This morning, we focus on Jesus’ baptism. Many of you know that I was raised in a Baptist church. Baptists will cite these verses from Matthew as proof that Jesus was baptized by full immersion in the waters of the Jordan River, and that therefore we should all be baptized by full immersion. The basis here for this belief is the line from Matthew that Jesus “came up from the water.” When I was baptized by full immersion, my arms were crossed over my chest, and I was lowered backwards into the water and then lifted back up to the standing position by the arms of the preacher. Baptists would argue that Jesus was similarly raised back up by John, hence, as the scripture says, he came up from the water.
The Baptists may be right. However, we cannot be sure. Jesus’ coming up from the water is also consistent with Jesus having waded into the Jordan up to his knees, with John having baptized him by pouring water over his head, and with Jesus then returning to the bank of the river. Jesus’ coming up from the water may simply have meant that he waded out of the river onto its bank. We don’t know. Hence in the UCC we don’t prescribe the volume of water to be used in baptism. Pastors are free to sprinkle, pour, or immerse. Read more…