Lesson 3514

 (Lesson 3514)(08-17-21) John 3:22-24

    “After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison.”

    There is a very important point that was made in today’s quote concerning the application and intent of the transliterated word, baptism, and more speciffically, water baptism. 

    The author of John’s account of the gospel wrote in today’s quote, “there he tarried with them, AND BAPTIZED.” In the quote, the author clearly established that Jesus performed what has been transliterated from the Greek as “baptisms”, whatever that word might indicate as it is applied in the quote. 

    Our challenge, as students of the New Testament, is to determine just what kind of baptisms (immersions) Jesus actually administered.

    There being NO record of Jesus having ever baptized (immersed) anyone in water, we can reasonably assume that the baptisms Jesus is said here to have performed, can be defined simply as Jesus having overwhelmed his listeners with the word of God. It is my belief that Jesus simply baptized (immersed) his listeners in the truth of God’s word.

    The above difinition and intent of the transliterated word “baptism”, as it is applied therein, is precisely the same as the meaning and intent of the word “baptizing”, a grammatical variation of the same term that is applied in Matthew 28:19: which says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”. 

    The final instructions that Jesus gave His apostles, as recorded in Matthew 28:19, and Mark 16:16, DO NOT imply that the lost are to be immersed into water, those instructions commanded that the lost were to be baptized (immersed) INTO the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, namely the Holy Triune of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. 

    This determination is made more credible by Jesus having said the following phrase, “teaching them all things whatsoever I have commanded you.~

NOTE: There will be more discussion of the difinition and intent of the transliterated word “batpize” as these lessons progress.