IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 209

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

The Miracles of Jesus (continued; part xxi)

We finally got to our subject matter regarding our ideas on baptism which were sparked by the saying that we have been using as our Quote of the Day below. We discussed the ideas that we have gleaned from the Masters words telling us to “teach all nations“, first reflecting on the right rendition of the word translated as teach in our King James Bible and noting that Vincent tells us, as well as the American Standard Version, that this is better understood as “make disciples of“⁴, which is how it is translated by the American Standard Version, and second, exploring the defining words on discipleship from the Master’s many sayings on this subject. We drew a parallel between the varied accounts by the gospel writers and their use of the words and phrases: “be my disciple“, “follow me” and “worthy of me” and we can account them all as much the same by their usage. We can also look as each of these as signs that one is “accounted worthy” and that one is truly in His Presence and in His Kingdom as the criteria established for all of these ideas is essentially the same.

For example, the Master tells us that:

• “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37-38).
• “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple“. He says also that “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33).

Are these not the same thing and do they not establish for us the parallel in the meanings of the Master’s interpreted phrases? Similarly, the following sayings unite for us the ideas of “follow me” and  “be my disciple” :

• “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).
• “Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo , we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life” (Mark 10:28-30).

Can we see the parallel here, under the theme of forsaking, of the ideas of following Him and being His disciple. To this again we add, as we did in yesterday’s post, our premise that the same ideals that make one a disciple also make also one who follows Him and is worthy of Him and these are yet the same ideas that put us into His Kingdom.

Nation is the next word that we need to understand and we will look at this briefly. Nation is translated from the Greek word ethnos and is also alternatively translated as Gentiles 93, nation 64, heathen 5, people 2 so we can see here the relative nature of the word. The lexicon tells us that ethnos means a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together; a company, troop, swarm; a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus; the human family, a tribe, nation, people group; in the OT, foreign nations not worshipping the true God, pagans, Gentiles; Paul uses the term for Gentile Christians²; we see here a very varied understanding of this word based upon its usage in scripture. Strong’s tells us that ethnos means gentile, pagan; (foriegn) nation, a people³ while Vine’s tells us that is is originally “a multitude,” denotes (a) “a nation” of “people; (b) in the plural, “the nations” as distinct from Israel with a reference then to the entry for gentiles⁶. Under the heading of heathen as translated from the same baptizo Vine’s tells us that whence Eng., “heathen,” denotes, firstly, “a multitude or company”; then, “a multitude of people of the same nature or genus, a nation, people”⁶. In a general context we are likely best to see the word as Vincent explains it from another verse in Matthew where the Master says “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:32). Here Vincent tells us that “all nations” refers to the whole human race; though the word is generally employed in the new testament to denote Gentiles as distinguished from Jews⁴.

Based on all of this, can we see that the basic instruction from the Master is that we, as disciples, are to go about and make disciples of all of the people, the whole human race. Although the purported usage in the lexicon and Strong’s suggests generally that the reference is to people other than the Jews, this reference is unlikely, especially here, as the apostles interpretation of the Master’s instructions does send some of them off to convert Jews to Christ and establishes their own base in Jerusalem. It is also unlikely that the reference here should be made to be understood as heathen; first for the reason listed above and second because the Master had never made such a distinguishment between peoples as He spoke to all. We should see here then that the charge is to make disciples of all people and we should see also the solemn intent of the Master’s idea of disciple as we have it in the words of the Master from Luke’s Gospel above.

The next word in our subject saying is baptize and we need to look at this in the context that we have taken from the first part of the saying: “teach all nations” and as we have interpreted it above. The word baptize is used in reference to these persons and to whom we should be: “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”. The word baptize, in this our subject saying, comes from the Greek word baptizo and for which we get the  relevance of our ritual from the acts of John the Baptist. Let us look at the ideas set forth in our reference texts concerning this word:

• The lexicon tells us of baptizo: to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk); to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one’s self, bathe; to overwhelm; Not to be confused with 911, bapto. The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be ‘dipped'(bapto) into boiling water and then ‘baptised’ (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change. When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. e.g.Mark 16:16. ‘He that believes and is baptised shall be saved’. Christ is saying that mere intellectual assent is not enough. There must be a union with him, a real change, like the vegetable to the pickle! Bible Study Magazine, James Montgomery Boice, May 1989². Here we get the picture that the ritual of baptizing is intended to make one’s union and identification with Christ.
• Strong’s tells us that baptizo means: to baptize, wash; the baptizer³. This is simple and straightforward and without any of the doctrinal references.
• From Vine’s we see this from the entries on the word baptizo, a verb: “to baptize,” primarily a frequentative form of bapto, “to dip” was used among the Greeks to signify the dyeing of a garment, or the drawing of water by dipping a vessel into another, etc. Plutarchus uses it of the drawing of wine by dipping the cup into the bowl (Alexis, 67) and Plato, metaphorically, of being overwhelmed with questions (Euthydemus, 277 D). It is used in the NT in Luke 11:38 of washing oneself (as in 2 Kings 5:14, “dipped himself,” Sept.); see also Isa. 21:4, lit., “lawlessness overwhelms me.” In the early chapters of the four Gospels and in Acts 1:5, 11:16, 19:4, it is used of the rite performed by John the Baptist who called upon the people to repent that they might receive remission of sins. Those who obeyed came “confessing their sins” thus acknowledging their unfitness to be in the Messiah’s coming Kingdom. Distinct from this is the “baptism” enjoined by Christ, Matt. 28:19, a “baptism” to be undergone by believers, thus witnessing to their identification with Him in death, burial and resurrection, e.g. Acts 19:5; Rom. 6:3-4; 1 Cor. 1:13-17; 12:13; Gal. 3:27; Col. 2:12. The phrase in Matt 28:19, “baptizing them into the Name” (RV; cf. Acts *:16, RV), would indicate that the “baptized” person was closely bound to, or became the property of, the one into whose name he was “baptized”⁶. The text goes on to discuss some of Vine’s ideas of the usage in other places. Our subject verse is directly discussed here but in a way that is aligned with the popular doctrinal understanding regarding the ideas of believing and belonging. We will discuss these points as we proceed into our understanding of these words and the Great Commission.
• Vincent tells us this in his comments on baptism of repentance from Mark 1:4; a baptism the characteristic of which was repentance; which involved an obligation to repent⁴. Vincent goes on to discuss the idea of this word baptizo’s use as washing in Mark 7:4. This is rather lengthy so we will just pull from it some pertinent ideas. Vincent does comment on the endless controversy to which this word has given rise⁴ as relates to the different uses and the words used and of the different (called important) manuscripts with apparent confusion between rhantizo and baptizo of which the former is translated sprinkled themselves⁴. He goes on to say that the New Testament use of the word to denote submersion for a religious purpose, may be traced back to the Levitical washings……The word appears to have been at that time the technical term for such washings (compare Luke xi. 38; Heb. ix. 10; Mark vii.4), and could not therefore have been limited to the meaning immerse. Thus the washing of pots and vessels for the ceremonial purification could not have been by plunging them in water, which would have rendered impure the whole body of purifying water. The word may be taken in the sense of washing or sprinkling⁴.

Can we see here the confusion in the use of the words and in the interpretations. Again we should remember that much of our reference text is aligned toward the particular doctrine that the writer professes and we must pull from their words those ideas that make for cogent thought regarding what the Master or the writers of the gospels intended us to understand.

Today in the church there is more said about the different ways of baptism, immersion versus sprinkling or pouring, and the time frame and meaning of it as in infant baptism versus adult, than there is about the real intent of the ritual itself. We must remember that the ideas put forth 2000 years ago were intended to be understood by those people who were indoctrinated into the entirety of the ritual nature of their version of Judaism.  John the Baptist “came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3)  and it is the relationship of this saying to the use of water that we will next pursue.

Remembering also that this word baptizo is also used to directly refer to washing as in “And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner” (Luke 11:38) and “And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables” (Mark 7:4) we can see some of the more repentance related ideas involved. There is no reference here to the doctrinal understanding of baptism, there is however the given direction that the idea of all this is to be clean to start anew and this is the point that we will pursue in the next post.

Note on the Quote of the Day