Which Baptism?

January 11, 2015

By John Partridge
Scripture: Genesis 1:1-5

Acts 19:1-7

Mark 1:4-11

How many choices have you made today? Probably, even by nine or ten oclock in the morning, you
have made an astonishing number of choices. Should I get out of bed or not? Should I brush my
teeth or not? Colgate or Crest? Corn Flakes or Crispies? Do I want butter, or syrup or both?
We also have to choose how we understand the world around us. When your spouse asks you to go and
warm up the car, if you have more than one, you have to choose which one to warm up, but also which
one he or she meant when they asked you to do it. When someone makes a joke about the price of gas,
it makes a difference whether you are standing in line at Speedway or at Taco Bell. When someone
shouts, Fire it makes a huge difference whether you are in a movie theater or on the shooting range of
your local gun club.
We often have to make these decisions to discern between possible choices. If we are at the docks and
a friend sends us a text message to meet them at the ship, the obvious question that must be answered
is, Which ship?
If a family member says to meet at home or at the house and the family owns several homes, in
town, out of town, and at the resort, family members have to determine, which house was intended.
But for most of us saying at the house or at home tells us exactly where they intend to meet us.
But what if this got mixed up? What if you asked a family member to meet them at the house, and
they replied by asking, Which house?
If you only owned one house you would be confused.
And this is exactly the sort of thing that happens in our scripture lesson today. But to understand the
confusion, we must back up and begin at the beginning.
The very beginning. (Genesis 1:1-5)
1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty,
darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3

And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he
separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness he called night.
And there was evening, and there was morningthe first day.
From this we learn that the Spirit of God was a part of creation, not as a created being, but as a part of
the creator, from the very beginning and even before the beginning. From the very beginning, the
Spirit of God has been a creator, an initiator, the one who begins things.
And so, in Mark 1:4-11, we remember the story of John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus
1

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him.
Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of
camels hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his
message: After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy
to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
9

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as
Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him
like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well
pleased.
At the moment that Jesus was baptized by John, the Spirit of God, once again, is there. This is, just as
it was at creation, a pivotal moment in history. Just as it was at creation, something new, amazing, is
happening that will completely transform the world. And, as it was before, the Spirit of God is there,
and at work, and has a part in initiating or beginning, this transformation. The Spirit of God is there,
and takes part in the moment that Jesus begins his ministry on earth. But this scene is also at the root of
the confusion that I was describing a few moments ago.
John had been baptizing a great many people who came from all over the region as a sign of repentance
of sin. Being washed in the water had already been a symbol for washing and purification long before
this. Everyone understood that what they were doing was an outward symbol of asking God for
forgiveness and spiritual purification.
But Jesus didnt need forgiveness or purification.
Jesus had lived a perfect and sinless life, and so many of us wonder why he came?
For Jesus, the symbol was important, but there was more to it than that. John understood the difference
and his words reveal that difference to us. John said, 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit.
It is impossible to give away something that you do not have. And so, Jesus, although he is fully God,
he is also fully human, at this moment, before he begins his ministry, it is possible that he must receive
the Baptism of the Spirit of God. But John does not have the baptism of the Spirit and cannot give it
and so God comes down from heaven and is a participant in the baptism of Jesus.
And all of this brings us to Acts 19:1-7, where Paul meets some disciples of John, and thoroughly
confuses them.
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he
found some disciples 2 and asked them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?
They answered, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.
3

So Paul asked, Then what baptism did you receive?

Johns baptism, they replied.

4

Paul said, Johns baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one
coming after him, that is, in Jesus. 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6
When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and
prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
Paul meets disciples who are followers of Jesus, who may have originally been followers of John the
Baptist, and who have not ever heard of the Holy Spirit. They know what baptism is, but for them
there is only one thing called baptism. Much like people who only own one house, the question,
Which house? is confusing. And so, when Paul asked these believers what baptism they had
received, they were more than a little puzzled. They were baptized by John, or by Johns followers, as
a symbol of their repentance and that was all that they knew. But Paul explains that there is more.
Johns baptism was a call to repentance, a call to turn away from the darkness and turn toward the light
in order to prepare the way for the arrival of the Messiah. But being baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ was something different. Just like that moment when the Spirit of God participated in the
baptism of Jesus, the baptism of Jesus Christ involves the participation of the Spirit. Once they
understood the difference, they immediately desired to be baptized in the name of Jesus and when they
were, the Spirit of God came upon then, filled them, and took up residence within them.
In this short story we see something important about baptism. The priests and the worshippers who
came to the Temple had to past through a ritual bath in order to be symbolically purified before
entering. They washed the outside but on the inside they were the same as they were before. John
baptized in the Jordan River but the baptism of John did not have eternal significance. It was symbolic
of the desire of that one person to make a change, but Johns baptism was not able to make a change, or
to help them to change. But with the coming of Jesus Christ, and his baptism, and the participation of
the Spirit of God, everything changed.
The ritual bath at the Temple was a symbol of purification but had no real power.
The baptism of John was a symbol of repentance but had no real power.
But the baptism of Jesus Christ is altogether different. The baptism of Jesus invites the Spirit of God to
inhabit us, to take up residence within us, so that we are not powerless. While we might not often see
believers speaking in tongues or prophecy, we do see transformation and changed lives. The baptism
of Jesus Christ has real power to change lives and to change the world because it invites the Spirit of
God to be at work within us. This is why we meet people who have walked away from sex, drugs,
alcohol, and all sorts of sinful lives and who give credit to God for giving them the strength to do it.
Once we have accepted Christ and have been baptized, we are no longer alone. We are no longer
powerless. The Spirit of God has taken up residence inside of us and is at work drawing us toward
Jesus Christ, transforming our lives (if we will let him), and helping us, day by day, to become more
like Jesus.
If you have accepted Christ and have been baptized, then you already have the Spirit of God living
within you, at work in you, changing you, transforming you, and helping you to do the will of God. It
is because the Spirit lives within us that we are able to do more than we could humanly do on our own.

This is how God has chosen to do his will in the world.

This is how God has chosen to transform the world.
God has chosen to work through his people.
And so the question that we must all ask ourselves is
If God has taken up residence inside of me, because he intends to change the world through me, then
What is God is doing through me?
What is it that God is doing through you?

You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first
page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry heights in Massillon, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part
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