Lesson 864

(Lesson 864)(01-09-14) Mark 1:9-11;

"And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

There has been much written and taught about why Jesus went to John the Baptist for water baptism. Most of the scholarly conjecture is just that, conjecture, most New Testament "scholars" have no clue as to why Jesus was baptized in water.

The answer is a simple one if we do the proper research. I don't claim to be a "bible scholar" so therefore I must rely on the most knowledgeable and respected source of information available.
The source for my reasoning was provided by a Jewish scholar from around 1200 AD named Maimonides, who was and still is, among the most respected Torah (The Old testament history of the Jews) scholars ever born.

Maimonides determined that Hebrew law, dating to Genesis, required all new proselytes (Gentiles) to be circumcised, thoroughly washed (Maimonides used the term "baptized") in pure running water, and offer some form of sacrifice before they would be converted to Jews.

That water "baptism" was part of that same ritual cleansing process that had to be undergone before any Jew could approach the alter for any form of worship.
Jesus was a Jew, He was about to actually become a (one time fits all) sacrifice for all who would believe in Him, therefore, He was subject to all the laws that applied to the Jews of that day.

Jesus went to John the Baptist to be washed (baptized), as required under Jewish law, its just that simple, He did it to fulfill the law and so that He could be wholly obedient under the law of that age and therefore be a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Because Jesus underwent the complete ritual of the law, and went on to be a perfect sacrifice, He fulfilled the requirements of the law for all of us who believe in Him.

Upon completion of Jesus' water baptism God said, "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." God would not recognize Jesus as His Son until He had completed the requirements of the Law.~

Lesson 863

(Lesson 863)(01-08-14) Mark 1:8;

"I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost."

In the above quote, John essentially declared that water baptism had nothing to do with what Jesus was coming to accomplish when he said "I indeed have baptized you with water BUT: He" (Jesus) "shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost". By using the word "but", John established that aside from the traditional Jewish requirement of preparatory flowing water washing, Jesus was coming to "baptize", or permanently wash away ALL the sins, of those who would believe in Him, by placing their souls within the eternal security of the Holy Ghost (Spirit). The cleansing agent that remitted the sins of those who believe, was the sacrificial ordeal of Jesus Christ, the solution into which saved souls were forever altered, through the "baptism" that Jesus would accomplish, was the everlasting security of the Holy Ghost. The entity we all know is the third part of the Holy Triune and that power that seals our salvation.

Jesus' coming, His death, burial, and resurrection, would provide the "baptism" Peter reiterated in 1 Peter 3:21, "The like figure whereunto even BAPTISM doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) BY THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST:"

In this quote Peter is also careful to establish the difference between the two "baptisms" by, declaring that the "washing" of the flesh had nothing to do with the cleansing or remitting of sin, "NOT the putting away of the filth of the flesh", Peter went on to establish that the remitting of sins was accomplished by the sacrificial ordeal of Jesus, "by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."~
NOTE: This subject will be discussed in much more detail as these lessons progress.

Lesson 862

(Lesson 862)(01-07-14) Mark 1:1-8;

"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost."

Today's lesson is Mark's account of the coming of John the Baptist. As this lesson clearly demonstrates, it was the divinely appointed duty of John to "prepare" the Jewish people, and the world, for the coming of our Lord Jesus.

John preached, "the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins". We should pay very close attention to what Mark said John did, he preached the baptism OF repentance, not FOR repentance.

It is "repentance", or the act of changing one's mind from the rules of the Law, and thereby taking on the new law of faith in Christ that provides the "remittance" of sin.

Almost ALL religious isms, teach that the term "baptism", as it is applied in the lesson, implies some form of a water bath can remit sin. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you carefully analyzes this statement it becomes clear that that particular use of the term "baptism" has nothing to do with water.

One cannot "preach" a water baptism, something that is preached is simply something that is taught. One can however "preach" a message. Therefore the "baptism of John", as it appears many times in the New Testament, most often refers to the message John taught, which was that those Jews should come to "repentance". Which is to change one's way of thinking, or to alter one's way of approaching their commitment to God.

In essence, John taught those Jews that the way they had been approaching God was about to be completely changed and that they should spiritually and physically, prepare themselves for that change. Now in order to approach, or draw near to God for prayer or worship, the Law of Moses provided that the Jews were to ceremonially wash themselves with pure running water in advance of that prayer of worship.

John did indeed also administer water "baptism"(baths). However, that water "baptism" was simply provided so that those Jews could remain obedient to the Law as they approached the coming of the Messiah. (The Law of Moses remained in effect until Jesus completed His divine sacrifice, His death, burial, resurrection and ascension.) As is very clearly demonstrated, the water portion of John's "baptism" had nothing to do with either repentance or remittance of sin, it was simply a preparatory action taken so as to remain in obedience to the Law of Moses until that law was changed, through Christ, into the new law of grace through faith.~
NOTE: Tomorrows lesson will be taken from this same text and will deal with John's having said,"I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost."

Lesson 861

(Lesson 861)(01-06-14) Today's lesson concerns the nine times it is attributed to Jesus as having used some grammatical form of the term "baptize", and what that term refers to in each of the nine different applications.

The word "baptize is a transliteration of the original Greek word "baptizo". The English form simply drops the "o" and inserts an "e".

To transliterate a word is to simply replace it by creating a new word in the language to which the original word is being transliterated. This means that the new word, which in this case is "baptize" bears the exact same definition as the did the word "baptizo" from which it was transliterated.

Both our English word "baptize" and the original word "baptizo" mean to place one item, or entity, into another item or entity for the purpose of altering the state of that item or entity.

An example is placing a cucumber into brine so as to change it into a pickle.

An item that has been "baptized" will be forever altered. Another example is that a person who has been baptized into Christ (Put on Christ like a robe) has been eternally saved.
I will provide further examples as this lesson progresses.

I will list the verses in which Jesus is said to have used the term baptize in the order they appear in the New Testament: Matthew, 20:22-23, "But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be BAPTIZED with the BAPTISM that I am BAPTIZED with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be BAPTIZED with the BAPTISM that I am BAPTIZED with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father."

As we can see a form of the term baptize is used six times.

Matthew 28:19, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" This usage brings the total to seven number of times Jesus used the term to seven.(I will explain this usage at the end of this lesson.)

Mark 10:38-39, "But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be BAPTIZED with the BAPTISM that I am BAPTIZED with? And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the BAPTISM that I am BAPTIZED withal shall ye be BAPTIZED:"
As we can see these usages are duplicates of the Matthew account and therefore can't figure into the total.

Mark 16:16, "He that believeth and is BAPTIZED shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." This usage is Marks account of what Jesus said just before He ascended and is a duplicate usage of the term applied in the account given in Matthew 28:19.

Luke 12:50, "But I have a BAPTISM to be BAPTIZED with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" These two usages make nine the total number of times Jesus used any form of the term "baptize".
All six of the usages in Matt. 20:22-23 are clearly referring to the upcoming sacrificial ordeal Jesus was about to undergo, none of those six, in any way refer to the use of water.

In Luke 12:50, by using the terms "baptism" and "baptize" it is obvious that Jesus is again referring to His upcoming sacrificial ordeal.

The ninth time Jesus used a form of the term baptize appears in Matthew 28:19 wherein He 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:"

In this usage Jesus is simply commanding His Apostles to go and teach, to make new disciples and to teach them to obey all things He had told them.

The term "baptizing" as it is applied in this verse, means to place, by teaching, those newly converted disciples into the security of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. (As being "baptized into Christ" or to "put on Christ".

There is NOTHING in the context of this text that implies that one should be baptized into water and thereby baptized into the Father, the Son, and the Holy ghost. That assertion makes no sense.

Jesus used some grammatical form of the term "baptize" nine total times during His entire ministry, NOT ONCE did He use it in reference to water.~

NOTE:There will be other discussions of this same subjest as these lessons progress.

Lesson 860

(Lesson 860)(01-05-14) Matthew 28:16-20;

"Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

　

Today's text includes the final and most important instructions Jesus gave to His Apostles just before He ascended back to heaven.

He first established that He had been given the power and authority over all things, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." This meant that Jesus had completed His earthly mission and had received all power from God.

He then made one of the most misinterpreted statements that exists in the New Testament, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, BAPTIZING them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: TEACHING them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:"

Most religious isms contend that the phrase "baptizing them" means that water is somehow implied as the medium into which we are to "baptize" or secure those we teach. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The action intended by this use of the verb "baptizing", as it is applied herein, is a burying, implanting, immersing, or placing within the NAME OF, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

In Greek, (the language this text was originally written in), the term "baptize" simply means to place one item into another item to affect some form of a change in the first item. To place within, or immerse into, so as to alter the state of. It's use does NOT demand that water be the medium into which a "baptism" must occur. One can "baptize" a potato into gravy to change its flavor. Or, as best describes the affect of the "baptizing" mentioned in todays lesson, to "baptize", or place, something into a safe for security purposes as placing believers into the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. (Altering the state from insecure to secure.)

Again, the word "baptize", in Greek, simply means to place one item into another item to affect some kind of a change in the first item.

How does this alter the common understanding of the text, "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:"? It simply means that, as the disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to immerse, or submerge, those we teach into the concept of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. NOT WATER.
How do I know thats what this means, and how can teaching be "baptizing"?

In Acts 8-12 Philip is said to have PREACHED" (taught) "the name of" Jesus Christ, "But when they believed Philip PREACHING" (teaching) "the things concerning the kingdom of God, AND THE NAME OF Jesus Christ, they were baptized" (they had learned and were placed into the security of Jesus Christ), "both men and women" (Acts 8-12)

As I previously said, Philip preached (taught) the NAME OF Jesus Christ, just as we are to baptize (immerse) those who believe into the NAME OF the Father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost.

Jesus is said to have only used some grammatical form of the term "baptize" nine total times during His ministry. (Those nine times do not include the duplications describing the same events in the four separate gospel accounts.) Of those nine uses Jesus never once solely referenced water as the medium into which a "baptism" is to be done. Example: Luke 12:50, "But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!"

There are two of the nine uses within this one verse, neither reference water, both refer to the upcoming death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, as most of His usages did.~
NOTE: In tomorrow's lesson I will list all nine times Jesus use the term baptized and demonstrate the what I have said here is true.

Lesson 859

(Lesson 859)(01-02-14) Matthew 28:9-15:

"And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day."

This lesson relates the deception the Jewish authority attempted to contrive on the day of Jesus' resurrection, which by the way didn't work. The word of Jesus' resurrection spread like wildfire.
Each of the "four gospels" Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, give a different account of what exactly happened that great and glorious day. Matthew's account seems to relate a much shorter version of events than the others but is careful to highlight all the important points. The very most important of all those points is that Jesus had indeed risen to go about establishing His kingdom.~

Lesson 858

(Lesson 858)(01-01-14) Matthew 28:1-8;

"In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

Today's lesson contains the three most precious and cherished words that the world has ever heard. "He has risen"!

By conquering the grave Jesus conquered sin forever for those of us who have placed our faith in Him. Those three little words mean everything to me.~