"But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!"
In today's quote, Jesus made reference to His, soon to come, sacrificial ordeal and referred to it as a "baptism". We know that Jesus was not using the term baptism to define a water immersion because John the Baptist had already baptized Jesus in water, as was required of all Jews under God's law. Also, there is but one scripturally authorized baptism. "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:4-6)
This is important because so many of today's "Christians" wrongfully believe that water baptism is either a pre-requisite to eternal salvation or a conditional step to eternal salvation. The grammatical variations of the term "baptized" demonstrate that the word can identify all manner of actions other than water immersion.
We will further examine the usage and implied intent of the term baptism, and its grammatical variations, as we continue these lessons.~
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