God Revealed as Redeemer
Author: Packer, J.I. (James Innell)
Index: Concise Theology index – CLICK HERE

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