Baptism, as is well
known, was not something introduced to the world by the followers of
Jesus. Jesus Himself was baptized,
presumably into his cousin’s exodus movement, as he stood by the Jordan and
called his countrymen to a conversion of heart and mind in their considerations
of the role of the covenant people of the Creator God. Beyond that, it must be remembered that baptism
has been a part of a number of religious and cultural traditions, pre- and
post-Christ. Baptism has been generally
understood to represent a period of transition, and entrance upon a wholly
different part of one’s life.
When the believer
participates in baptism subsequent to and as a representation of a trusting
allegiance to Jesus and His claims, it is, among other things, with its place
in the New Testament defined, structured by, and provided its depth of meaning
by its relation to Israel’s historical narrative, a re-enactment of the exodus
of the Creator God’s people from slavery and exile, in the trust that there has
been and will be an experience of the redemptive power of the covenant God, and
in full confession that Jesus is King of all.
This stands opposed too all other claims of absolute power and claims upon
one’s allegiance.
At the communion
table, among a host of other things, with the tangible symbols of bread and
wine (though it seems that the elements could be pretty much anything, with the
action and that which stands behind the actions seemingly more significant), the
believer and the believing community proclaims the fact of Jesus’ bodily death
and bodily Resurrection, doing so in submission to the truths that are thereby
claimed. Therefore, the Gospel is
preached in the very act of participating in the version of the messianic
banquet meal that was reported to have been given to His followers by Jesus
Himself. With these tokens of submission and surrender, the believer confirm
a place in the kingdom of God that was brought to bear and activated in this
world with Jesus’ Resurrection.
Returning then to the
second book of the Kings and to the words of the king of Assyria, one finds
that their participation in the kingdom of God, and in the restoration and
renewal of this creation that began with Jesus’ conquering of death and the
grave, fits very well with the reason given to the people of Judah for their
continued submission. Following the statement concerning eating and
drinking from their own fig trees and cisterns, the king gives them a further
reason for submission, as we read, “until I come and take you to a land just
like your own---a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a
land of olive trees and honey. Then you will live and not die”
(18:32a).
Is this not what the
Creator God promises to those that are His covenant people that are in union
with Christ (believing in Him as King)? If they are in submission to their God through
their believing and trusting allegiance to His Son (by faith), then the expectation is that He will come and
take them to a land just like their own. This is not a land not precisely
like their own at present, but a land as it was intended to be, which is a
restored creation, un-corrupted and un-marred by sin and death, which means it
will most assuredly be a land of grain and new wine, bread and vineyards, olive
trees and honey. Yes, one day, the Creator God will consummate the
redemption of His people and His once good creation.
Following that, as the
believer contemplates the consummated kingdom of God on earth, it is
appropriate to seize upon and consider that which were the king’s empty words---as
they attempted to communicate something that no man can effectively
promise---and say that because death has been finally put down, having been
defeated by the Resurrection of Jesus, there in that land like their own, the
gift of eternal life that is to be had in union with the Lord Christ Jesus will
be completed, so that the covenant people will in fact live and not die.
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