"Two Baptisms" Sermon: Mark 1:4-11

“Two Baptisms”

[Mark 1:4-11]      

January 8, 2012 Second Reformed Church

            In this morning’s text, we have two baptisms mentioned:  the Baptism of John – a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and the Baptism of Jesus – the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Let us consider what we are being told.

            John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus, was called to be a prophet and the forerunner of Jesus, the fulfillment of the prophecy, “A voice cries:  ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God’” (Isaiah 40:3, ESV).  John was prepared for his work by God in the wilderness.

            “John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.”

            Ritual cleansing by baptism was a practice of Judaism from its earliest days.  One of many examples we find:  “And he who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. And after that he may come into the camp, but live outside his tent seven days. And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair from his head, his beard, and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair, and then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean” (Leviticus 14:8-9, ESV).

            The baptism of John was a sign – a symbol – of God’s Work of cleansing in the forgiveness of sin – it did not cause a person to be forgiven or make a person right with God.  John’s baptism had no efficacy – no power – in and of itself.   If a person was baptized with the water “of repentance for the forgiveness of sin,” but there was no real repentance for sin, that person would still be in his sin.  For the unrepentant person, all baptism would do is get him wet.

            The Jordan River and its water had no magic powers, and the words that John spoke to the people being baptized had no power to forgive or save.  Only God can forgive, and God will only forgive one who is truly repentant of his sins.  If one did not really hate his sin and vow not to sin again – to make a 180-turn from his sin, the baptism accomplished nothing.

            A person who submitted to water baptism – the baptism of John – took part in the proclamation of human sinfulness and the need for forgiveness – cleansing by God.  If he truly believed in the Savior God promised to send and repented of his sins, the baptismal waters would not merely be a sign – or a symbol – but they would be a seal – they would confirm his salvation as he publically professed his faith and repented of his sins.

            In the Reformed Church, we baptize infants and adults.  Infants are baptized to show our belief that we are sinners from the moment of conception and that we need to raise our children in the faith of the Church – teaching them the Gospel of Jesus Christ – pressing them to faith and repentance.  In baptizing infants, we confess that they are part of the covenant community – the Church.  We confess that they will be united with Christ and live lives of submission to Him, if they profess faith and repent of their sins.  It is only at the point that one who was baptized as an infant professes faith and repents of his sins that that baptism is sealed and he is saved.

            We do not believe that baptism saves infants.  Infants who are baptized are not forgiven of their sins by baptism.  They bear the sign of the need for salvation and the responsibility of the parents and the Church to raise the child in the faith and press for a profession of faith and repentance of sin.

            We baptize adults who make a profession of faith and have not been baptized as infants.  (Baptism is administered once and does not need to be repeated for the person who was baptized as an infant and professes faith later in life.  One might argue that baptism did not “mean” anything to the infant, so a second baptism ought to be performed, but as one of my professors explained, just as circumcision was done once to bring the infant into the covenant community, so is baptism only administered once.  Rarely would a person argue that a second circumcision ought to be done because it was not meaningful to the infant.) 

Baptism for the adult is a sign and a seal of the Work of God upon them in redeeming them and forgiving them for their sin.  Whereas for the infant, the sign is given first and the seal is given if and only if the person later professes true faith and repents of his sin, for the adult who comes to faith, baptism is both, at the same time, a sign and seal.

So John was baptizing -- administering the Sacrament of Baptism to adults at the Jordan River.  These people would have come confessing their sin and professing their faith in God’s Savior.  However, if they lied about their faith, the baptism was a sign and merely got them wet.   Baptism only sealed their profession and repentance if it was true faith.  (That is why John rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees who came for baptism and refused to baptize them:  God had revealed to him that their repentance and faith were false [cf. Matthew 37-10].)

God also revealed to John that Jesus – his cousin – is the Savior.  John said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29b, ESV).  God allowed John to understand that God had come to earth as a human – the real person, Jesus of Nazareth – the One Sinless Man – One whom John confesses in our text is greater than he and would administer another baptism:

“And he preached, saying, ‘After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’

            “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.”

            At this point, we ought to ask ourselves why Jesus went to be baptized.   We read in Matthew, “John would have prevented [Jesus], saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’” (Matthew 3:14, ESV).  John understood that baptism is for sinners, and Jesus, though really human, never sinned.  So why in the world would Jesus want to be baptized?

            Did Jesus need to be forgiven of His sin?  No.  Jesus never sinned.  As the author of Hebrews wrote, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin”

(Hebrews 4:15, ESV).

            So, why?

            Two reasons:

            First, “But Jesus answered [John], ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented” (Matthew 3:15, ESV).  Jesus did not need to be baptized with the baptism of John, but, since all humans who believe and repent are to be baptized with water, Jesus participated in it – not because He had to, but so He would have participated in everything a human does – except sin.

            Second, Jesus’ Baptism was His Public Coronation:  “And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’”      

(Mark 1:4-11, ESV). 

            At Jesus’ Baptism, God the Father announced audibly that Jesus is God the Son, the Savior God had sent, and God the Holy Spirit descended on Him visibly and indwelled Him, as He would do with every Christian beginning at the Day of Pentecost.

            Still, we have not said what the Baptism of Jesus – the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is.

            The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  It is the Gift of God in which the Third Person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit, indwells each person who believes in Jesus Alone for Salvation.

            Jesus promised:  “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:25-26, ESV).

            “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

            “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:7-15, ESV).

            The indwelling of God the Holy Spirit first occurred on the Day of Pentecost, fulfilling Jesus’ Promise that He would send the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower those who believe in Jesus Alone for Salvation.  “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4, ESV).

            With the first indwelling of God the Holy Spirit, the Christians on the Day of Pentecost were given the gift of being able to speak in other languages so they could preach the Gospel to all the different people gathered in Jerusalem.  However, not everyone receives the gift of speaking in tongues; God the Holy Spirit gives the gifts that a person needs to glorify Jesus in his situation.

            Paul wrote, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.

            “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Corinthians 12:1-11, ESV).

            The point we should get today from this text is that God the Holy Spirit indwells all believers and God the Holy Spirit gifts people according to their need to be able to glorify Jesus, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit occurs when a person believes in Jesus Alone for salvation.

            One other point:  when God the Holy Spirit indwells a believer, He indwells a believer.  Some people talk about having “more of the Spirit.”  God does not indwell us in pieces – when God the Holy Spirit indwells a person, He is completely – wholly – indwelling a person.  One person may be more mature – more holy – than another, but no one has “more” of the Holy Spirit than another.

            What then shall we conclude?

            Water baptism – like John’s – like what we do in the Church today – is symbolic of being washed clean and it becomes a seal of being washed clean from sin when one professes faith.  Baptism is a one-time event.  We baptize infants to acknowledge their sinfulness and need of a Savior and the responsibility of the whole Church to raise the child in the faith and press him to faith and repentance.  We baptize adults who make a profession of faith and repent of their sins.

            Jesus was baptized that He might participate in baptism, just as do all people who believe savingly in Jesus.  It was also an opportunity for an audible announcement from God that Jesus is the Savior God had promised to send – one more reason that we are all without excuse if we do not believe in Him.

            The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised all believers.  Since the Day of Pentecost, when a person truly professes faith in Jesus Alone and repents of his sin, God the Holy Spirit indwells him and gifts him to be able to do all that God has planned for him – enabling him to glorify Jesus.  Christians immediately receive the One Whole Person, God the Holy Spirit, but they receive different gifts as the Spirit knows we need them, and we use them according to our progress in sanctification – depending on how far along we are in becoming holy.

            If you have believed savingly in Jesus and you have not been baptized, you should be.  Come talk with me about it.

            If you have believed in Jesus savingly, know that God the Holy Spirit lives in you and will help you to live a life that is pleasing and glorifying to Jesus.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, we thank You for the sign that You have given us in the Sacrament of Baptism, and we thank You for the Gift of the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.  Help us to turn from sin and follow after You by the grace of the Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.