Rev Gav

Baptism

Luke 3:3

³ Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. 

Reflect

John was in the wilderness preparing the way for Jesus. People listened to John and he had a whole heap of followers called disciples. The people went to John and they asked, “Okay, we believe you. Now what?” and so John baptised them in the river Jordan. Baptism literally means to ‘plunge’ or ‘immerse’.

Firstly, way back, the Jewish nation had been in slavery to the Egyptians. The prophets said that Israel was in slavery because they had turned away from God but God rescued them and part of this rescue featured a dramatic escape through water. Because of this, water became a powerful symbol of being rescued. Secondly, symbolic washing was commonplace. In the Jewish culture lots of things in the world could make you spiritually unclean such as the things you did or things you touched (especially sinful things). You would ask God for forgiveness and ceremonially wash as a sign of being made clean again.

Therefore, when the people rocked up to John, baptism was a way of identifying themselves with the new Messiah movement. They would remember the great act of rescue from the past, and think about the coming rescue in the future. As a sign, the people prepared themselves by getting plunged in water. It was a physical sign of them aligning themselves with God’s rescue plan and getting made spiritually clean — a turning back to God called repentance.

Today, Christians get baptised, and in the same way, it is a sign that they are identifying themselves with the Jesus movement, and showing that they are turning back to God.

Do

Today, recommit yourself to God. You could even do something as a mini symbol of this, like take a glass of water, take a drink and say, “I turn back to you.”

Pray

Holy God
I turn back to you
and commit my life into your hands.
Forgive me for all that is past
and give me strength for the future.
This day and for ever.
Amen.

Think

What do you think it means spiritually and practically, to repent or ‘turn back to God’?