2018-06-15
Good Morning Dear Ones,
You’ll remember that we have been looking into the ancient Jewish roots of baptism with water, and I’ve been commanded to continue doing that. Tevilah (pronounced teh-vee-lah) or water immersion was a regular part of Jewish life. Chukim (pronounced hoo-keem) are laws to be obeyed just because they are from God. Immersion in water was for cleanliness, purification, and separation as the Lord’s people. We saw some examples, like achieving ritual cleanliness after touching a corpse [NU 19: 13, 19] or having a leprous sore on one’s body [LV 15: 19-33]. Pharisee ruler, Nicodemus’, night visit with Jesus was recalled, where Jesus says, “…Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, He cannot enter the Kingdom of God” [JN 3: 5]. Later, we learned about the mikveh (pronounced meek-veh), a Hebrew word meaning “…to the gathering of waters, He called seas.” The idea here was to have a tub built, like the mikva’ot (pleural for mikveh) on the southern steps of the Temple Mount. These held approximately 200 gallons of water.
This immersion for purification or initiation into the faith was depicted on the walls of the Roman catacombs with John standing on the bank of the Jordan River while Yeshua (Jesus) immerses Himself. [See MK 1: 9-11]. A Jewish person would often immerse himself three times, because the word “mikveh” occurs three times in the Torah [OT]. The mikveh represents the womb, hence the concept of being born again into the Kingdom of God, a totally new status.
Starting with the fourth century, a terrifying and anti-Semitic practice of forced baptisms for Jews began. Because of this, most Jewish people cringe at the mention of baptism. This history was horrific, as Jews refusing baptism at the time of the Inquisition were put to death. The horrible spectacle of their corpses stretched in the streets and squares followed. Such scenes were a blight on the history of Christianity after the Christian victory over the Moors in Spain in ~1492. Many of the Jews who outwardly converted to Christianity secretly continued inwardly to practice Judaism. This was hardly real Christianity!
There is an intriguing prophecy in IS 64: 1, “Why don’t you tear the sky open and come down? The mountains would see You and shake with fear.” A second look at MK 1: 9-11 clarifies. “Not long after, Yeshua (Jesus) came from Nazareth in the province of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw heaven opening and the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh in Hebrew) coming down on Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are My own dear Son in Whom I am pleased.” This reveals the relationship between God, the Father and His Son, as expressed by King David in PS 2: 7, “I will announce,” says the king, “What the Lord has declared, He said to me: ‘You are My Son today; I have become Your Father.’” At that point mentioned in MK 1: 9-11, Yeshua (Jesus) was experiencing a change in status. He was always God’s only begotten Son, but He was being acknowledged as such along with God’s feelings toward Him.
An understanding of our own tevilah is important. Just as God was pleased with the obedience of Jesus when He was baptized, He is pleased when we are. For it is God’s will that as many people as will agree to it should be baptized in His name, the name of the Son, and the name of the Holy Spirit [MT 28: 19-20]. When we were baptized, our status changed. As we came out of the world and into God’s Kingdom, alive in Christ [RO 6: 11; COL 1: 13-14]. Yeshua’s last words in MT 28: 19-20 were to His talmidim (students-pronounced tal-mee-deem). In AC 2: 38, Peter was speaking to Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot (pronounced shah-voo-ot) -the giving of the Law. His message included the command to be immersed: “Repent and let each of you be immersed in the name of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) for the removal of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit).”
In RO 6: 3-4, we learn that we are baptized into union with Yeshua’s death and resurrection, so that we too might have a new life, by the glorious power of the Father. This is one more manifestation of why people should be baptized.
PRAYER: O Most Glorious Father, as we learn more about You, Your Son, and the Holy Spirit, we cannot ignore the showering of blessings with which You continue to give us. They are life-giving, because You grace us with eternal life when we are baptized and have professed genuine faith in Your Son. You gave us eternal forgiveness [1 JN 1:9], salvation [JN 3: 16], and justified us (deemed us acceptable) [RO 4: 3]. We received the Holy Spirit, Who directs us in Your paths and Who helps us to understand Your commandments [JN 14: 17]. By professing that Christ is our personal Savior, we believe that Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one goes to the Father except by Him” [JN 14: 6]. While each one of us has a unique life and unique series of challenges, You, through Your Spirit, direct us in ways that will help us travel that “hard road through a narrow gate” [MT 7: 13-14] that leads to eternal life. We show You our love by obeying Your commandments, even though some of them aren’t easy to obey. Our faith leads us to achieve a balance between caring for ourselves and helping others. Just as Your Son was humble, we want to emulate Him. For You have told us, in 1 PET 5: 5b, “God resists the proud, but show favor to the humble.” We thank and praise You! We declare our faith in You and love for You. You are a glorious God, despite the fact we don’t deserve Your grace given to us. In Christ’s holy/mighty name we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: There is still more that I’ve been given to write on the ancient Jewish roots of baptism. After that, I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to compare RO 6: 1-11 with COL 2: 9-15. I doubt I will complete all in the next devotion but will tackle as much as space permits. My own baptism was 50 years ago by total immersion. It had all the significance mentioned above and one more. It signaled a complete change in my life; it was the transition between chaos and order, being lost and having direction, and being miserable and feeling inner peace. I’ve written before that I was raised in a dysfunctional home, one filled with criticism and feelings of self-loathing. My behavior during my teen years was often destructive both in attitude and actions. It was a blessing that my earthly father removed me from a school where I was traveling with the wrong crowd to one that required me to develop study skills and use the intelligence God gave me. Through this gradual process, I believe God was reaching out to me to begin preparation to serve Him. While I eventually left traditional Judaism to become a believer in the Lord Yeshua (a completed or Messianic Jew), I am still very much a Jewish person, despite the criticism of some other Jews. I carry with me a rich culture which I can share with others, especially the God-intended connections between the OT and NT. Recently, I have been researching our family’s genealogy and was surprised to find ancestors as far back as the 1700’s. This feels like a gift God has given me. My DNA tested out to be 94% Ashkenazi Jewish, and the remaining 6 % North African and Italian. Another great gift God has given me is the satisfaction of having spent the last 50+ years studying the Scriptures. I’m not writing this to brag about myself, but about what God does. Having faith in Yeshua leads only to good things and a better view of what truth is. I write these things with thankfulness and joy, offering thanks and praise to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2018. All Rights Reserved.
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