06 - John's Baptism

Many people do not realize it, but there is more than one type of baptism mentioned in the New Testament.

How many can you name?

John’s baptism?

Baptism of the Holy Spirit?

Water baptism (ala Acts 2:38)?

Believe it or not, there are eight different baptisms mentioned in the New Testament.

We need to understand the differences between these so that we do not get confused as we read the Bible.

The eight baptisms are:

John’s baptism.

The baptism of Jesus by John (yes, the first two are different from each other).

Baptism of fire.

Baptism of suffering.

The “baptism unto Moses.”

Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

“Baptism for the dead.”

Baptism of the Great Commission (baptism “into Christ”).

What does “baptism” mean?

The English word “baptism” or “baptize” is not a translation of the Greek work “Baptizo.”

The word “baptize” was created as a transliteration of “Baptizo.”

Contrary to popular accusation, however, it was not the King James translators who “made up” the word in order to not condemn the Church of England who was sprinkling exclusively at the time.

The word “baptize” was used in:

Tyndale’s English bible (1534).

Geneva Bible (1587).

Miles Coverdale’s translation (1535).

Instead, it was in Latin that baptizo was first transliterated.

In Acts 2:38 of the Latin Vulgate, the word used is “baptizetur.”

In Mark 16:16, the word used is “baptizitus.”

From there, it migrated into languages such as French and English.

The English translators of the Bible, who had been familiar with the Latin versions, created an English word that would be (at the time) familiar to the readers instead of actually translating the meaning.

The same thing is true with some other words in the New Testament as well, such as “angel” (ANGELLOS in Greek), “apostle” (APOSTOLLOS in Greek), “prophet” (PROPHETES in Greek), “synagogue” (SUNAGOGE in Greek), and others.

The Greek word “Baptizo” literally means to submerge, immerse.

It is related to another word, “Bapto,” which means “to dip.”

You do not have to be a Greek scholar to understand what baptism is.

Let us look through the Bible and see how the word is used.

In baptism, one is “buried” (Romans 6:3-4), showing that one is completely surrounded, immersed in something.

John the baptizer spoke of some being baptized with fire, and went on to describe it as “he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12).

It is not a mere sprinkling or pouring of fire, but a complete immersion into the fire which will burn up all the chaff.

Jesus asked if James and John were able to drink the cup [of suffering] that He was going to drink, and be baptized with the baptism with which He is baptized [a baptism of suffering] (Matthew 20:22-23).

Jesus wasn’t asking them if they could endure a sprinkling of suffering, because Jesus was not sprinkled with suffering either.

Instead, Jesus was immersed in suffering, even to the point of death.

So, when we read of a baptism, it is a submerging, an immersion, being completely surrounded or covered by something.

Please keep that in mind as we look at the baptisms described in the Bible.

The baptism of John (Matthew 3:1-8).

The first instance of baptism in the Bible is in Matthew 3:1-6.

John was the first man to command people to be baptized.

It is any wonder, then, that he was known as “John, the one who baptizes” or “John the immerser”?

This was something new, something which had not previously been done before.

Some people claim that baptism is like the ritual washings that the priests and other Jews had to do in order to be “clean” and able to perform their duties.

The problem with this view is that baptism in the New Testament is always something that is done TO you, not done BY you.

In the Old Testament, any washings were done by the person being washed.

They washed their own hands.

They washed their own bodies.

The Old Testament washings were more than just dipping themselves in water, but included scrubbing and removal of the filth of the flesh.

So the baptism of the New Testament was very different.

John’s baptism was in water (Matthew 3:6).

People came to John, and he baptized them “in Jordan.”

The word “in” shows location: they were baptized IN the Jordan River.

John did not sprinkle them, nor pour water upon them, but immersed them in the Jordan River.

If there is any doubt what is being spoken of, John said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance…” (Matthew 3:11).

John’s baptism had repentance as a prerequisite (Matthew 3:2, 7-8).

John didn’t just baptize anyone, but instead commanded all to repent (Matthew 3:2).

In fact, John refused to baptize the Pharisees and Sadducees until they showed fruits meet for repentance (Matthew 3:7-8).

John’s baptism included confessing their sins (Matthew 3:6).

Luke 3:10-14 describes John telling specific people what they needed to do after baptism, and it is possible that these were as a result of the sins they had confessed.

John’s baptism was “for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4).

This is the exact same wording found in Acts 2:38, when Peter said, “repent and be baptized, every one of you, FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS.”

This is also the same wording found in Matthew 26:28 when Jesus is instituting the Lord’s Supper: “this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many, FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS.”

John’s baptism, then, also took away the sins of those who submitted to it in repentance.

John’s baptism was part of his mission to prepare the way for Christ.

It helped prepare people for entrance into the approaching kingdom.

Many brethren believe that those baptized with John’s baptism prior to Pentecost were “placed” in the church without needing to be baptized again.

It introduced the concept of baptism for remission of sins.

It gave Jesus an opportunity to be “introduced” as the Christ to a group of people who were spiritually minded.

From this group came some of His apostles, specifically Peter and Andrew and possibly James and John as well.

It turned people’s minds towards spiritual things, and put them in the right frame of mind to listen to what Christ taught.

John’s baptism was temporary (John 3:26-30).

John’s disciples came questioning him about “he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness [Jesus]” (John 3:26).

They were worried because Jesus had begun baptizing people (through His disciples – John 4:1-2) and more people were following after Him instead of John.

John’s response was, “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:29-30).

John had no problem with the fact that his role was decreasing and Christ’s was increasing, because he was sent to lead people to Christ.

By the time of Paul, John’s baptism was no longer valid (Acts 19:1-7).

Paul ran into some people who had been baptized with John’s baptism, and he instructed them to be baptized in the name of Christ (Acts 19:3-5).

Therefore John’s baptism was no longer an acceptable way of having your sins removed and being made right with God.

By the time of Paul, there was only “one baptism” which was valid (Ephesians 4:5).

John was not the only one who baptized with John’s baptism.

Jesus’ disciples baptized people in the same way for the same reasons BEFORE the church came into existence (John 3:22-23, 4:1-2).

Jesus was the one given credit for the baptisms (John 4:1).

The fact that Jesus commanded people to be baptized BEFORE the church began is important to remember.

Those who were baptized were not instantly members of the church (because it didn’t exist yet).

But did someone baptized by the apostle Peter before Pentecost have to be re-baptized again by an apostle on the Day of Pentecost?

Questions about John’s baptism.

Did John’s baptism make people members of the church?

John the baptizer was killed by Herod (Matthew 14:3-12).

It was after John was already dead and buried that Jesus told the disciples, “I WILL build my church” (future tense) (Matthew 16:18).

When John was baptizing people, the church did not exist.

Did the people John baptized have to be re-baptized in order to be saved?

There is disagreement about this one among Bible students.

Apollos only knew the baptism of John, yet there is no statement that he was re-baptized.

Instead, he was “shown the way of the Lord more perfectly” by Aquilla and Priscilla.

Apollos had been “instructed in the way of the Lord” (Acts 8:24-5), but only understood/knew the baptism of John.

He apparently had been taught about Jesus as the Christ, but did not fully understand that John’s baptism was no longer effective.

So he was taught the difference.

Paul counted him as a faithful brother (I Corinthians 3:6).

This example would seem to indicate that those who were baptized by John’s baptism were prepared for the kingdom and became citizens when the kingdom was established.

Remember that Jesus’ disciples also baptized more than John ever did BEFORE the kingdom (church) came into existence.

Did they have to be re-baptized?

Paul re-baptized some who were baptized with John’s baptism in Ephesus (Acts 19).

These events likely took place some 25 years after John’s death.

These men did not realize that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 19:4-5).

Upon hearing that the Christ had already come, they were baptized into His name (Acts 19:5).

Some common explanations for the differing accounts is this:

Apollos was baptized with John’s baptism BEFORE Pentecost (while it was still effective) and the men in Ephesus were baptized with John’s baptism AFTER Pentecost (after it ceased being effective).

Apollos believed in Jesus as the Christ, but simply misunderstood the meaning of baptism in some way (didn’t understand it as showing the death/burial/resurrection of Christ perhaps), while the others didn’t even realize Jesus was the Christ, and thus needed to be converted.

Was John’s baptism the same as the baptism from Acts 2 onward?

Though there are some obvious similarities (for remission of sins, repentance needed, immersion in water), the Bible makes it clear that there is a difference between the two.

Paul re-baptized those in Ephesus who had been baptized with John’s baptism.

If they were the same, there would have been no reason for Paul to re-baptize them.

Apollos was said to have only known the baptism of John, which shows there was a difference between John’s baptism and the baptism “into Christ.”

Today there is only one baptism (Ephesians 4:5), and that is the one to which we must submit if we wish to be “in Christ” where all spiritual blessings are (Ephesians 1:3).

Have you been baptized into Christ?