Article

 Rick Ferrell - July, 2025

As Christians, there are many views of baptism. There are Credobaptists that believe only adults or those mature enough to accept Jesus Christ as Savior should be baptized. There are Pedobaptists, they believe that infants should be baptized into the faith. 

These are the two overarching predominant views in Christianity credobaptisms and pedobaptisms. The pedobaptism adherents believe that baptism is a sign of the new covenant therefore it replaces circumcision, hence infants are sprinkled, or baptized. As you know, we don't believe in or practice infant baptism. Only after one has come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ should one be baptized in water. So we follow the order of credobaptism. 

If you get into a theological discussion with a friend, there's a little food for thought. 

Many equate baptism to one's salvation. A dear friend of mine many years ago explained to me that my belief was a faith-based salvation and his was a water-based salvation, that you were not born again until you were baptized.

Many see baptism as merely a door to the church, that in order to be part of God's physical body, the church, it's baptism that makes you a part. That is not our practice, because we take a covenant to join the church.

Some view baptism merely as work to show the outward expression of an inward change. That's it. Nothing more to see here.

Matthew 3:13-17 ESV — Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:15 ESV — But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.

John is baptizing for the repentance of sins. He is the forerunner preparing the way for Christ. So that is the basis of John's questioning, and him saying to Jesus “you should be baptizing me.” To that, Jesus says no, “it is to fulfill all righteousness.”

So, John baptized Jesus for a different purpose than all the others. 

Remember, the characters in the New Testament (NT) didn't walk around with a Bible in their hands.  They didn't have access, like we do, to the Scriptures. They were living out the NT in real time.  So when Matthew uses the language of “to fulfill all righteousness”, he's pointing back to righteousness in the Old Covenant. What could that be?

Well, when you start looking at who Jesus was, and the timing of this event, you see some very interesting things:

• Jesus was 30 years old.  Why does that matter, who cares?

• Jesus was a Jew.

• He was a male

• He was unblemished. Without sin.

• John the Baptist was a Levitical priest.  Who cares?

Why in the world does this matter? Why get caught up in the details? Christ is giving us an example.

When we look at the totality of the information in Scripture, we find the Old Covenant Law that Jesus is fulfilling perfectly.

Exodus 28 is all about the making of the priestly garments.

Then in Exodus 29, we have the consecration, or ordination of the priest.

Exodus 29:1-6 ESV — Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, and bring the bull and the two rams. You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. Then you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod. And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban.

It starts out with sacrifice. Of course we don't do that because Jesus is our sacrifice. Actually, Jesus being the sacrifice is directly related to why he was being baptized.  Not just anybody could go and offer a sacrifice.  You had to be a priest.  You had to go through the priest to offer the sacrifice.

Verses 4-6 are the key verses here. 

Exodus 29:4-6 ESV — You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. Then you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod. And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban.

This all happens at age 30 according to Numbers 4:3 and 47.

Now, let's bring it back to Jesus. 

What does he do?  At age 30, he is baptized, and after he comes out of the water he goes to the wilderness to be tempted. Then he goes to the synagogue, and what does he do?  He reads from the scroll of Isaiah 61 which is all about proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor and doing the priestly things that he can now rightly do as the mediator between God and man. God is a God of order. And in order for all the law to be fulfilled in him, he had to obey it perfectly. 

Now, Jesus has been ordained according to Levitical law.  He was ordained by John, a Levitical priest and Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of the law, except one.  He wasn't from the line or lineage of Aaron.

This is where Hebrews comes in because he came from a previous and greater priestly line of the order of Melchisedek.

Hebrews 5:9-10 ESV — And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 6:19-20 ESV — We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus had to obey the priestly law, that is why he would be the unblemished, spotless lamb.

Do you see how rich that is?

Many, and well known I might add, preachers today want us to, as they say, “unhitch” ourselves from the Old Testament (OT).  But as we've heard so many times, “the OT is the NT concealed while the NT is the OT revealed.” If you only stay in the NT, you're only getting half the story.  You want to know the “why” about a subject, more often than not, you've got to go to the OT.  That's where you get the history and context of anything in the New. You go to the Old.

So when Jesus is baptized and they hear the voice from heaven declare “this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased” and the dove descended, and covered him, this is God saying “YOU DID IT, I'M PLEASED”. Now the plan of God, that was established from the foundation of the world, can begin to unfold to bring man back to the Father.

Christ fulfilled the law, he is now officially the Great High Priest.  And what does he do? He begins to fulfill the duties of a high priest.

A priest cleanses things.

• Jesus cleansed the temple

• He cleansed people of their infirmities

• He casts out demons

This is all cleansing stuff. This is what the 7 sons of the High Priest Sceva was trying to do in the book of Acts.

People struggle with the idea of priests. Priests are either OT, Cultic or Catholic.

Yet:

Hebrews 4:14 ESV — Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Now, we ask what this means for us? 

How does this impact our lives?

Galatians 3:24-27 ESV — So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

This is priestly language.  Those baptized in Christ have put on Christ.

Just as the robe and ephod was placed upon Aaron.  Just as the Dove rested upon Jesus, those that have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ.

Who is baptizing us in Christ?

Jesus

Who is the Great High Priest?

Jesus

Whose robe of righteousness are we now wearing?

Jesus

Why is this important? It's because of the responsibility that comes with being a priest.

Remember, Jesus our High Priest:

• cleansed the temple

• cleansed people of their infirmities

• casted out demons

But he also proclaimed the Gospel and Law of God.

And Paul tells us in Romans 15:16 how God has given him this “priestly service” of spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles.

Christ was fulfilling the duties of the priestly service perfectly. And the climax of his priestly service was not only his sacrifice but also his passion the week before.  

Now watch this, when Pilate presented Jesus and Barabbas before the people, they cried out to release Barabbas, the hardened criminal, and they cried out to crucify Jesus, the Son of God.  This entire event was a reflection of the Day of Atonement and the scapegoat, Azazel, that we find in Leviticus 16.  

Then Jesus becomes the perfect sacrifice as the lamb of God and the sacrificer as the High Priest of God for the sins of the world.  Everything from Jesus’ baptism to the cross was his priestly work.

Now, I want to bring it home to us.

Paul points to each of us as a priest and a living sacrifice:

Romans 12:1 ESV — I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Then Peter says:

1 Peter 2:9 ESV — But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Peter lifts the first part of this verse straight out of Exodus 19:6

Exodus 19:6 ESV — and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.

A kingdom of priests and holy nation. Peter said you are a royal priesthood.

Why?

1 Peter 2:9b ESV — that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

God has brought you out of the kingdom of darkness and into the light so that you can tell others how they too can come out of the darkness.

But if you have a priest, then you must have a temple.  

1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV — Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV — Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

So in Christ:

• You are the temple

• You are the priest

• You are the living sacrifice

Our baptism is divinely and supernaturally connected to Jesus’ baptism. 

He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He could do it because he had been consecrated and ordained as a priest to do so.

We, likewise, must be baptized, as he was, to fulfill righteousness, because we are priests.

A priest could not serve in the temple unless he was first washed in the water.

Jesus obeyed that and the NT continues that sign from the Old Covenant, not through the Aaronic priesthood but through the Melchizedekian priesthood and lineage of Jesus.

Now, If you've been asleep, I want you to wake up for this…

When we are baptized it has nothing to do with getting saved. It's about, when you confess Christ, you are then taken and washed (symbolically) for your most important purpose. You are being washed, consecrated and ordained into the New Covenant priesthood.

Jesus was baptized, and we should go and do likewise, because we are part of a kingdom of priests in his royal priesthood.