Matthew 3 tells us that John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for Jesus. It says the following:
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’ ”
Matthew 3:1-3
Another disciple of Jesus, also named John, wrote The Gospel of John. In the first chapter of John, John describes the ministry of John the Baptist. He describes an occasion when John the Baptist is telling his own disciples of the Messiah who is to come. The Bible tells us that John the Baptist saw Jesus, and as he saw Jesus, he said to his disciples in John 1:30, “This is the one I spoke of when I said there is one greater who will come after me.” He says in verse 33, “I didn’t know who He was, but,” he says, “the One who sent me to baptize with water told me that I would know who He is because I will see the Spirit descending on Him.”
Notice his words there! He says, “the one who sent me to baptize with water told me.” In other words, baptism was not John’s own idea, but it was an instruction given to Him of God. It was something necessary for the preparation of the way for Jesus.
If we want Jesus to be Lord of our lives, then baptism is a necessary component to prepare the way for Jesus to be Lord in our lives. Jesus cannot be Lord in our lives, unless we are baptized.
Before Jesus returned to heaven, He instructed the disciples to go into all the world and spread the Gospel. In this instruction, he included an instruction to baptize them. He says, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”
Notice the order of the different parts of this instruction. He says teach, and then baptize, and then teach to observe all things commanded. In the Christian walk, therefore, there is teaching, then there is baptizing, and then there is further teaching and observing all that God commands us.
The first part of the instruction, “teach all nations” can also be translated as “make disciples of all nations.” So, the verse could be read, “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations.” When Jesus called twelve men to be His disciples, He called them to a new life. He called them to leave the old life behind and to follow Him. They were going in a certain direction, and Jesus said, walk this way.
Were the disciples perfect? Not in the least. However, for them to reach the standard of the character of Jesus, they had to stop doing what they were doing and follow Him. They had to put away the old life and walk with Jesus daily.
I started primary school in 1995. A really long time ago. One of the things that schools do a few days before you start school is that they put you through some sort of orientation to familiarize you with the school rules, the school uniform, the classrooms, the teachers, the principal and so on.
So, about a week before I was starting my first day of Grade 1, l attended the orientation day with my parents and all the other new Grade 1s and their parents. We sat in the school hall and we were addressed by the principal, the teachers, the accounts person and various other members of the school staff.
They told us about the uniform that we must wear, during summer and during winter, and where we could purchase it. They told us about the daily schedule. School starts at 7:45, it ends at 13:30. There are two breaks. A long one at 10 and a shorter one at 12:00. They gave us a list of stationery to purchase. HB pencils, coloring pencils, workbooks lined with Feint lines and a margin. You can purchase them at Waltons, they told us. And they pointed us to the list of school rules. We were told to do our homework, don’t swear, don’t eat during class-time, don’t talk to other children while the teacher is teaching.
They gave us all these rules that we needed to abide by, and we were told what would happen to us if we did not abide by these rules. The worst punishment being suspension or expulsion from the school.
And so, these were the necessary preparations that little 6-year olds, with the help of their parents, had to make in order to be a part of the school. These were the rules that we needed to abide by in order to receive quality education.
During this orientation program, the school was saying to all of us 6-year olds: We are going to educate you. We are going to equip with skills that will increase your happiness, usefulness, and your ability to acquire wealth and prosperity. But you need to abide by these rules and you need to make these preparations.
This is the journey of the new Christian. There is a call to put away the old life, there is a call to put away sin, there is a call to abide by certain principles and tenets of the Christian faith, and there is baptism. This is the preparatory work and the conditions for the greatest transformation that God wants to accomplish in your life: Christlikeness, Godliness, Holiness. This is preparatory work for the formation of the fruit of the Spirit, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Gentleness kindness. This is preparatory work for receiving eternal life. And, just like the rest of the grade 1’s of 1995 and I were assisted by our parents in making the necessary preparations, so also, we have God and fellow Christians to assist us in putting away sin and in getting baptized. Acts 5:31 tells us that even repentance itself is a gift from God. And so, God is there to help us make the necessary preparations.
If you have not yet been baptized, I invite you to take the necessary steps to get there. Repent, turn away from the sins in your life, and get baptized. Prepare the way for Jesus to work wonders in your life. It may be a struggle, but God is there to help you at each step of the way. Ask Him to give you the strength that you need. Get baptized; prepare the way for Jesus.