Baptism- as Water of Affliction

I used to think that Jesus’ words in John 3:5, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God,” were referring to the two births- physical and spiritual; however I have come to understand this is not what Jesus is teaching us here.

Jesus had just finished telling the disciples that he was about to be betrayed and would suffer mocking, scourging and crucifixion, when the mother of Zebedee’s children came to request of him to allow her two sons to sit on either side of him in the kingdom, “Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father” (Matthew 20:22-23).

The disciples did not understand the baptism Jesus was speaking of here. They likely were thinking of John’s baptism of Jesus, which was merely to fulfill the law. While they could not fulfill the law, they certainly could undergo an outward sign of baptism. However, the baptism of John did not save anyone, as can no other outward form of baptism. Only those who are baptized with the ‘water of affliction’ will be saved. 1 Peter 3:13- 20 speaks of suffering for right and wrong and in verses 20-21 we read, “….. when once the long-suffering of God did wait, in days of Noah -- an ark being preparing -- in which few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water; also to which an antitype doth now save us -- baptism, (not a putting away of the filth of flesh, but the question of a good conscience in regard to God,) through the rising again of Jesus Christ,” (YLT).

Only what God has done within the heart of an individual counts for anything. Any outward sign is meaningless if we have not experienced a regeneration of the heart and been, “.. buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:12-14). 

 

The following verses give evidence to the fact that the water Jesus spoke of in John chapter 3 was indeed in reference to the persecution that those who are regenerate will have to undergo,“He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher,” (Isaiah 30:19-20).

The Bible speaks much of the suffering Christ’s followers will have to endure, “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:29). Even though we may not suffer physical abuse for the sake of the gospel as many have (and still do); we can be assured that emotional/spiritual abuse will be a part of our lives if we desire to follow in Christ’s steps. Second Timothy 3:12 tells us that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted..”; yet Paul writes in Romans 5:2-5 that, “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

If we are followers of Christ, we will follow in His steps. In John 15:18-19 Jesus tells us that, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” Luke 17:24-25 reads, “For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”

As heirs with Christ, we also will suffer many things and yet we have this confidence that, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:16-17). May we be comforted with the following words of Paul (who suffered much) in 2 Corinthians 1:5, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Those who are baptized with ‘the water of affliction’ can be assured that their suffering will not be in vain, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).