The Baptism Of Jesus
By DON FIER
Much that regards Christianity and the Catholic faith we profess to believe is prefigured in the Old Covenant; signs and shadows which prepared the way for the New Testament abound throughout the pages of the Old. And as we saw last week, this is especially true for the Sacrament of Baptism:
“[In] water, seen as source of life and death; in the Ark of Noah, which saved by means of water; in the passing through the Red Sea, which liberated Israel from Egyptian slavery; in the crossing of the Jordan River, that brought Israel into the promised land which is the image of eternal life” (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 253).
Indeed, the first type or sign of Baptism — as seen by many Church fathers — is the hovering of the Spirit of God over the primordial waters at the very dawn of creation (cf. Gen. 1:2).
Another important Old Covenant type or sign not mentioned last week, circumcision, must be added to the list. Beginning with our father in faith — the great patriarch Abraham — and continuing through his son Isaac and all subsequent generations in his lineage, circumcision was the necessary means ordained by God for being in covenant relationship with Him. This includes women who were joined by means of their relationship to the head of the household (cf. Fr. John Paul Echert, The Catholic Servant [TCS], volume XVI, no. VII, August 2010).
So essential was this permanent physical mark on the body — signifying spiritual communion with God — that Abraham’s distant descendants, the Israelites, were commanded by the Lord to be circumcised before they could enter the Promised Land (see Josh. 5:2-7).
Just as one could not enter the Promised Land without circumcision in Old Testament times, likewise one cannot enter Heaven without the seal of Baptism following the redemptive sacrifice of Christ. Important to note, however, is that circumcision was not a guarantee of inheritance as evidenced by the thousands of circumcised Israelites who died in the desert in punishment for their sins.
So too, although a necessary precondition for entry into Heaven, Baptism does not guarantee salvation — subsequent unrepentant mortal sin can preclude one from attaining eternal life.
The symbolism of circumcision as a type of Baptism is testified to in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul: “In [Christ] you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col. 2:11-12).
In keeping with this symbolism, St. Paul testifies elsewhere that “real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal” (Romans 2:29). In other words, “Christ accomplishes in Baptism what circumcision only signified in ancient Israel” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible — NT, p. 368).
Prior to closing our consideration of Old Testament precursors to Baptism, we would be remiss not to consider the testimony of some of the great prophets. Perhaps one of the most explicit is that of Ezekiel: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:25-36).
Through the instrumentality of water, divine life is given by God to His people. Other Old Testament prophecies that might be seen as allusions to Baptism include that of Zechariah: “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness” (Zech. 13:1), and that of Isaiah in reference to the washing away of “the filth of the daughters of Zion” (Isaiah 4:4).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) now considers, most fittingly, the baptism of repentance received by our Lord in the Jordan River at the hands of St. John the Baptist, for “all the Old Covenant prefigurations find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus” (n. 1223).
As explained by Fr. Paul Haffner in an excellent work on the sacraments entitled The Sacramental Mystery (TSM), “While Old Testament ritual washings may be seen as a remote prefiguration of Christian baptism, the baptism of John the Baptist is a proximate foreshadowing of the sacrament which Christ instituted” (p. 32).
In other words, for all that the Old Covenant had to offer, it was preparatory and transitory. This includes the baptism of our Lord by John which was symbolic rather than sacramental, a bridge between the Old and New Testaments.
How do we know this? Even St. John the Baptist, shortly after consenting to Jesus’ request for baptism, vehemently insisted to the Pharisees and Sadducees: “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matt. 3:11).
St. Paul later testified similarly during a remarkable episode with his disciples at Ephesus: “Paul said, ‘John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.’ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues and prophesied” (Acts 19:4-6).
Why did Jesus submit to the baptism of repentance by John? Clearly, our Lord was without original sin and lived a sinless life. Yet He “voluntarily submitted himself to the baptism of St. John, intended for sinners, in order to ‘fulfill all righteousness’ (Matt. 3:15)” (CCC, n. 1224). It was not for His own sake that Jesus was baptized, but for us and for our salvation. In his Summa Theologiae (STh), St. Thomas Aquinas lists several reasons for the fittingness of John’s baptism.
First, it was necessary for Christ to be baptized in order that He might sanctify the waters of baptism:
“He wished, not to be cleansed, but to cleanse the waters, that, being purified by the flesh of Christ that knew no sin, they might have the virtue of baptism” (STh III, Q. 39, art. 1, resp.). Unlike the effect baptismal water has on us when we receive the sacrament, it was not the waters that cleansed and sanctified Christ, but He who cleansed and sanctified the waters. Thus, through His submission to John’s baptism of repentance, Jesus prepared the waters for Baptism, making it possible for us to receive “the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5) in the sacrament He was soon to give the Church.
Another reason for Christ’s submission to baptism was to give mankind an example of humility that we might follow in His footsteps. “Christ wished to be baptized in order by His example to lead us to Baptism,” says the Angelic Doctor. “And so, in order that He might lead us thereto more efficaciously, He wished to be baptized with a baptism which He clearly needed not, that men who needed it might approach unto it” (STh III, Q. 39, art. 2, ad 1).
Our Savior wished to do Himself what He commanded all to do.
Perhaps the central reason for His submission to John’s baptism was that “although Christ was not a sinner, yet did He take a sinful nature and ‘the likeness of sinful flesh.’ Wherefore, though He needed not baptism for His own sake, yet carnal nature in others had need thereof” (STh III, Q. 39, art. 1, resp.).
Jesus was stepping in as a representative for fallen mankind, taking upon His shoulders the burden of all man’s guilt. “The baptism of Jesus is on His part the acceptance and inauguration of His mission as God’s suffering Servant. He allows Himself to be numbered among sinners” (CCC, n. 536).
New Life
Another reason that might be cited for the fittingness for Christ’s baptism is to confirm John’s ministry, to testify to his life and work as precursor. Likewise, it served as a manifestation of Christ as He began His public ministry, for “when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’” (Matt. 3:16-17).
When did the graces of Baptism become available to mankind? It was “in His Passover [that] Christ opened to all men the fountain of Baptism. . . . The blood and water that flowed from the pierced side of the crucified Jesus are types of Baptism and the Eucharist, the sacraments of new life” (CCC, n. 1225).
From then on, it became possible for us “to be born of water and the Spirit” (cf. John 3:5) in order that we might be able to enter the Kingdom of God. And it was from “the very day of Pentecost [that] the Church has celebrated and administered holy Baptism” (CCC, n. 1226).
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(Don Fier serves on the board of directors for The Catholic Servant, a Minneapolis-based monthly publication. He and his wife are the parents of seven children. Fier is a 2009 graduate of Ave Maria University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. He is doing research for writing a definitive biography of Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)
