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Repentance And Baptism - Matthew 3:11
Matthew 3:11 11 "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Let me make several observations concerning this passage.
1. Repentance involves a ‘turning’ and a “return” to God. This is NOT just a changing of mind about sin, but the change of mind that brings about a returning unto God and a lifestyle of godliness and righteousness (Titus 2:11-14).
2. Repentance is a pre-requisite to a right relationship with God, but so also baptism (both according to John’s baptism and the baptism that Jesus commands).
Bob Utley commented: “Repentance is a covenant requirement (along with faith) of both the Old (cf. Nacham, 1 Kgs. 8:47; Shuv, 1 Kgs. 8:48; Ezek. 14:6; 18:30; Joel 2:12–13; Zech. 1:3–4) and the New Covenants (cf. John the Baptist, Matt. 3:2; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3, 8; Jesus, Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:15; 2:17; Luke 5:32; 13:3, 5; 15:7; 17:3; Peter, Acts 2:38; 3:19; 8:22; 11:18; 2 Pet. 3:9; Paul, Acts 13:24; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20; Rom. 2:4; 2 Cor. 2:9–10). (Bob Utley, You Can Understand the Bible! The Rist Christian Primer: Matthew).
You simply can NOT look up and read these passages without seeing the absolute demand of repentance.
3. We err when we emphasize baptism to the ignoring of repentance.
4. We also error when we then make baptism expendable and optional! To reject John’s baptism in that day was to reject God’s purpose for oneself (see Luke 7:29-30).
5. Repentance thus not only prepares the heart to BE baptized but is the ongoing condition of the heart after baptism because of one’s new-found understanding of the very evil of sin.
This is predicated upon several observations from this text.
1) While repentance and bearing fruit worthy of repentance were demanded by John before he would baptize them, SUCH need NOT demand months, weeks, or even days of bearing such fruit. Those on the day of Pentecost were commanded to repent and be baptized, and as many as received his word were baptized (and hence had repented sufficiently to satisfy the apostles). This in fact was the norm, as people were taught repentance and baptism, they were baptized WHEN they so believed (Acts 8:12-13), even the same hour of the night (Acts 16:33). Yet, they were buried with Christ and RAISED TO WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE (Rom. 6:3-4), a life that no longer let sin be master over them (cp. Rom. 6:14) as they considered themselves DEAD to sin (Rom. 6:11) and refused to obey sin (Rom. 6:16).
2) His baptism was UNTO (into, towards) the forgiveness of sins, but none can be forgiven without repentance.
Bloomberg commented: A venerable tradition of Baptist interpreters has seen the “for” (eis) as actually meaning because here, but more recent grammatical analysis makes this unlikely. Probably the term simply should be taken as in reference to. Baptism in reference to repentance thus distinguishes John’s baptism from other religions’ ritual washings which do not symbolize turning away from sin. (Craig Blomberg, Matthew, New American Commentary, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tenn., 1992_
3) Baptism also was ‘UNTO (into, towards) ‘repentance’, an ongoing life that abhors and forsakes sin.
Have you, according to the gospel as given by Jesus (Luke 24:44-47; Acts 2:38), repented and been baptized for the remission of sins in the name of Jesus? Are you now walking in newness of life?
Hugh DeLong
