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Baptized In The Name Of...

By William J. Stewart

It is a fairly common thing to receive comments or questions via our web site. Sometimes, these are just simple expressions of thanks for the material available at lookinguntojesus.net. Other times, they are sharp words from those who disagree strongly with a statement made. And at times, there are good, thoughtful questions in search of truth. Whatever the comment or question, we're happy to receive and respond to them.

Just yesterday, I received a kind comment, accompanied by a good question for us to consider. The body of the message read:

"I am enthralled by the wonderful teaching you have available over the internet. I am learning some new things. At any rate, I have one question I want you to answer for me. Do you baptize people in the Father, Son and Holy Ghost or in the name of Jesus? It is not quite clear what you believe in this area and was wanting some clarification.

Thanks for the great question! The topic has been addressed briefly in the May 30, 2004 Answering the Atheist article. However, I'm delighted to provide a more details discussion of the topic here.

What is correct? Is it baptism in the name of...

Who is right? Are you willing to say that Jesus was in error? Or are you comfortable in stating that the apostles, who were guided by the Spirit were wrong? There are various arguments which have been made for one phrase or the other, but I believe such debate has complete missed the point of the command. If there wre a special God-ordained phrase or formula which must be stated vebatim when one is baptized, then surely God would have told us so.

“The key is to understand what "in the name of" means.”

Though some will tell us that Matthew 28:19 IS a formulated statement which must be used for baptism to be valid, Jesus did not present it in that fashion. Furthermore, that we see several examples of and references to baptism through the rest of the New Testament, but never again the words of Matthew 28:19, would also indicate that these were not required words for baptism. There is no magic formula to be pronounced at baptism.

The key is to understand what "in the name of" means. Note a few examples of this phrase to understand the usage of it:

The phrase is used to convey authority. When Paul commanded the evil spirit to come out of the girl, he did so by the authority of (ie. in the name of) Christ. Likewise, when he commanded the Corinthians to deal with a discipline issue, it was "in the name of or by the authority of Christ. When it comes to our language and conduct, we are to do all "in the name of" or by the authority of Christ. The phrase identifies the source of our authority.

When it comes to baptism, it is not whether we say "the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit", "Jesus Christ", "the Lord Jesus", or "the Lord", but it is the acknowledgement of the authority of God. Baptism is an act of obedience to the commandment of God. We cannot be baptized appropriately if we do not recognize God's authority.

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Answering The Atheist

By William J. Stewart

The Atheist's Complaint:
Where did John baptize? Was it in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:4-6; Mark 1:9), or was it in Bethabara, beyond the Jordan (John 1:28). Is there a contradiction?

Response:
There are a couple things that the questioner might have considered prior to inferring that "Bethabara, beyond the Jordan" (John 1:28) was contrary to Matthew and Mark's testimony that John baptized in the Jordan River. Might I suggest:
1) finding out what "beyond the Jordan" means;
2) locating this place on a map.

Noting the phrase in several translations will help us to understand what is meant by "Bethabara, beyond the Jordan":

The phrase does not necessitate some place away from the Jordan, but simply on the opposite side of the Jordan River, the eastern shore of the Jordan River (for John would be writing from the perspective of the Jews, who were on the western side of the Jordan). The word "beyond" is from the Greek peran, which means "through, across, beyond, farther, other side, over" (Strong's).

Where is Bethabara (or Bethany) beyond the Jordan? Take a look on the map...

Easton's Bible Dictionary (via Power BibleCD 4.0a) says of Bethabara:

"house of the ford, a place on the eat bank of the Jordan, where John was baptizing (John 1:28). It may be identical with Bethbarah, the ancient ford of Jordan of which the men of Ephraim took possession (Judges 7:24). The Revised Version reads, "Bethany beyond Jordan." It was the great ford, and still bears the name of "the ford," Makhadhet 'Abarah, "the ford of crossing over," about 25 miles from Nazareth."

So, according to Matthew and Mark, John was baptizing in the Jordan River. Equally, the testimony of John the apostle is that John was baptizing in the Jordan River.

There is no contradiction.

This article is in response to Skeptic's Annotated Bible.

NOTE - even if the questioner's uninformed assumption had been true, that John's gospel revealed some other location than the Jordan River as the site where John was baptizing, there would still be no contradiction. One may baptize in any place where there is sufficient water to immerse a body. There is nothing special about the Jordan River, that it needed to be used for baptism. It was used as a matter of convenience.

I have baptized people in a river, in a swimming pool, in a pond, in a baptistry, in a lake, and in a cattle feeding trough. John may well have baptized folks in locations other than the Jordan River.