New Testament Baptisms

In this article, continuing our study of the mode of baptism, we wish to look at the baptisms of the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8) and of Jesus (Matt. 3 and Mk. 1).  These are usually taken to be the clearest examples in Scripture of baptism by immersion.

The baptism of the Eunuch.  It is usually assumed that the words “down into the water” and “up out of the water” describe the actual baptism of the Eunuch and therefore also the fact that he was immersed (Acts 8:38, 39).  There are two problems with this.

(1) The prepositions used, “into” (eis in Greek) and “out of” (ek) do not imply immersion at all.  Indeed, they do not necessarily imply that anyone was even in the water!

The word translated “into” (eis) is translated in the NT in many different ways including “at” (20 times), “in” (131), “into” (571) “to” (282), “toward” (32), “unto” (208) - this can be checked with a good concordance.  The word translated “out of” (ek) is also translated very differently: “from” (182), “up from” (2), “out of” (131).

Substituting these different translations in the two verses will immediately show what a difference that makes (we beg our readers to do so).  The point is, though, that these words are not describing the baptism at all, but what took place just before and after it.

(2) Further proof that these prepositions are not describing the baptism is easily found in the text, since they are applied both to the Eunuch and to Philip!  If they are describing an immersion baptism then Philip was also baptized by immersion.  He also “went down into” and “came up out of.”  Either they describe the baptism by immersion of both or they describe no baptism at all.

The baptism of Christ.  Here again there are several considerations.

(1) The argument about the words used applies here also.  In Mark the same Greek words are used as in Acts 8.  In Matthew 3:16 a different preposition is used, the Greek word apo.  This word is translated “from” 372 times and “out of” only 27 times.

(2) There is a further consideration, however, in the story of Jesus’ baptism.  It may not be overlooked that He was baptized at 30 years of age (Lk. 3:23), by a priest (John was such - Lk. 1:5, 13), with water, and that he said at the time of His baptism, “thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15).

That He fulfilled “all righteousness” by His baptism can only refer to the fact that He fulfilled the demands of the law.  What law?  The law for the consecration of a priest.  A priest was not consecrated until he was 30 years old (Num. 4:3, 47).  At that time he was consecrated by another priest (Ex. 29:9; Num. 25:13) and was consecrated by sprinkling with water (Num. 8:6-7).

In fulfilling the law, therefore, Christ could not have been baptized in any other way than by sprinkling.  Else He would have been breaking it, not fulfilling it.  Christ’s baptism is not proof that immersion is the proper mode of baptism but exactly the opposite.  We plead with those who believe otherwise to consider this carefully.  At least they ought to cease accusing us of following Romish superstition and not Scripture.