My Wife’s Baptism
My wife was baptized today! The following is the talk for the occasion:
What does a dyed piece of string and a married name have to do with baptism? A lot actually. First let’s start with the piece of string. In Number 15:38, it states that the Israelites are to make tassels at the corners of their clothing and one of the strings must be blue. The term for the tassels in Hebrew is tzitzit, which has the value of 600, as each letter represents a value, like Roman numerals. There are 8 strings, and 5 knots. A total value of 613. According to the great rabbis, there are 613 laws of Moses. As Christians, we believe that Jesus perfectly fulfilled those laws. So again I ask, what does this have to do with that dyed piece of string? We will get back to that in a minute. But first, let’s look at scripture for some examples of baptism.
After Jesus’ resurrection, he commissioned his disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20a.
Jesus referred to his death and resurrection as a baptism in Mark 10:38-39 and Luke 12:50.
Paul states that when we are baptized, we are baptized in Jesus’ death, as we are buried with him in the immersion of the water, and raised from our dead selves to new life. Romans 6:3-5. Paul makes this explicit in Galatians 3:26-27, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” And also Colossians 2:11-12, “In him you were circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” When we die and resurrect, we become adopted children of God since we are participating in Christ’s death and resurrection, as Paul says in Romans 1:4, Jesus, “through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead…”
Paul further states that baptism is a public display of a critical moment. For example, he cites the crossing of the Red Sea and God’s presence on Mount Sinai as a baptism, since the Jews were no longer slaves to the Egyptians and promising to keep a new covenant with God through Moses. Just like them, you are publicly promising to free yourself from sin and enter into a covenant with God through Jesus.
Jesus was himself baptized by John the Baptist, for it was viewed by Jesus as a righteous thing to do. We follow his example today.
What was the term baptism primarily used for, prior to Christians using it? It comes from the Greek word meaning to dip or immerse. What were they immersing before? They were immersing cloth to dye it. We are to be immersed as well! We are to kill our old ways, resurrect to new life, following the law of God. We are to be that little blue string, representing God’s laws, which can be summed up as to love the Lord with all your might, and to love your neighbor as yourself. With this baptism, you will be promising to be that little blue string.
On November 18, 2017, I was the happiest person on earth, and hopefully you were somewhat happy yourself! On that day, we made a promise to each other that we would love each other, more than ourselves. You also took on a new name: Mazurek. Today, you are making that same commitment. You are making a promise to love the Lord with all your might and preparing yourself to take on a new name, that of our Lord. Today you are being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You are declaring that you are getting rid of that old way of life, and marrying a new way of life. This death and resurrection you are about to partake in is to foreshadow that hope that we have: death and resurrection into the kingdom of God. As Revelation 3:12 says, “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.” Christ is the Bridegroom. I saw a beautiful bride coming down the aisle a few years ago. Now Christ sees a beautiful bride today. You are now making a lifelong commitment, just like our marriage. You are leaving your single, carefree life behind and taking on a new one, that brings greater joy. Just as the fruits of our labor, our children, have given us greater joy than we thought imaginable, so will the fruits of your labor in Christ bring you greater joy.
So today come partake in the wonderful, Godly family, as you discard your old self, and come to a new life in Christ, and celebrate in the feast. You are now taking the Lord’s name! Do you repent of your sins and commit to the Lord for the rest of your life?