BAPTISM ACCORDING TO JESUS
-By Dr Muhammad Sulaiman
Introduction
Baptism is one of the core issues in Christianity. It refers to the immersion of the body or pouring water on the head. While, the Western Churches observe the feast of Jesus’ Baptism (Epiphany) on January 6, Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Epiphany on January 19, since in their Julian Calendar, January 6 falls on January 19 of the Gregorian Calendar.
According to the Bible, John the Baptist preached the imminence of God’s Final Judgment and purified his followers by baptism. On the other hand, for the Apostle Paul, baptism materialises the union with Jesus’ death, resurrection and the redemption of Original Sin. However, Christians never ask themselves, what is the real meaning of baptism according to Jesus? This is going to be discussed in this article.
John according to Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Flavius Josephus, in book 18, Chapter 5, 2 of all extant manuscripts of “the Antiquities of the Jews” (1) described John as a righteous Jew. He admonished the Jews to lead a life of piety toward God and join him in the rite of bathing (baptism).
In the Bible, John was a prophet of the Jews. He preached the imminence of God’s Final Judgment and baptised his followers. Repentance meant sharing those in need; eliminating graft and prohibiting extortion (Luke 3:11-14).
John for Muslims is a devout, obedient and honourable prophet of God (Qur’an 3: 38-41). He was one of sent to the Jews (the sons of Isreal).
Was water immersion introduced by John?
Complete water immersion (bathing) and partial washing of some parts of the body are practised as symbols of a ritual purification prescribed by God for all of Abraham’s descendants (Exodus 29: 4).
According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Jewish sect of Essenes, contemporary of John, practised water purification. Today the Jews, for instance, pratise water immersion before Sabbath and the Fall Feasts.
Water purification is also practised by Muslims in the form of ablution by washing of some parts of the body before the five obligatory daily prayers. Bathing is practised for instance before Friday and feast prayers.
Jesus was also a Baptist
According to the Bible, not only John, but also Jesus commanded the Jews to repent and be baptised.
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near'” (Matthew 4:17).
“Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptising more disciples than John” (John 4:1).
Did John and Jesus preach the same religion?
In addition to the practice of the rite of Baptism, John neither commanded his followers to follow Jesus, nor did he prohibit them from following him (John 1:35-39). On the other hand, Jesus also did not object to John’s practices and did not see him conveying another religion.
On the other hand, the followers of John used to fast frequently and they wondered why the followers of Jesus did not do so (Matthew 9:14). Obviously, this is because they were aware that both Jesus and John were preaching the same message. Consequently, they should perform the same practices.
What is the real purpose of baptism?
According to Jesus, baptism or water immersion was a rite for the fulfilment of righteousness.
“Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this (baptism) to fulfil all righteousness‘. Then John consented'” (Matthew 3:15).
What does the fulfilment of righteousness mean?
Righteousness means the obedience and the respect of the law of God. It is the core of the message of Jesus, John and all the prophets of God. The commitment to the law of God is so important that John objected Herods’ disobedience of the law of God, and therefore, he was imprisoned and decapitated.
The importance of the law of God is explicitly clarified by Jesus in the following verses:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore, anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven“ (Matthew 5:17-19).
Therefore, when Paul, abolishes the law of God, he is considered the least in the sight of God. Nonetheless, Christians consider him an Apostle.
“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14).
How did baptism become a core ritual of redemption?
Paul was a Pharisee Jew, who was contemporary of Jesus. However, he never met Jesus and he tortured and killed his followers.
“I persecuted this way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women” (Acts 22:4).
After Jesus, Paul appointed himself an Apostle of Jesus to the Gentiles, and distorted the original message of Jesus (2). One of the innovations of Paul was to create of baptism a core ritual to achieve redemption.
“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:3-6).
Where in the whole Bible did John or Jesus ever mentioned that through baptism, the believers enter into a union with Christ’s death and resurrection?
From where did Paul get his creeds?
In Pauline Christianity, Jesus is the divine son of God. He was tortured, crucified and resurrected as a ransom for the original sin of Adam and Eve. These creeds were never mentioned by Jesus. However, they were prevalent in the mythologies of the Ancient Egyptians and Mithraism.
After the collapse of the Pharaohs, Egypt was ruled by the Greeks and then the Romans. Therefore, Europe was familiar with the Ancient Egyptian mythology. In Ancient Egypt, “baptism” was a symbolic ritual associated with the re-birth of the sun god Ra out of the water of the River Nile (3).
On the other hand, Mithras was widely worshiped in the Roman Empire. In his mythology, he was transformed into a Bull, and his followers ate his flesh and their bodies were sprinkled with his blood to attain eternal life.
The text painted on the wall of the Mithraeum of Santa Prisca, in Rome, reads: “et nos servasti eternali sanguine fuso” (4). This text is translated as:
“And you have saved us through the shedding of the eternal blood”.
Compare this with what Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:7:
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
What did Jesus preach?
“This is what the Lord says — your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself” (Isaiah 44:24).
“I am the Lord, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:18).
“The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one‘” (Mark 12:29).
Obviously, the above verses assert that God has no associates. He is the Creator and the Redeemer. In addition, Jesus in the following verses has asserted that He is inferior to God.
“The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works” (John 14:8-10).
“The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28).
There is no god without authority and there is no greater God and a lesser god. The insistence to follow Paul and disobey Jesus brings the wrath of God.
“Whoever does not obey the Son (Jesus) shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).
If you love Jesus follow the Eternal Straight Path of God preached by John, Jesus, Muhammad and all the prophets of God.
“He is God. There is no god but He, the Knower of secrets and declarations. He is the Compassionate, the Merciful.
He is God; besides Whom there is no god; the Sovereign, the Holy, the Peace-Giver, the Faith-Giver, the Overseer, the Almighty, the Omnipotent, the Overwhelming. Glory be to God, beyond what they associate.
He is God; the Creator, the Maker, the Designer.
His are the Most Beautiful Names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him. He is the Majestic, the Wise” (Qur’an 59: 20-24).
References
- Josephus, F. In: Cross, F. L., & Livingstone, E. A. (Eds.). (2005). The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. Oxford University Press, USA.
- Muhammad Soliman, Was Paul, an Apostle of Jesus? https://islamicbridge.com/2018/11/12/was-paul-jesus-apostle/)
- Massey, Gerald. (1907), Ancient Egypt, Volume Two, p. 855, Lulu. com.
- White, Jon Ewbank Manchip. Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt. Courier Dover Publications, 2002