Mark 1:1-8
Prophecy fulfilled--a man did indeed appear and preached the coming of the Lord. John the Baptist, the great herald of the coming Kingdom, came to the people of Israel "proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."
It seems there was quite a revival which occured in connection with John's services. Many were coming to him to be baptized, confessing their sins. Many (all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem) obeyed the call and entered the Jordan for immersion to show publicly what had confronted their hearts spiritually. Though John was a mighty preacher and pointed many people to a straight path, his ministerial role was merely to exalt the Christ..."After me comes he who is mightier." We know that it simply was not enough to be baptized by John (Acts 19:1-7); He who John pointed to held the power of salvation. He, the Christ, would baptize not only with H2O, but with the Holy Spirit.
We get real excited in explaining our belief in baptism by immersion. I believe that immersion is indeed the proper mode and holds significant meaning for what baptism is all about. It seems even Jesus "came up out of the water" after his baptism, and it follows that such should be the mode we use to follow in obedience, signifying that we have died and been given new life in Christ.
One of the first baptisms I conducted will always be a memorable one. The church services where I was youth pastor were televised, and for some reason the pastor had delegated a certain woman's baptism to me. She was, you know, just a little different. I could tell there was something not right when I extended my hand for her to enter the pool with me--she was scared of the water. And as I went through our rehearsed motions--her pinching her nose, me using her arm as a handle, her bending her knees--she locked up and decided she wasn't going under the water. She was sort of a big gal and had a big determination not to go under. Well, I had already committed and was nearly right on top of her pushing her straight down while she held on to the sides with her feet floating. It could not have been more than just a few seconds, but on television it seemed like several minutes. There were even beads of nervous sweat already rolling down my face. Finally, with all my might, I pushed everything underwater except for a little poof of hair. Since I didn't want to leave any part of her unbaptized, I sort of just sprinkled/splashed that part and called it a done deal. Needless to say, we take our immersion seriously--and we won't settle for anything less than a 100% baptism. I think it was General Sam Houston that said when he was baptized, so was his wallet.
To plunge, to dip, to immerse, to submerge--whichever way you choose to describe it the result is the same--baptism can only reflect a full surrender to the Lordship of Christ. "Buried with Christ in baptism; raised to walk in the newness of life."
So, if we are willing to make such a big deal of full water immersion, what are we to make of the last phrase in our passage..."but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit"? What does it mean to be fully submerged in the Holy Spirit? What does it mean to be immersed, plunged, completely covered in the Holy Spirit?
Without going into a debate over charismaticism, I think it is safe to say that to be baptized with the Holy Spirit is for every part of our lives to exalt Jesus Christ. Isn't that the role of the Holy Spirit? Isn't the Holy Spirit's activity in our lives the evidence of the reality of Jesus Christ? I understand the impartation of the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion (Ephesians 1:13-14). But do you think it is possible for us to still lack a complete baptism in the Holy Spirit?
Could you, perhaps, even have a "little poof of hair" in your life that fails to give evidence to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
