Taking the Plunge: Baptism In Acts (Acts 2, 8, 10, 16)

[This article was also posted on my pastoral blog Our Long View.]

Last Sunday, we celebrated the baptism of eight souls. However, in response to a number of tragic shootings in our country in the last couple of weeks, we took extended time to seek God in prayer for justice and reconciliation in our nation. The president of our denomination, Glenn Burris Jr., had sent a letter to all our churches entitled, Call to Prayer and Action from which we took our prayer focus. This is not a new topic to us as recent sermons have touched on issues such as civil disobedience, and passive racism from the text of Acts. Our congregational readings included 2 Corinthians 5:4 "we groan"; and verse 16, "From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh" (e.g., our family line, wealth, height, race, education, religious affiliation, etc.). We also read 1 John 4:10-11, and 19-21,

“If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Then since we were doing baptism I did a short message on Baptism in Acts showing the road of reconciliation the church should take in matters such as we are facing today. We had the joy of baptizing 8 souls!

Our culture may emphasize our divisions (see list above), but the Book of Acts shows how we all come into the church the same way—through repentance and baptism. It also demonstrates that all who follow Jesus in faith may come, no matter how counter-cultural it may be.

Acts 2:37-38 Inclusively Translated 

The Apostle Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost was spoken to Jews gathered from many different cultures and languages. It contained the message of the resurrected Christ. In response to their question about how they should respond, Peter said, “Repent and be baptized.” 3000 souls were added to the church that day. Notice that the number was not broken down according to our popular demographic dividers (men, women, adults, children, race, education, income, etc.). The gospel message was not subject to the cultural biases of that day, even within Judaism. The message was for all audiences, in their diverse heart languages, not in the color-blind way of cultural conformity. Since language is tied to culture, we see the diversity of languages as indicating that the gospel was for all cultures.

Acts 8 Including the Excluded

After the persecution of the church broke out in Jerusalem and Judea, Philip the Evangelist expanded the Mission in partial fulfillment of Jesus’ command in Acts 1:8. In the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, he preached, healed, and baptized...

• v.12 Even the hated Samaritans (a racially and religiously mixed people) responded to the gospel, believed, and were baptized, both men and women!
• v. 35-38 An Ethiopian Eunuch, treasurer to the queen of what would be modern-day Sudan, was eager to be baptized after learning about Jesus Christ. It is important to note that he was a non-Jew black man who had come to worship God in Jerusalem, but he did so as one who had a physical exclusion as a eunuch that would have kept him from full inclusion in Judaism (Deut. 23:1). However, the one who could not come close in the past was now in Christ included. Ironically, when Philip struck up a conversation with him, the man was puzzled as he read Isaiah 53 about the suffering Messiah, just a bit farther in Isaiah the text speaks about the inclusion of foreigners and eunuchs when the righteousness of the Lord comes (56:3-5). Oh, how that must have encouraged that man as it was explained to him!

Acts 9 "Before Breakfast"

Once Saul (Paul), the great persecutor of the church’s sight was restored (physically & spiritually) the first thing he did was get baptized even before breaking his three-day fast (v.18-19). By doing so he declared a change of allegiance, joining those he had formerly persecuted. The church has as its heritage down through the centuries the thankful inclusion of its repentant former oppressors. We truly are to be ministers of reconciliation.

Acts 10 Withholding Nothing

Here we find the story of Peter being supernaturally sent to the home/headquarters of the Roman “Cop” Cornelius (the Roman Centurion). Cornelius summoned all his friends and relatives to hear the message. While Peter was still speaking, all who heard the gospel received the Holy Spirit and praised God (v. 47-48). Peter responded rhetorically, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. It was this event that convinced the Jerusalem church that Gentiles were to be included as equal recipients of the gospel.

Acts 16 Two Families in Philippi “And all their household were baptized.” If we read the text of Acts 16 carefully, we will see the Gospel transforming two families from different socio-economic strata. Is it any coincidence that they are presented in tandem? No, for that is Luke's oft-repeated pattern.

• Lydia the wealthy merchant woman (she sold “purple” which only the wealthiest people could afford) was baptized with "her entire household." One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us. (v.14-15)

• The lowly Philippian jailer who worked in a dungeon (inflicting and suffering many of the same conditions as the prisoners) was baptized "with his entire family." Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. (v.30-33)

Acts 21:16 “Why do you wait?” Finally, let’s consider Paul’s speech to those in Jerusalem who were stuck in their ways and old loyalties, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.”

Without going into an exhaustive theological treatment of Christian baptism, let me say that baptism is…

• A death to ourselves and a resurrection to Christ. In this transformation, we find new life and a new purpose for living.
• A public declaration of our change of loyalty. We are now citizens of the Kingdom of heaven, loyal to Jesus Christ above all.
• A recognition of our new identity in Christ. Historically, converts received their Christian name at this time, hence the term, “Christening.” While we are not accustomed to changing our name, we get a new identity—one not based on our past failures, present poverty, or unjust and unkind labeling from others, but one based on the finished work of Christ. Once we were unloved, we didn’t belong to anyone, and we were scattered before the nations. Now we know that we are loved, adopted into the family of God, and planted in the world for the purposes of Christ and the common good.

I presented this brief list in a survey format and with a minimum amount of explanation. Hopefully, you can see the racial, gender, and economic reconciliation modeled in Christian baptism as demonstrated in Acts and seek the same in the church and our community today.

In conclusion, I leave you with a personalized form of Paul’s appeal, “Why do we wait?”

"Mourning Has Broken": Living in the Blessed Sorrow and Joy of Jesus

This post is an assigned response to “Blessed are those who mourn”—not those who are spiritually comfortable by Paul Louis Metzger.

Comfy?

The second beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted” continues Jesus’ highly counter-cultural teaching about the values of the kingdom of heaven. Unfortunately this beatitude, according to Dr. Metzger, “often devolves in our present context to read, ‘Blessed are the comfortable, for they will never mourn.’ If we are honest, many of us—including me—are tempted to prize consumer comfort in the religious and secular domain over most anything.”

Cemetery on Mount of Olives
(Photo: Vikki Dueker)

It is true that in the world we don’t like to mourn. Rarely do people show up early for funerals (unless it is for a celebrity) where they are sure to be confronted with mourning. But as followers of Jesus, we are to be among those who mourn—joyful and settled in the hope we have in Christ—yet we do mourn. So what do we mourn as we follow Christ?

• Human suffering and loss are experienced personally and within our community.
• Sin—both our own sin and the sins of others. We are sorry to have been faithless in our relationship with God.
•  We also mourn over how our own sin has impacted the lives of others at every level.
• Societal and systemic injustices in the world grieve us as we enter into the suffering of others.

These kinds of mourning are woven into the life of a disciple of Jesus. In fact, we are used to going to our own funerals. It is not like we are trying to be Tom Sawyer and attend our own funeral in order to hear what people say about us, but rather in order to say something about our Savior. Let me explain…

We die once in baptism. Baptism is like a funeral service for our "old nature" which died with Christ on the cross and now in the sacrament of baptism, we are holding the funeral service as the "old nature" goes down into the water, symbolizing our burial with Christ (Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:11-15). In baptism, we are declaring that we are dead to sin and alive to Christ.  We are making public our decision to submit to Christ and to leave behind the sinful things of the past.  We are saying that we have determined that because of Christ's work on the cross; we will no longer allow sin to reign over us but instead will submit our lives to Christ, actively living for him.

We also die daily…as Jesus' followers in many different ways as we consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God (Romans 6:11; 1 Cor. 15:31). We overcome by living a crucified life not by living a comfortable life.

We enter into the heart of mourning, the emotional suffering, of Christ for lost and hurting people. Each time the world rejects the love of Christ offered through us, we mourn for their sake. They may even celebrate when our lives and ministries are ended [I am reminded of the passage in Revelation where the world celebrates the death of the two witnesses.] but even as we mourn their missed opportunities we trust the loving plan of God, and it is there that we find comfort (2 Cor. 1:5).

Jesus the Messiah was a man of sorrows (Isaiah 53:3), for he saw the human condition more completely than anyone else ever has. Yet, he is also described as one anointed with the oil of gladness more than all his brothers (Psalm 45:7; Hebrews 1:9). How can this be? It is possible because he was in perfect union with his Heavenly Father. Those early morning conversations alone with the Father and filled with the Holy Spirit charged him with joy unspeakable which spilled over into unmatched gladness.

Just as Jesus could reverse the normal flow of uncleanness, touching even the lepers and healing them, so too he could touch the world, dwelling in our midst, and mourn over our stubborn blindness, our pain, and even death itself, without becoming morose. His pervasive good humor and full humanity reverse the flow and bring healing and comfort to those who mourn—even today. His very message is one of gladness (Isaiah 61:3) to those who mourn. Our own comfort, true comfort, is not found in avoiding the suffering and grief-filled world, but in joining Jesus as he engages with it. As Dr. Metzger noted in his post, “The rest Jesus promises is the rest of sharing in his burden, carrying his yoke. It is indeed rest, for when Christ is Lord in their place he bears the brunt of the burden (See Matthew 11:28-30).”

Photo: Greg Dueker

 If I finish by borrowing a metaphor or two, there are times when mourning seems to break forth in overwhelming waves of sorrow that seem to turn our respective worlds upside-down, and yet in the very midst of grief when we come to the end of our own resources, we get a glimpse of eternity and see that in the suffering of Christ, mourning has broken. 

There is a morning after our mourning.

Hope for Tomorrow
Photo: Greg Dueker

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)