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Forgiveness Through John's Baptism
Forgiveness Through John's Baptism
Luke 3:3 says “He [John the Baptist] came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” John’s baptism provided forgiveness of sins, yet when John saw Jesus in John 1:29, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” If John’s baptism provided forgiveness, why did people need Jesus to take away their sins?
Consider an analogy. Let’s say I pay a roofer $10,000 to put a new roof on my house. I write the roofer a check for $10,000 and he does the job. Here’s the question: did that check pay for the roof? In a sense, yes, because I traded that check for the new roof. But ultimately the check didn’t pay for the roof; the money in my checking account did. The roofer graciously accepted my check, but if I didn’t have $10,000 in my account, the check would be worthless!
John’s baptism was like a check people gave God to receive forgiveness. Like a roofer says, “Cut me a check and I’ll give you a new roof,” God said, “Repent and be baptized by John and I’ll give you forgiveness.” But John’s baptism wasn’t the ultimate basis for forgiveness, it was the blood of Jesus that would one day be spilled to make forgiveness possible. John’s baptism was the check, Jesus’ future blood was the fully funded account that makes the check worth something. “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” (Matt. 26:28)
Let’s go back even earlier. In Leviticus 4, when the Israelite assembly sinned, the priest would offer a bull as a sin offering. The end of Leviticus 4:20 says, “The priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.” God said, “Offer me a bull and I’ll forgive you.” But was the bull the ultimate basis for their forgiveness? No way! God graciously accepted those bulls in exchange for forgiveness, but Hebrews 10:4 says, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” God didn’t give them forgiveness based on animals anymore than a roofer gives me a roof based on a check. It’s because God knew one day the blood of His Son, the Lamb of God, would be shed as the basis for ultimate forgiveness. “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14).
The truth is, when people before Christ offered animal sacrifices or got baptized by John, they were writing checks to God with nothing in the bank. They were spiritually bankrupt and had nothing to offer God at all. But by His grace and mercy, He accepted their empty checks anyway. They didn’t know how, but those checks never bounced when offered in faith. How? Because Jesus’s future sacrifice filled their empty spiritual accounts to the brim. “He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.” (Hebrews 10:12)
