Sunday Morning Greek Blog

January 26, 2025

Jesus and the “Good News” of Isaiah 61 (Luke 4:14–21)

Filed under: Acts,Baptism of Jesus,Biblical Studies,Christology,Christology,Ecclesiology,Ephesians,Eschatology,Evangelism,Isaiah,Luke Gospel of,Prayer,Soteriology,Thanksgiving,Theology, Biblical,Theophany — Scott Stocking @ 10:22 pm
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Message preached at Mount View Presbyterian Church in Omaha, Nebraska, January 26, 2025.

What do you remember about your first day on the job you wound up loving the most? Was it the people you met or the other new hires you were onboarded with? The excitement of doing something new and different? The thought of accomplishing the tasks that lay ahead of you, either on your own or with a team of people? I’m sure many of you have some fond memories of your first day on the job you loved and beyond.

How would you like to have Jesus’s first day on the job of being Messiah. “Um, son, before you get to the preaching and teaching, which I know you love to do, you’re going to have to spend a few days in the wilderness. Forty days to be exact. Oh, and you can’t eat while you’re out there, so you’ll be hungry. But some guy called the devil will ask you to use your powers to make bread and feed yourself, but you can’t eat it. You’ll know why, and you’ll tell the devil why you know why. He’ll offer to make you king of the world, but you’ll turn that down too, and don’t forget about being hungry. He’ll tempt you to use your superhuman powers, but you’ll turn those down too, aaaand you’ll still be hungry. But don’t worry; I’ve got your back.”

Of course, we know Jesus survived his temptation in the wilderness. But amazingly, after going through all of the temptations and not eating for 40 days and being completely famished on the last day, the one thing Jesus did NOT lose was the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in his life. The temptation passage begins in Luke 4:1 with “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.”

It shouldn’t surprise us then that when Jesus’s time in the desert had ended, our Gospel text this morning says: “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.” This was Jesus’s first recorded sermon (he had already presented many other times according to his “custom” v.16), so he wasn’t new to this. But this was, apparently, his first message in his hometown of Nazareth, so this was a big deal. After spending 40 days fasting in the wilderness, I think most of us would need the power of God’s Spirit to get us anywhere, even just a few steps! Like Mark’s gospel, this suggests an urgency to Jesus’s message and preaching as well as his eagerness to do so. After all, this is what he had come to say and do.

The passage Jesus quotes is from Isaiah 61, part of the “final countdown” in Isaiah 60–66 as Isaiah begins to preach about the glory of Zion and work his way to a discussion of the new heavens and new earth, most likely part of the source material for the Revelation to John. So in one sense, by reading this passage, which was probably just the next one up in the reading schedule, Jesus was signaling it was the beginning of the end of the old way of God dealing with his creation.

Jesus, then, is not just speaking about his own ministry that he’s embarked on, but about the final consummation of history at his second coming as well. So even though the hope of his first coming has now been realized, he almost immediately sets the table to establish that there will be a second coming as well. The Jews had been thinking the Messiah would overthrow Roman rule, but in reality, Jesus is bringing a message of salvation for all to hear because he wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

Let’s break down this statement. First of all, he says “The Spirit of the Lord is on me.” Jesus can say this because in the previous chapter, 3:21–22, Luke tells us of Jesus’s baptism and heavenly acknowledgment that he was in fact God’s son. That’s pretty direct and easy to understand.

Related to that then is the “anointing” that is mentioned, which is nothing more than the infilling of the Spirit, or in Jesus’s case, the visual representation of that infilling that happened at his baptism. But there is a deeper level of meaning here in that this could also be a reference to the anointing that a priest or a king would receive upon taking one of those offices. Those anointings typically involved olive oil to represent the Spirit, but in this case, since they would have seen “the Holy Spirit descend[ing] on him in bodily form like a dove,”[1] there would be no need for the symbolism of the oil. It’s possible the author of Hebrews is referring to this chapter when he writes the following about Jesus in 4:15: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”[2]

“Proclaiming the good news” is an action (i.e., a verb) that we see throughout the Scriptures, but often, we’re left with just that phrase, and we don’t get an idea of the “content” of the good news. It’s like saying, “Read the New York Post,” but then never seeing any articles to read. I did a little digging through Scripture and found several places where we get an idea about what the biblical authors thought about the content of “the good news.”

In Luke’s gospel and his sequel, Acts, he mentions “the good news of the kingdom of God” (Luke 4:43, 8:1, 16:16; Acts 8:12). Scattered through the rest of the New Testament, we see other qualifiers for the good news. Acts 5:42 speaks of “proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah,” the redeemer promised in the Old Testament. In Galatians 1:23, Paul is described as the one “now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” In Ephesians 2:17, he “preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” Acts 10:36 mentions the “good news of peace” as well. In Luke 2:10, the “good news” the heavenly host refers to is the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem.

When the noun is used, it’s almost always translated as “gospel” in the New Testament, regardless of author. The noun also carries some of the ideas of the verb: “gospel of the kingdom,” “gospel of peace,” and so on. Occasionally, though, it’s categorized more personally. Paul refers to “my gospel” sometimes, not that he had a different one from Jesus but that he had a distinctive message and ministry. Several times it’s called “the gospel of Christ,” indicating the ultimate source of the gospel. In the Thessalonian epistles, Paul also adds references to “the Gospel of God” and “the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.” In other places we read about “the truth of the gospel.” Ephesians 1:13 takes that a bit farther by calling it “the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.”

In a nutshell, then, the gospel or the good news is that we can have a new kind of relationship with God. It’s not like the sacrificial system where everyone had to bring a sacrifice for themselves; the good news is that Christ was sacrificed once for all and invited us into his kingdom of peace that he now reigns over. We are citizens in a heavenly kingdom, the heavenly realm, even while we are struggling through life on earth. That is the glory, joy, and promise of the gospel!

For Jesus, at least in this passage, his target audience seems to be the “poor.” The “poor” appear several times as the target audience for his preaching. In today’s passage, the poor seem to be broken out into three groups: the imprisoned, the blind, and the oppressed. Generally speaking, the poor may not necessarily be those who have few possessions. In the Beatitudes, we have the familiar opening statement, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (note the kingdom talk there). That may be supported by the OT version of the passage (Isaiah 61:1), where Isaiah puts these words in the servant’s mouth: “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted.” The gospel writers also remind us that the poor will always be with us, but that’s not an excuse never to help them. Both passages have the line about proclaiming “freedom for the captives,” but Isaiah says, “release from darkness for the prisoners” while Luke understands that as “recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” The first part of that last phrase is a pretty strong parallel to Isaiah’s “release form darkness,” but it would seem Jesus is using “oppressed” to embrace all three groups, or at least that he considers the oppressed to live in a similar type of darkness.

If we continue to take our cues from comparing this passage with Isaiah’s, we see that “The year of the Lord’s favor” most likely refers to “the day of the vengeance of our God.” In other words, Jesus is hinting at the end of the story in his first public appearance.

If you were to go on through some of the following verses in Isaiah 61, you might be surprised to find additional parallels to the Beatitudes. At the end of 61:2, we see the purpose statement: “to comfort all who mourn.” Sounds like one of those beatitudes, right? And what about “Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will filled” compared to 61:3: “They will be called oaks of righteousness.” Even the final verse of the Beatitudes has its parallel. Compare “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven”[3] to Isaiah 61:7:

Instead of your shame

you will receive a double portion,

and instead of disgrace

you will rejoice in your inheritance.

And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,

and everlasting joy will be yours. [4]

If all this wasn’t enough for people to be perhaps a little shocked at the claim he was making about himself, Jesus puts the exclamation point on it as he’s closing the scroll: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” If they would have had the “head exploding” emoji back then, he probably would have gotten a ton of those on his live stream when he said that.

Jesus’s opening sermon as recorded in Luke was not a bunch of braggadocio or promises made but never kept. Jesus lived out all that in his ministry by healing the blind and the lame; stopping the bleeding of a woman who’d had that condition for over 12 years; and exorcising the satanic demons of those so oppressed. Jesus was indeed the son of God, worthy of our praise, honor, and attention. He would show and has shown us a path of “least resistance” to draw closer to God. As we draw closer to him, we build up that strength of character that enables us to persevere even in the most difficult times. May the gospel of Christ bring you peace and assurance this week. Amen.

[1] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[2] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[4] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

December 8, 2024

Advent Peace: John’s Message of Baptism and Repentance (Luke 3:1–12)

Filed under: Acts,Advent,Adviento,Baptism of Jesus,Christology,Christology,Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,Immersion/Baptism,Life of Christ,Luke Gospel of,Repentance — Scott Stocking @ 5:32 pm
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Message preached at Mount View Presbyterian Church in Omaha, NE, December 8, 2024. I thought the message might be a little “heavy” theologically, but I got some positive responses from people about digging deep into the background of the words and phrases.

Welcome to the second Sunday of Advent. May the peace of Christ be with you. [And also with you.] “Peace” is one of the most prominent themes in Scripture. In fact, it is so prominent, I’m pretty sure most of you can tell me what the Hebrew word is for “peace” is: שָׁלוֹם (šā·lôm). This noun is found 232 times in the Hebrew Old Testament, and the New International Version translates it as “peace” or a form of that word over half the time. Other translations of the word in the OT make sense when you think about them, and those translations typically represent one small aspect of the complete concept of “peace”: two of the most common translations are “safe” and “prosper.”

In the New Testament, we find the word for “peace” (εἰρήνη eirēnē) 90 times and at least once in every book except 1 John. In the Old Testament, we do find at times that peace refers to the absence of war or the ceasing of hostilities. But that is a very small part of the way shalom is used in the Bible. In both the Old and New Testaments, peace often means something more like a sense of personal security and safety, a sense of wholeness, or even a lack of need or other strife that may disrupt your life. The phrase “peace be with you” was used by Jesus three times in his post-resurrection appearances to assuage his disciples’ fear of seeing him alive again in John 20. Paul uses it often in his greetings (as do most Middle Eastern cultures): “Grace and peace to you.”

In our Gospel passage today from Luke 3, we see the events leading up to Jesus being revealed to the world as Messiah, the one to come. Luke happens to use the word “peace” three times in the first two chapters to sort of “set the stage” what would be one of his ministries to those who believe. At the end of chapter 1, Luke records Zechariah’s blessing upon the birth of John, who would later be known as John the Baptist:

76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,… to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.[1]

When Jesus was born and the heavenly host appeared to the shepherds in the nearby fields, they heard this familiar pronouncement: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”[2] Eight days later, Simeon speaks these precious words of blessing when he sees Jesus in the Temple: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation.”[3]

Before we look at the gospel passage, some of you might know your Bible well enough to know Jesus made a negative statement about peace. Yep, that’s right. I’m not going to gloss over that and pretend it’s not there. But I bring it up because it does have a tie-in to our main passage this morning. In Luke 12:49–51, Jesus says this: “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.”[4] What did Jesus mean by this? As you read through the gospels and indeed the rest of the New Testament, you find out that Jesus calls us to live radically different lives from the world around us. He expects us to “troublemakers” of a sort for those who trouble us by imposing legalistic requirements on our faith or compelling us to jump through certain hoops that the Bible knows nothing about to supposedly make us feel “saved” and safe from God’s displeasure or wrath.

John seems have a similar mindset in his gospel, as he doesn’t have Jesus saying anything about peace until after the account of the last Supper in his gospel, that is, until he starts preparing his disciples for his crucifixion. As he’s teaching his disciples about the Holy Spirit, he makes this commitment to them: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”[5] The peace he gives will be the peace the disciples need, because he knows they will face persecution after his resurrection, and they will need every ounce of peace and strength Jesus and the Holy Spirit will provide for them.

Now that we’ve got the preliminaries out of the way, let’s look at our gospel passage, Luke 3. The historical data here helps scholars narrow down the time frame of the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry to somewhere between September of AD 27 and October of AD 28. This would mean Jesus and John were in their early 30s. We haven’t seen anything of the adult Jesus yet in Luke’s gospel, nor in the other two gospels that relate the parallel accounts of this story. Luke tells us that John’s ministry to “prepare the way for the Lord” is a fulfillment of the prophecy from Isaiah 40:3–5.

This quote from Isaiah is where we get the connection to shalom peace described above. Making a “straight path” to the Lord meant that a new way of relating to God was on the horizon. This is the aspect of shalom that implies there will be no more strife about approaching God. The Law and its use by religious leaders had become a hurdle so burdensome that it would be difficult for the average person to feel any sense of security or safety in their salvation. This new way of relating to God, it required a radical symbol of obedience to symbolize the break with the old and adoption of the new way.

That radical break was John preaching in the wilderness “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Now baptism was not a new thing for Jews in that day. Gentiles who wanted to convert to Judaism would submit to a ritual bathing, a “baptism,” that was a memorable representation of their cleansing from their pagan ways. But John insisted that even the Jews needed to baptized as a sign of breaking from the legalistic application of the Law and starting anew on the same footing with the Gentiles. The distinction between Jew and Gentile was being put in the rear-view mirror. All people would come to God on the same terms without any bias.

Now I want to give a caveat here: I’m going to talk about baptism here as it was historically practiced in that day, that is, by immersion. In doing so, I want you to know that this is in no way intended to disparage or diminish the importance and significance of whatever baptism you had by whatever mode. I trust you know me well enough by now that I would never do that to you. I’ve shared my own personal journey with you before, that I was baptized by sprinkling as an infant here in this church and when I got older, I chose to be immersed to have my own personal memory of owning my faith. It’s a personal choice we each must make based on our convictions and our tolerance for getting wet. Having said that, if you’ve never been baptized and decide that’s something you want to do at some point, let’s talk. I’ve got connections.

This baptism, and the repentance that must accompany it according to John’s preaching, is the beginning our source of shalom peace, especially as it relates to our wholeness, purity, and security. The word “baptism” is just an English version of the Greek word, βάπτισμα (baptisma; verb: βαπτίζω baptizō), that drops the final vowel. In other words, there was no attempt to translate the meaning of the word, just to adopt the word itself and expect people to understand its meaning. It derives from a shorter Greek word, βάπτω (baptō), which means “to dip.” That word refers to dipping a finger in water or to the bread dipped in the bowl at the Last Supper. The –isma part of baptisma acts like an intensifier, much like the similar sounding ending added to “forte” (f) “loud” to make “fortissimo” (ff) “very loud” in music notation. So “baptism” in that time meant “immersion,” that is, “a complete dip under water.”

As I said above, then, this immersion is intended to represent a complete break with the past for the Jews and the Gentiles, just like the accompanying repentance was meant to be a complete 180° turnaround in thinking about one’s relationship with God. This was the first step in making peace with God: getting back on the straight and narrow path with him. We see John warning the religious leaders, the “brood of vipers” (cf. Matthew 3:7ff), to repent as well. Even the tax collectors want to be baptized, probably because they’re tired of feeling the stigma from the Jews about having such a career. They’re disgusted with themselves and desire perhaps more than anyone else that clean break with their past.

It’s important to notice here the end result of baptism and repentance as Luke and others describe it: “for the forgiveness of sins.” Many scholars debate whether this means the baptism and repentance are necessary for the forgiveness or if that is simply the recognition of our forgiveness of sin apart from the act itself. We don’t need to debate that here, though,[6] because the important part of that is our sins ARE forgiven. This phrase shows up in several other places in Scripture that are worth noting.

The phrase is found in the parallel passage in Mark 1:4, so no big surprise there. It’s found in Matthew’s account of the Last Supper (26:28) with respect to the cup: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”[7] Jesus uses the phrase in Luke 24:46–47 when he makes a post-resurrection appearance to his disciples: “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”[8] Finally, we see it in Acts 2:38, connected with baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit, when Peter concludes his Pentecost sermon: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”[9] The response of the crowd is the birthday of the church!

Now this is a lot of information but let me pull it together here in one paragraph. In communion, we recognize the blood of Jesus would be and has been shed for the forgiveness our sins. John the Baptist says prophetically that our corresponding response to Jesus’s sacrifice should be repentance and baptism. If we read a little farther down in the gospel accounts, we come to the point where Jesus is baptized and we see the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. That sounds very much like the experience of the apostles and those in the upper room in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, which is why Peter can say to the crowd that after they repent and are baptized, they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist says it more dramatically: “John answered them all, ‘I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize [that is, immerse] you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’”[10] Finally, in the gospel of John, Jesus lets us know that he’s leaving his peace with us in the person and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The entire gospel story of our salvation and forgiveness is represented by two significant sacraments of the church: our once-in-a-lifetime baptism (or twice for someone like me) and our regular monthly communion. But we also have a daily, or even constant reminder of our salvation with the presence and infilling of the Holy Spirit.

By the time the apostle Paul writes Romans, perhaps within 25 years of the earthly ministry of Jesus, he has processed all this information as well. The first four chapters of Romans represent Paul’s argument about why we need Christ for our salvation and to help us achieve “the obedience of faithfulness” he speaks about. In chapter 5, Paul begins to write about how this impacts the life of the believer in baptism. In 5:1, he writes: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”[11] Then in chapter 6, he says this about baptism: “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”[12] Baptism, like communion, is another way we encounter the blood of Christ that brings us forgiveness.

In chapter 8, Paul reassures his readers that the roadblocks have been removed, another element of the shalom peace we have with God: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”[13] Finally, in chapter 12, Paul reminds us that because of Christ’s sacrifice for us, we can be living sacrifices for him: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.[14]

God desires to give us peace in abundance, not just in this advent season, but each and every day we walk with him. That peace comes from the blessings he’s bestowed upon us as learn to live out the good works he’s prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). It comes from recognizing the work of the Holy Spirit in our own lives to sanctify us and draw us closer to God. It comes from sharing the good news with others who need to hear it or who want to find a church home they’re comfortable in. And it comes from meeting together in sweet fellowship each and every Sunday as we walk in unison as the body of Christ.

May the peace of God go with you today and always. Amen.

[1] The New International Version. Luke 1:76–77, 79. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[2] The New International Version. Luke 2:14. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] The New International Version. Luke 2:29–30. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[4] The New International Version. Luke 12:49–51. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[5] The New International Version. John 14:27. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[6] I have written about this elsewhere in my blog. The Mystery of Immersion (Baptism); Mystery of Immersion (Baptism), Part Two; For the Forgiveness of Sins)

[7] The New International Version. 2011. Matthew 26:28. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[8] The New International Version. 2011. Luke 24:46–47; see also Isaiah 2:3. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[9] The New International Version. 2011. Acts 2:38. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[10] The New International Version. 2011. Luke 3:16. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[11] The New International Version. 2011. Romans 5:1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[12] The New International Version. 2011. Romans 6:3–4. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[13] The New International Version. 2011. Romans 8:1–2. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[14] The New International Version. 2011. Romans 12:1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Scott Stocking. My views are my own.

July 26, 2012

The Mystery of Immersion (Baptism)

Filed under: 1 Peter,Acts,Baptism of Jesus,Colossians,Ecclesiology,Faith, Faithfulness,forgiveness,Immersion/Baptism,New Testament,Romans,Soteriology — Scott Stocking @ 5:59 am
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Author’s Note (12/10/2025): When I wrote this article in 2012, I sensed I was on the verge of connecting some ideas that I had been mulling over. As it turns out, I actually did make some very important connections between baptism, the blood of Christ, and forgiveness in this article, but I still wasn’t completely satisfied. After reading this again, it seems I was still on the fence by the time I finished this article.

But the Holy Spirit wasn’t done teaching me yet. In 2019, I wrote a follow-up to this article:

In that article, I finally put all the pieces together (or so I think) to understand baptism by immersion more completely. In that article, I describe my realization that Romans 6 is actually the climax of Paul’s arguments about justification by faith(fulness) in the first five chapters of Romans. Paul concludes Romans 6:23 with the familiar passage about “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” THAT is the summary of the baptism/immersion in Romans 6! Baptism is our Calvary moment AND our resurrection moment all wrapped up into one simple act! It also is the basis for Paul’s statement in Romans 12:1 (right after the benediction that closes out his “introductory” argument in Romans 1 through 11): “Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice….” Baptism is that “living sacrifice” moment that starts the adventure in earnest.

If you’ve made it this far, then, I would encourage you to continue reading this article to see my initial train of thought, then read the Part Two article linked above to see the end (for now) result of my thought process. I hope this encourages you to dig deeper, read smarter, and draw closer. –SAS

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading through the Greek NT again this year. I am constantly blown away by the truths God is revealing to me on at least a weekly basis, if not daily at times. On the one hand, my faith has been strengthened immensely by the journey, but on the other hand, after I think I’ve got some topic all figured out, God throws me a curve ball by raising new questions in my mind about what I believe and understand. None of these questions have ever raised any doubt in my mind about the lordship of Christ or the existence of God, but they do compel me to dig deeper to discover more profound truths. Lest I be misunderstood, don’t think that I’m onto some new teaching the church has never seen before: I think Paul and the other apostles knew much more about God and Jesus than any one man could ever uncover in a lifetime of study, although some have come close.


Some Questions about Immersion

One area that I have striven to understand is that of “immersion,” my translation of the Greek word βάπτισμα, which translators usually render “baptism.” The word itself comes from the Greek verb βάπτω plus an intensifying verbal suffix –ιζω. The intensifying suffix in my mind is something that should not be overlooked in understanding the word. Βάπτω means “I dip”, but the intensifier adds an important nuance: βαπτίζω = “I dip all the way” or “I immerse.” I was christened as an infant in the Presbyterian church, and I find value in that practice inasmuch as it serves as a dedication to the parents and the rest of the Christian community to help raise a child in the way of the Lord. But the infant still has to grow and make his or her own choices, so I don’t see it in any way as a guarantee of salvation or inclusion in the eternal kingdom of God.

That is precisely the concept about immersion that I have wrestled with over the years: Is it an absolute guarantee of salvation just because you willingly submit to it as an adult who understands the sacrament? Is there no other means by which we can enter the kingdom of heaven other than immersion? I’ve worked through many of these questions in other posts, and I’m convinced of the efficacy of immersion as an act of obedience at the minimum, but as I continue to reflect on the subject, new questions come to mind:

  • If, as some of my colleagues would say, immersion is absolutely essential, a sine qua non experience to be considered part of the body of Christ, then have we not limited God’s ability to save whom he wants to save?
  • If immersion is absolutely essential for the forgiveness of sins and entry into the kingdom, then is there some mystical transubstantiation of the water into the blood of Christ, since “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins”?

Putting God in Box

Whenever we make one act binding on a person who wants to become a Christ follower, we run the risk of becoming overly legalistic about it in the first place. Second, we also by default deemphasize other aspects of Christian faith which are equally important. Someone might say, “I’m a Christian because I got immersed at camp when I was a kid,” yet he cusses like a sailor, cheats on his wife, and drinks to excess every night. On the other hand, a man might study Scripture, come to Christ according to his own understanding, and lead others to Christ as well, but has only ever known a tradition of infant christening. If I were to say “Immersion is absolutely essential for salvation,” I would feel like I was putting God in a box and denying his power to “show mercy on whom [he] will show mercy.” If God can reverse the physical laws of nature by causing the earth to change its rotation, if God can suspend the law of Moses to allow David and his men to eat the grain dedicated to the priests, then God can welcome unimmersed believers into his eternal heavenly kingdom.

Requiring immersion as an absolute essential presents another problem in my mind: It implies that we have a perfect knowledge of the Scriptural teachings on salvation at least, and by default implies that perfect knowledge and praxis of a doctrine is required for salvation. Paul is clear in 1 Corinthians 13 that we know in part and prophesy in part. We don’t have perfect knowledge. Some things about God and how he operates in the world just cannot be known, and this leads into my second question: Just what is the mystery that is immersion?

Objective Truth or Subjective Mystery?

(Let me preface this section with this caveat: by “mystery,” I mean something something that cannot be known or explained by merely human reason, not necessarily a conundrum to solve. I’m using the term more like the modern day Orthodox church uses it, and as Paul used it in Ephesians.)

Here are some things I know for sure about immersion. Translations will be somewhat literal to stay close to the Greek.

Acts 2:38: Repent, and let each one of you be immersed in the name of the Lord Jesus Messiah into the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Forgiveness is a huge part of the experience of immersion. But there are other ways to experience forgiveness that are not directly linked to immersion, so immersion cannot be the only way to receive forgiveness (e.g., Matthew 6:12–15; Hebrews 9:11–28, esp. v. 22; 1 John 1:9).

Romans 6:3–4: Or don’t you know that we who have been immersed into Messiah Jesus have been been immersed into his death? We were therefore buried together with him through this immersion into death, in order that just as Messiah was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, likewise we also will walk in newness of life.

So the experience of immersion in Paul’s view in Romans is that it is linked to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. But Paul never mentions “forgiveness” in that chapter. The emphasis is on cleansing and purity.

Colossians 2:9–15: There are two allusions to blood in this passage that form an inclusio: circumcision and the cross. Immersion and forgiveness are tied together in the middle of the passage, along with the “cancelling” of the charge against us.

1 Peter 3:18–22: This is the trickiest of all passages. On the surface, it sounds like it is not the act itself that is important (“not the removal of dirt from the body”). But you still have to get immersed to make the “pledge.” Just as marriage vows have no weight without the wedding and marriage themselves, so the pledge is empty unless you demonstrate the faith to go through the water.

Here are the horns of the dilemma I find myself up against as I think about these things: On the one hand, if we are to ascribe to immersion an absolute salvific power, what is it about the act that gives it that power? If there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood, and Paul says we are immersed into Christ’s death, then is there a transubstantiation of the waters of immersion into the blood of Christ, much like the Catholics believe about the eucharistic elements? Is the mystery of becoming one with Christ that our bodies are somehow in the waters of immersion transubtantiated into Christ’s body so that we have truly experienced both his death and resurrection? If immersion is more than just a symbol of our unity with Christ, but an actual salvific event, then there is truly a mystery and a greater power at work that our human minds may never be able to comprehend fully or explain adequately.

On the other hand, if the mystery of a salvific immersion lies in the transubstantiation of the water into blood or some other mysterious power, then I cannot in good conscience deny a similar power to the eucharistic elements, the bread and the cup of the Lord’s Table. After all, Jesus said, “This is my body…. This is my blood.” Jesus never said they were “symbols” as many in the Restoration Movement (my own affiliation) have purported. We have said they were symbols because we didn’t want to be too Catholic about it. I prefer to take Jesus’s words at face value. If he and the early church instituted weekly communion as Acts seems to suggest, then like salvific immersion, there is something more powerful to the act and the elements than just symbolism, wheat, and grapes.

As I grapple these “horns,” I am coming to the conclusion that to ascribe salvific power to immersion, which is the death and resurrection of Christ, while denying salvific power (by calling it a symbol) to the Lord’s Table, which is the body and blood of Christ, is a gross theological inconsistency. Either immersion and the Lord’s Table both have a mysterious salvific power, or they are both symbols that represent spiritual truths but do not effect them (and yes, I am using “effect” correctly as a verb there).

To Transubstantiate or Not to Transubstantiate

Now I do not believe that Christ is recrucified every time I partake of the of the bread and the cup. Yet I cannot escape the very direct statements of Jesus about the bread and the cup being his body and blood, respectively. I understand that the statements could be metaphorical at least, but the reality behind that seems too profound and has too much ultimate significance to abandon to the realm of metaphor. So while I do not think the bread or the cup transubstantiate into the body and blood of Christ, I do prefer to consider there is some suprametaphorical mystery in the act of taking the bread and cup that transcends the physical elements. At the very least, the presence of the risen Lord at the Table whenever you remember the Lord’s sacrifice should put to rest that the elements are merely symbols. And if the Lord is present at the Table, those who partake may call on him for whatever needs are burdening their hearts. Even those who have been on the fence about being a Christ follower, if they recognize this deeper signification in the Lord’s Table, may partake and call upon the Lord for their own salvation.

Nor do I believe the waters of immersion transubstantiate into the blood of Christ. However, given the importance of immersion in the Scriptures, I do think it’s possible that another kind of transubstantiation takes place that I alluded to earlier. In identifying with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ in immersion, we experience the mystery of becoming one with Christ. I think I could fully embrace the concept that we are transubstantiated into the physical body of Christ on the one hand, experiencing his death, burial, and resurrection “in the heavenly realms” as it were. But when we are immersed, we also make the public signification that we are in fact Christ followers and part of the body of Christ universal, the fellowship of all the saints. If you’re not convinced of the latter, I’m not implying any judgment here. If you’re a Christ follower who has not been immersed, I for one am in no position to say that your salvation is in question. God knows your heart; he knows the journey you’ve taken with him; and I trust that he will lead you and me into all truth as we continue to follow Christ’s leading in our lives and study his Word diligently.

Conclusion

Salvation is not merely a point in time when we say we want to be a Christ follower, whether that is in the waters of immersion, at the mourner’s bench, or raising your hand with your head bowed in the pew. Salvation is a process that happens in our lives. If it were not a process, why would Paul say “With fear and trembling fulfill (κατεργάζομαι) your own salvation, for God, who is working in you, also wills and accomplishes good things” (Philippians 2:12b–13)? Our obedience allows God to accomplish his good will in our lives. That is another great mystery that I will perhaps explore at another time. For now…

Peace,

Scott

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