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FROM: 6/16/02 Radio Program
Question:
I heard a preacher say that Jesus did not baptize anyone. If Jesus did not baptize anyone, why not?
Answer:
Yes, it is true that the Bible says that Jesus did not baptize anyone. In John 4:1-3, we read, "When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee."
Sometimes people misuse this passage in an effort to suggest that baptism is not necessary for salvation. They reason this way, "If Jesus did not baptize anyone, then baptism is not important." Yet, this is faulty reasoning. It is faulty reasoning because:
1) It corrupts the text. Read John 4:1 again and see that the emphasis is on the fact that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John the Immerser did! Evidently, our Lord was teaching the necessity of baptism or He could not have baptized more than John did!
2) If it is true that baptism is not necessary, or unimportant, then Christ should not have allowed His disciples to baptize anyone, either! Isn't this hypocritical to encourage someone to do what you will not? Our Lord is no hypocrite!
3) Just because someone doesn't literally baptize another does not mean he thinks baptism is unimportant or unnecessary. Consider Paul who could only remember baptizing Crispus, Gaius, and the household of Stephanas out of the entire group of Christians at Corinth (I Cor. 1:14, 16; I Cor. 6:11).
4) Christ told His apostles: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:15-16). If Christ thought baptism was unimportant in John 4, why did He encourage it in Mark 16?
Our Lord taught that when one is baptized, he is saved from his sins (Mk. 16:16), and this is what needs to be declared today.
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