Ready for a Name That Fits?

Years ago, everyone from funeral homes to auto repair shops were giving out pens, matchbooks, calendars --whatever would keep the name of their business stuck to your refrigerator and foremost in your mind. Names are important. And men are particularly good at naming folks. Brutally honest, really. Fat Joey and The Neck are a few that come to mind from my days leading a group of terrific but unconventional men on a ground support crew. Sometimes it's pretty obvious how we've gotten our name or nickname --my friend born in December is Holly. Other monickers are not so apparent. Take John the Baptist, for instance.

Why was John the Baptist called "the baptist;" not "the preparer" or "revealer" (Isaiah 40:3-5)? Could he not have been called "the herald" (Luke 1:13-17)? What was it about his ministry of baptism that identified him above everything else he did? Might it have been what he didn't do as well as what he did do?

Look at John 1:26-33. In just these few verses, God through John (another John, the apostle) points out three times that John the Baptist "baptized with water." Safe to assume, there must be some distinction worth noticing. 

In the Old Testament, God gave His people the practice of immersion. A ceremonial cleansing took place, usually, at a location in which water flowed naturally, a mikveh. Immersion in this special place or pool of water symbolized purification, consecration, and spiritual cleansing. For converts to Israelite faith, the immersion marked a turning away from old practices and entry into the community; a decision to live in right standing before God and His people in covenant relationship. Likewise, the baptism offered by John the Baptist was representative of one's turn from sin toward a new life of righteousness. But in preparation for the Messiah's arrival. This wasn't the same old Wash.Rinse.Repeat. (Pun absolutely intentional!) John heralded the coming of a Greater Sacrifice. No more would Isreal have to live under the burden of slaughtered animals and the shedding of blood. An All-Sufficient Mediator and High Priest would come to atone for all sin. There was to be a better way, the Way of Life, rather than the ritual way of perpetual death that had been Judaism's only hope for forgiveness. People believed John the Baptist's words, they longed to prepare through repentance their hearts and their lives for the Messiah's coming, and they waded into the water to begin new life in hope. Immersion, or baptism (from baptizo in the Greek), a familiar tradition to the people of Israel was now, at the hands of John the Baptist, a belief in Who was to come, the One who could do what all the bathing could not, the One who could cleanse them and cleanse us from all sin. This was about rebirth, the severing of oneself from the former, walking toward the new, and trusting the coming Messiah was its source.

Yes, John the Baptist prepared the people by bringing the message of Jesus. Yes, he revealed the truth of ages-old prophecies and their fulfillment in Jesus. Yes, he was herald to a king --The King of kings. But his role as a baptizer made him the catalyst for transformation. His role as baptizer made him the link between the Old Testament and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. His role as baptizer presented all those who would with the opportunity to publicly fix their eyes on their Savior, follow His law, and receive His gift of forgiveness and newness of life when the time had come. John the Baptist did not change hearts, but he spoke to them the message he was called to deliver, and when they responded, he celebrated at the waters with them. 

Baptism remains the God-given testament of rebirth in the life of every believer. The Great Commission of Matthew 28:19, instructs us --all believers! --to go into the world and baptize others as a symbol of their repentance and acceptance of the lordship of Jesus. Are you ready to make disciples? Are you ready for a new name?