I do not really know why John finds it necessary to make
this clarification. Let’s just consider
it a matter of accuracy. It is a
reminder that the writers of the Gospels were not just writing willy-nilly what
came to their mind. They, in fact, were
not only moved by the Holy Spirit to write what they saw, but were inspired to
be accurate so as to not bring disrepute on the cause of Christ by those who
would be seeking to discredit the message on the account of inaccuracies and
inconsistencies.
I can’t help but feel that this was the case with the
apostle Paul some years later. He went
to some lengths to be very clear about his personal participation in baptizing
anyone, lest the one baptized feel superior to others baptized by people of
less renown (1 Corinthians 1:14-16), Jesus may have also made it a point not to
be the one baptizing in order to avoid any sense of superiority by the ones he
personally baptized. Paul may not have
thought this one through until after he had begun to baptize some people. Jesus
anticipates this scenario.
Ultimately it is the act of being baptized that has meaning and significance. It represents my baptism into Jesus Christ and the death of the person that I was before accepting Him (Romans 6). It is a public testimony of something that takes place in private between me, the sinner, and my Savior. But there is a second point that ought not to be lost here, that often is. I am not a follower of people or celebrity or status. I was not baptized into Arnold Kurtz, the pastor in Redlands, California, who baptized me when I was but a child. I was baptized into Jesus Christ—he is not divided (Read 1Corinthians 1:13), neither is my loyalty and faith. Regardless of who baptizes me, I belong to Jesus Christ; and unlike frail and fickle humans, even pastors like me, Jesus never disappoints in the end.
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