“‘Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness when they defile My tabernacle that is among them.”
Leviticus 15:31
The “thus” refers to washing with water (immersion ). This issue is that men/women in the process of living defile everything (?).
Application: NT believers should also understand the OT implications of the act of immersion—a “clean” that facilitates “return.”
PS: Born again at 38, the tradition was not inculcated in a child too young to comprehend. But, the traditional statement of what I did in a pool of water in Southern California in the Summer of ‘95 was: “an outward display of an inward decision.”
True and valid. But completely lacking in biblical backstory. So a “process” partly understood.
Don’t feel bad, brother I did it like five times growing up, but now even if it’s in private, it’s a very mental reminder of my place in his Grace. It becomes a beautiful with substance. 🙏
Think of it this way, not as an act, but as an intimate getting back on track. Not necessarily for public display, it’s a reset especially during hard times.
Thanks for taking the time to clarify baptism. What I find really important is this:
“It is a one-time event that locks in salvation.” No. Mikvah was repeated, often, across a Jewish life. Teshuvah is the work of a lifetime, not a single afternoon.
We sin and repeatedly come before the Lord to recognise our failures (great or small) and it totally makes sense that we purify ourselves before openly showing the Lord we mean to change, return.
I was a member of the International Church of Christ (ICOC) for a few years and was baptized during that time.
They erroneously believe baptism is the only way to “heaven” and you are utterly devoid of GOD’s spirit until you are dunked in water at which point it is received.
It’s despicable to think that us humans can “schedule” the receiving of the spirit.
And if you don’t understand baptism from ICOC’s POV, they will coerce you into getting baptized again. Ridiculous.
They ignore than numerous events in which the spirit is received through laying on of hands.
As a matter of fact, I can’t find one single instance of someone in all of Scripture receiving the spirit right after baptism 🤔
I was baptized in a congregation of a United Pentecostal Church at 10 years old. Too young to understand any of it...did it because my brother did/mom wanted us baptized. I checked their website site. They have a salvation formula: 1) repent, 2) be baptized (in Jesus' name - not "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost"; 3) receive the Holy Ghost (evidenced by speaking in tongues). By their definition, I was never saved. I couldn't figure out how to speak the gibberish that all of the "saved" were speaking. The peer pressure to speak in tongues left a lasting impression on me. Thank you Lord for leading me to find the real truth and real gospel...not what the Christian religions teach.
Anyway. I forgot to ask my question. When Peter said in Acts 2:38 (paraphrasing), "repent, be baptized, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit"...what was he really saying in context?
Peter is standing at Shavuot speaking to covenant Jews who already know mikveh and teshuvah. He’s invoking the Ezekiel 36 promise in real time. The immersion in Yeshua’s name isn’t a new ritual, it’s a covenant oath of loyalty to the risen Messiah.
The teshuvah isn’t generic remorse, it’s a specific reversal of the crowd’s verdict on who Yeshua is. The Ruach HaKodesh they’re promised is the sign that the messianic age just arrived.
Great question and it deserves to go in the final article! Pulling this into the deep dive. Stay tuned.😎
When I first started on my Sabbath keeping journey, I attended a congregation of the United Church of God, an International Association (off-shoot of the original Radio Church of God / Worldwide Church of God). I asked the Pastor about getting baptized. He told me they consider baptism a very serious event for a believer and we have to "count the cost". They required counseling and a meeting with elders. At my meeting, it was pointed out to me that I had missed a few Sabbath services over the previous year...essentially calling my commitment into question. So, no baptism with them...the Holy Spirit led me to a Hebrew Roots fellowship and I've never looked back.
One more thought. My younger sister had her experience of cleansing in her shower. So it is pretty awesome to see shower included among your places it can take place. I am 76 now so this subject is revolutionary to me.
It all goes back to Jeremiah 31, every bit of it. It's a hard issue. And I guarantee you that experience in the shower was sincere and very heavy. That's so amazing. I love it.
I was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church as an infant. The teaching about it came through catechism prior to receiving our first Communion. Bottom line: baptism removed original sin. I had no reason to question this until young adulthood when “I asked Christ into my heart.” I was baptized by immersion when I was in grad school when the new explanation replaced the former: outward sign of an inward change. Years later when I was examined for ministerial license in my denomination, one of the questions was ( and is) how is John’s baptism different from Christian baptism? The whole Jewish floor (substrate?) was never there. The first time I heard of mikvah (or saw) was watching The Chosen - and I thought I wish we had that. End of comment- sorry so long.
Oh, Sergio! This is so good! We had a huge baptism at our church and it is always a time of public testimony and public affirmation of who is Lord and savior. Often, their teacher, or father, or spiritual counselor does the dunking or one of the pastors. This time is deeply moving to me for a variety of reasons, but I have also had bunches of questions about the full meaning of baptism which without these elements above mentioned seems unnecessarily theatrical. Now, I understand the history and significance and will share this post. Thank you!!!
Thank you Sergio!! I just had a conversation about this with a Catholic friend who believes you must be baptized to enter Heaven. If I shared this great piece of yours with her, she would become angry. Catholics are the hardest nuts to crack.
So, I am Presbyterian. We baptize as a sacrament on entry to the church writ large. We include babies and children among those who are eligible for baptism. Personally, I believe excluding them is horrible and misses the point, in a larger sense, that you cite from Ezekiel entirely. We also permit adults to be baptized when becoming new members if they have no record of a prior baptism.
Here the short answer. Yeshua was baptized because his priestly, royal, and covenantal office required it. The waters did not cleanse him. He consecrated the waters.
On Facebook yesterday, a California phenomena resurgence of Jesus baptisms to proclaim faith publicly at Pirate's Cove was posted. I had to comment with this link. People need to know the history of what they are doing today, and how it changes things, deep things of the Christian faith.
I appreciate this article and I find the connection to Mikvah very intriguing. A couple questions: mikvah was a rhythm not a single event? I had heard John’s baptism was more similar to Essene baptism which was one time to symbolize entrance into the community, any thoughts on that? Also, what do you make of baptism by water and Spirit? Water baptism reminds me of passing through the sea after the Exodus, which was prior to the Law (formation) and the identification as God’s firstborn (now through the Messiah). Spirit baptism would seem to be the transformation necessary before entering the promised land (public mission?)
Michael, three quick answers, with a deeper dive coming in the next post.
Rhythm, not single event. Second Temple mikvah was unambiguously rhythmic. Torah commands the pattern (niddah, corpse contact, tzaraat, seminal emission, the High Priest immersing several times on Yom Kippur alone), and the archaeology backs it up: dozens of mikvaot at the Temple Mount, Qumran, Masada, and Jerusalem houses. The once-for-all framing is a later Christian overlay.
Essene parallel, partially. Qumran did have an initiatory immersion (1QS 3, 5), but they also immersed daily. So the Essenes aren't a clean one-time counter-example. They are both. John's immersion doesn't fit cleanly under that category either. The Greek imperfect "were being baptized" in Mark and Matthew points to ongoing, repeated immersion. What made John distinctive wasn't the form. It was the prophetic urgency: teshuvah ahead of the Messiah.
Water and Spirit. Your typology is sharp, and Paul made the move first (1 Cor 10:1-2, the sea as baptism). I would push gently on one thing: water and Spirit are not two competing baptisms. They are two halves of one initiation. Mikvah is the body's act. The Spirit's coming is the Father's act. Acts confirms the order is plural (Spirit first at Cornelius, water first at Ephesus, Spirit-on-already-mikvah'd at Pentecost) because the substance is one. Your sea-and-Jordan pattern is the macro story. Water and Spirit at personal initiation are the micro echo. Both are true.
As an Irish Catholic (by birth) I was "Baptized" and my uncle Jim and aunt Lorraine were named as my God Parents. Fast forward forty years and several churches later, I was "Baptized" at Horizon Church in Peoria, but I didn't "feel any different", but I was officially in the club now. Everything was going to be great now. For full disclosure, I cheated on my wife, and when I repented and asked (begged) her for forgiveness, I was told repeatedly that I was a "Christian fraud" because I had been Baptized and then committed adultery. I have a few questions about baptism. Now that I am at a new church, do I need to be baptized there, to cleanse myself of the filth of the adultery I committed? Is Baptism really necessary to join this new Baptist church? Has Baptism just become a show, or is it really a show of faith?
I grew up in the Lutheran Chuch Wisconsin Synod and was taught that baptism is a means of grace. We brought our babies to be baptized at an early age (1 week - 1 month). I was taught baptism saved because it cleanses us from sin. The parents and sponsors (also called God Parents) spoke for the baby and agreed to raise this baby in the Christian faith and teach them about Jesus. To be honest I don’t believe most people really took it seriously or understood - it was more of a traditional ritual that people just did.
I also believed that if a baby was NOT baptized it couldn’t get to heaven - which is why I baptized my niece in the hospital emergency room when she was close to death.
The struggle and question I had was if baptism was for the forgiveness of sins and salvation - then why did Jesus have to be baptized?
I am learning more and more the depth of what this act of going through water in our journey to Jesus and why Jesus participated.
Here’s what I have learned Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea, Joshua through them through the Jordan, not just to save them from the enemies but to lead them to the land God promised for them - to fulfill the covenant He made and in keeping with His promise.
Jesus, the perfect Moses and Joshua went through the water (and the wilderness) to fulfill the human part of God’s covenant. But also to fulfill God’s part of the covenant? (Maybe, I’m just kinda processing here).
The tradition of my current church is a believers baptism, but the struggle I have with that is there doesn’t seem to be an intentional follow through - kinda like we are saying “your baptized now you are following Jesus - come to church each week and let the pastors tell you more about him. If you want to go deeper there are Bible studies available but really your spiritual formation is on your own.”
To be fair we do have wonderful pastors that share Jesus in a wonderful way, and there are many people in our church that love and do follow Jesus with their whole heart. But it just seems like we are missing something - intentional discipleship. Or maybe that’s just what I’m missing?
Anyway, I look forward to your deep dive into Baptism.
I appreciate you taking the time to write this out Robin. You bring up a really good point.
The church is missing something, and I believe it's just simply knowing Him for who He actually is versus all the made-up systems we've surrounded Him with.
There are many faithful teachers and pastors and believers; it's just that the system has been shaped with a very different package of who he is for so long that they don't see through it.
Taking a whack at this, Sergio:
“‘Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness when they defile My tabernacle that is among them.”
Leviticus 15:31
The “thus” refers to washing with water (immersion ). This issue is that men/women in the process of living defile everything (?).
Application: NT believers should also understand the OT implications of the act of immersion—a “clean” that facilitates “return.”
Close?
Nailed it!
PS: Born again at 38, the tradition was not inculcated in a child too young to comprehend. But, the traditional statement of what I did in a pool of water in Southern California in the Summer of ‘95 was: “an outward display of an inward decision.”
True and valid. But completely lacking in biblical backstory. So a “process” partly understood.
Don’t feel bad, brother I did it like five times growing up, but now even if it’s in private, it’s a very mental reminder of my place in his Grace. It becomes a beautiful with substance. 🙏
So I’m clear: It is intended to be repeated?
Think of it this way, not as an act, but as an intimate getting back on track. Not necessarily for public display, it’s a reset especially during hard times.
Right on!
Thanks for taking the time to clarify baptism. What I find really important is this:
“It is a one-time event that locks in salvation.” No. Mikvah was repeated, often, across a Jewish life. Teshuvah is the work of a lifetime, not a single afternoon.
We sin and repeatedly come before the Lord to recognise our failures (great or small) and it totally makes sense that we purify ourselves before openly showing the Lord we mean to change, return.
I was a member of the International Church of Christ (ICOC) for a few years and was baptized during that time.
They erroneously believe baptism is the only way to “heaven” and you are utterly devoid of GOD’s spirit until you are dunked in water at which point it is received.
It’s despicable to think that us humans can “schedule” the receiving of the spirit.
And if you don’t understand baptism from ICOC’s POV, they will coerce you into getting baptized again. Ridiculous.
They ignore than numerous events in which the spirit is received through laying on of hands.
As a matter of fact, I can’t find one single instance of someone in all of Scripture receiving the spirit right after baptism 🤔
Interesting, interesting. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you for all of your free articles! I’ve sent them to many people 😉
Of course, and there's a lot more on my personal website. Not sure if you've been there yet. Thank you so much. 🙏
I was baptized in a congregation of a United Pentecostal Church at 10 years old. Too young to understand any of it...did it because my brother did/mom wanted us baptized. I checked their website site. They have a salvation formula: 1) repent, 2) be baptized (in Jesus' name - not "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost"; 3) receive the Holy Ghost (evidenced by speaking in tongues). By their definition, I was never saved. I couldn't figure out how to speak the gibberish that all of the "saved" were speaking. The peer pressure to speak in tongues left a lasting impression on me. Thank you Lord for leading me to find the real truth and real gospel...not what the Christian religions teach.
Thank you for sharing brother.
Anyway. I forgot to ask my question. When Peter said in Acts 2:38 (paraphrasing), "repent, be baptized, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit"...what was he really saying in context?
Peter is standing at Shavuot speaking to covenant Jews who already know mikveh and teshuvah. He’s invoking the Ezekiel 36 promise in real time. The immersion in Yeshua’s name isn’t a new ritual, it’s a covenant oath of loyalty to the risen Messiah.
The teshuvah isn’t generic remorse, it’s a specific reversal of the crowd’s verdict on who Yeshua is. The Ruach HaKodesh they’re promised is the sign that the messianic age just arrived.
Great question and it deserves to go in the final article! Pulling this into the deep dive. Stay tuned.😎
When I first started on my Sabbath keeping journey, I attended a congregation of the United Church of God, an International Association (off-shoot of the original Radio Church of God / Worldwide Church of God). I asked the Pastor about getting baptized. He told me they consider baptism a very serious event for a believer and we have to "count the cost". They required counseling and a meeting with elders. At my meeting, it was pointed out to me that I had missed a few Sabbath services over the previous year...essentially calling my commitment into question. So, no baptism with them...the Holy Spirit led me to a Hebrew Roots fellowship and I've never looked back.
One more thought. My younger sister had her experience of cleansing in her shower. So it is pretty awesome to see shower included among your places it can take place. I am 76 now so this subject is revolutionary to me.
It all goes back to Jeremiah 31, every bit of it. It's a hard issue. And I guarantee you that experience in the shower was sincere and very heavy. That's so amazing. I love it.
I was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church as an infant. The teaching about it came through catechism prior to receiving our first Communion. Bottom line: baptism removed original sin. I had no reason to question this until young adulthood when “I asked Christ into my heart.” I was baptized by immersion when I was in grad school when the new explanation replaced the former: outward sign of an inward change. Years later when I was examined for ministerial license in my denomination, one of the questions was ( and is) how is John’s baptism different from Christian baptism? The whole Jewish floor (substrate?) was never there. The first time I heard of mikvah (or saw) was watching The Chosen - and I thought I wish we had that. End of comment- sorry so long.
You know what? Thank you for sharing. I'm gonna definitely include this in my deep dive.🙏
Oh, Sergio! This is so good! We had a huge baptism at our church and it is always a time of public testimony and public affirmation of who is Lord and savior. Often, their teacher, or father, or spiritual counselor does the dunking or one of the pastors. This time is deeply moving to me for a variety of reasons, but I have also had bunches of questions about the full meaning of baptism which without these elements above mentioned seems unnecessarily theatrical. Now, I understand the history and significance and will share this post. Thank you!!!
Thank you Sergio!! I just had a conversation about this with a Catholic friend who believes you must be baptized to enter Heaven. If I shared this great piece of yours with her, she would become angry. Catholics are the hardest nuts to crack.
You are not wrong!
So, I am Presbyterian. We baptize as a sacrament on entry to the church writ large. We include babies and children among those who are eligible for baptism. Personally, I believe excluding them is horrible and misses the point, in a larger sense, that you cite from Ezekiel entirely. We also permit adults to be baptized when becoming new members if they have no record of a prior baptism.
Yes, all too common, my friend, but thank you for commenting. I'm going to add it to my notes. 🙏
When you address this, will you also address Baptism in the Holy Spirit?
Did you post this before or after you looked at the follow-up article?
Before! I could still use more though.
That one deserves a follow-up piece or a detailed FAQ I appreciate you, Cathy!
Tell me again why Yeshua-Jesus got baptized? I thought I'd find it by rereading the article, but did not.
Here the short answer. Yeshua was baptized because his priestly, royal, and covenantal office required it. The waters did not cleanse him. He consecrated the waters.
Might the waters have been needed according to his humanity for immersion?
On Facebook yesterday, a California phenomena resurgence of Jesus baptisms to proclaim faith publicly at Pirate's Cove was posted. I had to comment with this link. People need to know the history of what they are doing today, and how it changes things, deep things of the Christian faith.
I appreciate this article and I find the connection to Mikvah very intriguing. A couple questions: mikvah was a rhythm not a single event? I had heard John’s baptism was more similar to Essene baptism which was one time to symbolize entrance into the community, any thoughts on that? Also, what do you make of baptism by water and Spirit? Water baptism reminds me of passing through the sea after the Exodus, which was prior to the Law (formation) and the identification as God’s firstborn (now through the Messiah). Spirit baptism would seem to be the transformation necessary before entering the promised land (public mission?)
Michael, three quick answers, with a deeper dive coming in the next post.
Rhythm, not single event. Second Temple mikvah was unambiguously rhythmic. Torah commands the pattern (niddah, corpse contact, tzaraat, seminal emission, the High Priest immersing several times on Yom Kippur alone), and the archaeology backs it up: dozens of mikvaot at the Temple Mount, Qumran, Masada, and Jerusalem houses. The once-for-all framing is a later Christian overlay.
Essene parallel, partially. Qumran did have an initiatory immersion (1QS 3, 5), but they also immersed daily. So the Essenes aren't a clean one-time counter-example. They are both. John's immersion doesn't fit cleanly under that category either. The Greek imperfect "were being baptized" in Mark and Matthew points to ongoing, repeated immersion. What made John distinctive wasn't the form. It was the prophetic urgency: teshuvah ahead of the Messiah.
Water and Spirit. Your typology is sharp, and Paul made the move first (1 Cor 10:1-2, the sea as baptism). I would push gently on one thing: water and Spirit are not two competing baptisms. They are two halves of one initiation. Mikvah is the body's act. The Spirit's coming is the Father's act. Acts confirms the order is plural (Spirit first at Cornelius, water first at Ephesus, Spirit-on-already-mikvah'd at Pentecost) because the substance is one. Your sea-and-Jordan pattern is the macro story. Water and Spirit at personal initiation are the micro echo. Both are true.
More on this in a coming dig. 👊
As an Irish Catholic (by birth) I was "Baptized" and my uncle Jim and aunt Lorraine were named as my God Parents. Fast forward forty years and several churches later, I was "Baptized" at Horizon Church in Peoria, but I didn't "feel any different", but I was officially in the club now. Everything was going to be great now. For full disclosure, I cheated on my wife, and when I repented and asked (begged) her for forgiveness, I was told repeatedly that I was a "Christian fraud" because I had been Baptized and then committed adultery. I have a few questions about baptism. Now that I am at a new church, do I need to be baptized there, to cleanse myself of the filth of the adultery I committed? Is Baptism really necessary to join this new Baptist church? Has Baptism just become a show, or is it really a show of faith?
I grew up in the Lutheran Chuch Wisconsin Synod and was taught that baptism is a means of grace. We brought our babies to be baptized at an early age (1 week - 1 month). I was taught baptism saved because it cleanses us from sin. The parents and sponsors (also called God Parents) spoke for the baby and agreed to raise this baby in the Christian faith and teach them about Jesus. To be honest I don’t believe most people really took it seriously or understood - it was more of a traditional ritual that people just did.
I also believed that if a baby was NOT baptized it couldn’t get to heaven - which is why I baptized my niece in the hospital emergency room when she was close to death.
The struggle and question I had was if baptism was for the forgiveness of sins and salvation - then why did Jesus have to be baptized?
I am learning more and more the depth of what this act of going through water in our journey to Jesus and why Jesus participated.
Here’s what I have learned Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea, Joshua through them through the Jordan, not just to save them from the enemies but to lead them to the land God promised for them - to fulfill the covenant He made and in keeping with His promise.
Jesus, the perfect Moses and Joshua went through the water (and the wilderness) to fulfill the human part of God’s covenant. But also to fulfill God’s part of the covenant? (Maybe, I’m just kinda processing here).
The tradition of my current church is a believers baptism, but the struggle I have with that is there doesn’t seem to be an intentional follow through - kinda like we are saying “your baptized now you are following Jesus - come to church each week and let the pastors tell you more about him. If you want to go deeper there are Bible studies available but really your spiritual formation is on your own.”
To be fair we do have wonderful pastors that share Jesus in a wonderful way, and there are many people in our church that love and do follow Jesus with their whole heart. But it just seems like we are missing something - intentional discipleship. Or maybe that’s just what I’m missing?
Anyway, I look forward to your deep dive into Baptism.
I appreciate you taking the time to write this out Robin. You bring up a really good point.
The church is missing something, and I believe it's just simply knowing Him for who He actually is versus all the made-up systems we've surrounded Him with.
There are many faithful teachers and pastors and believers; it's just that the system has been shaped with a very different package of who he is for so long that they don't see through it.