*Editor’s note: This is part 4 in Dr. Brandon Rhea’s blog series on “The Day of Atonement.”
Read part 1 here: https://cbtseminary.org/the-day-of-atonement-foreshadowing-jesus-our-high-priest-brandon-rhea/
Read Part 3 here: https://cbtseminary.org/the-day-of-atonement-foreshadowing-jesus-particular-atonement-brandon-rhea/
Read Part 5 here: https://cbtseminary.org/the-day-of-atonement-foreshadowing-repentance-and-faith-brandon-rhea/
The Day of Atonement: Foreshadowing Believer’s Baptism
Leviticus 16:23-28
Brandon Rhea
Intro
In Church history, William Carey stands out as one of the trailblazers. His burden to take the gospel to all of the nations ignited a missionary movement in the 19th century. Before traveling to India in 1793, Carey had a long journey from Anglicanism to becoming a Baptist. Born a member in the Church of England, he held a prejudice against dissenters—Christians who were not members of the Established Church. After his conversion and after hearing a sermon at a dissenting chapel, Carey decided to flee the dead Establishment Church and to bear the reproach as a dissenter. He, however, had not decided on believer’s baptism. A friend recommended for him to be a bi-vocational preacher at a small chapel which did not take a stand on infant or believer’s baptism. In addition to pastoring, Carey worked as a shoemaker to supplement his needs. In his spare time, he met with other ministers including Baptists where he became friends with John Leland, Andrew Fuller, and John Ryland. Through their influence and the study of the Scriptures, Carey became a Baptist and was baptized by John Ryland in 1783.[1]
What do you believe about baptism? Do you think infants should be sprinkled as a sign of being in the covenant? Or do you think only believers should be baptized by immersion? What does baptism signify? How do the washings in the Old Testament contribute to baptism in the New Testament?
Today we will continue our blog series on Leviticus 16. Last time we learned that the Day of Atonement foreshadows Jesus’ atonement because Jesus died for His elect. In this edition, we will answer this question: How do the Levitical washings foreshadow believer’s baptism? How do the ceremonial baths portend a Christian’s immersion?
Point 1
Our first and only point is this: The Levitical washings foreshadow believer’s baptism because a believer is cleansed through trusting in Christ. The ceremonial baths portend a Christian’s immersion because a Christian is forgiven through faith in Jesus.
For the past three weeks, we have examined the ceremonies and meaning of the Day of Atonement. This day and the sacrifices by the High Priest acted as a type of the Messiah to come. Christ through His death and resurrection on the cross accomplished what the sacrifices could not. He is the propitiation offering and scapegoat who satisfies God’s wrath and removes His people’s guilt. Leviticus 16, however, has more to teach us.
Starting in verse 23, we learn about three washings. First, Aaron must bathe. After sending away the scapegoat, he took off his white garments in the Holy Place. The High Priest would only wear these garments once a year on this day. Then he bathed in the laver in the courtyard. Since he had had contact with the scapegoat who bore the people’s sins, he needed to be cleansed. After his washing, he put the regular-colored high priest clothes back on. Finally, he offered the last sacrifices. He took burnt offerings for himself and the people to the altar in the courtyard. He also placed the fat on the altar which is the best part of the animal.
Second, the man assigned to remove the scapegoat must bathe. After leading the goat into the wilderness, he must wash his clothes and bathe before coming back into the camp. Why? He has been in contact with the goat who bore the people’s sins. He is unclean and must be cleansed before returning.
The third incident takes place in verses 27-28. Another man has the task of removing the sacrificial animals’ carcasses from the tabernacle. When the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies, he only offered the bull and goat’s blood. The rest of the animal remained. Thus, a man was assigned to carry the animals’ remains outside of the camp and to burn them. To come back into the camp, he had to wash his clothes and body due to the contact with these sacrifices. He had become unclean and needed to be cleansed to dwell among God’s people.
Earlier in the book of Leviticus, we find similar washings. Regarding the unclean animal laws in Leviticus 11, whoever carried a carcass must wash his clothes to become clean. A leper who has been healed had to bathe twice before reentering the camp according to Leviticus 14:8-9. Moreover, in response to bodily discharges in Leviticus 15, a man or woman had to bathe. Finally, before Aaron put on the holy white linen on the Day of Atonement, he bathed his body to clean it. Do you notice the connection between water and cleansing? To be clean the person had to bathe.
During the time of Christ, these ceremonial washings continued. In fact, the Israelites made mikvaoths which were baths or pools. For it to be legal, the baths required “living waters” and had water flowing from another pool into it. The unclean person had to have water touch all of his body through immersion. Archeologists have discovered over 150 of these mikvoaths from the 1st century in Israel. Furthermore, they discovered them at the temple mount. Consequently, ceremonial washings made up the average Israelite’s experience. They associated these baths with cleansing and washing to be made ceremonially pure by immersion of water.[2]
Thus, as Christians, we should view these ceremonial washings as a type. It required immersion for cleansing. This background laid the foundation for Christian baptism in the New Testament in the New Covenant.
John the Baptist, for example, made the transition from ceremonial washings to Christian baptism. Matthew 3:1-6 records his ministry. “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ” 4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”
John the Baptist’s baptism differed from the ceremonial washings in the Old Testament. First, he preached for the recipients to repent of their sins. They had to change their mind regarding their rebellion against God. Next, they had to look to the coming kingdom. As the forerunner to the Messiah, John the Baptist directed his hearers to the one who would follow him. He quotes from Isaiah 40 to prove his point. The hearers, therefore, had to look to the Messiah, who would soon be revealed, to be a faithful participant in baptism. Remarkably as this text records, many Jews came from all over Israel to be baptized. They heard John’s message and confessed their sins. Thus, by being baptized, these Jews admitted that being a Jew is not enough to be right with God. You must repent and believe in the Messiah. Hence, later in Matthew 3, John rebukes the Pharisees and Sadducees for coming out to see the baptisms. He assumes that they are trusting in their genealogy from Abraham as their basis for salvation instead of bearing the fruits of repentance.
Now that we have moved from the type—ceremonial washings—to the antetype—Christian baptism—what is it? Question 97 in The Baptist Catechism defines baptism as “an ordinance of the New Testament, instituted by Jesus Christ, to be unto the person baptized a sign of his fellowship with Him, in His death, burial, and resurrection, of his being ingrafted into Him, of remission of sins, and of his giving up himself unto God through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life.”[3]
The first observation based upon this definition is that baptism is a sign of God’s promise. All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 6:3-4 says, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Baptism is a sign that faith and repentance unite a person to Christ. His death on the cross becomes every believer’s death. He has paid the price on our behalf. His resurrection, moreover, becomes our resurrection. Since He has conquered death, we will conquer death. The action of being immersed into the water, therefore, represents our identity with Christ’s death and resurrection.
God’s promise also guarantees that all who repent and believe in Christ will have remission of sins. The Levitical washings pointed to the need for every person to be cleansed, but those ceremonial washings could not touch the soul. Noah’s flood and the parting of the Red Sea, furthermore, symbolizes, “To pass through the waters is to experience the salvation of God,” according to Sam Renihan.[4] To be forgiven, a sinner must go to Jesus Christ as the sacrifice which removes the stain of his sin. Baptism represents the washing that comes by faith and repentance in Christ.
Finally, baptism symbolizes how God sets a Christian apart to serve God in holiness. To see this point, let us look to Jesus’ baptism. Why did Jesus get baptized at the inauguration of his ministry? As the Great High Priest, He went into the baptismal waters before beginning His public ministry in the same way the priest washed before serving. In contrast to the priests, Jesus did not have to be cleansed of any sins. He fulfilled the type of priesthood in the Old Testament and showed identity with the priesthood as a sign of being the Messiah. In the same way, by faith in Christ, God has set aside every believer as a priest. Baptism, thus, symbolizes that God has set us aside to be servants for Him the rest of our lives.
In addition to baptism being a symbol of God’s promises, it also serves as a believer’s demonstration of faith in Christ. 1 Peter 3:21-22 says, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” As this text states, baptism does not save. Rather, it demonstrates that the person being baptized has appealed to Jesus Christ. He saves you and not the waters. Some groups teach baptismal regeneration. In this view, the act of being baptized does something to the person. Roman Catholics believe it removes the stain of original sin from the receipts apart from faith in the individual. Lutherans teach that it gives faith to the infant upon having water sprinkled on his head. Finally, some people involved in the Church of Christ or Christian Churches believe the Holy Spirit indwells the believer at baptism. Thus, if a person does not receive baptism, he cannot be saved. Baptism becomes a necessary component of salvation instead of it being the first obedient act of the one who is saved.
Instead of baptism changing the recipient, the Bible teaches that it is a sign. It represents visibly the invisible change of regeneration by the Holy Spirit in the believer. The waters do not regenerate, but the Holy Spirit regenerates. If a person has been regenerated, then he should be baptized to symbolize it and to publicly profess faith and identification with Christ. Over the last two hundred years, the altar call has replaced baptism as the profession of faith. At the end of a service, a person comes forward and prays to be saved. Then the pastor proclaims the person’s faith in Christ. The Bible, however, does not command this practice. Moreover, we do not see any examples in Scripture. On the contrary, the disciples on the day of Pentecost and the eunuch in Acts 8 were baptized to express their faith in Christ. They did not go forward to an altar.
Having considered what baptism symbolizes, who should be baptized? Those who have been born again, united to Christ and have faith in him should be baptized. Why? The symbol of baptism should match with the one being baptized. If a person is not saved, then why would we give him the sign of one who has been saved? Presbyterians, however, argue for the children of believers to be baptized. Even though they sprinkle babies, they do not hold to baptismal regeneration. The water does not change the infant, impart faith, or remove original sin. Instead, they believe God has graciously promised salvation especially to the children of believers. They, therefore, will assume the child is a believer until proven wrong.
What is the problem with this view? First, it teaches that the Abrahamic Covenant is the Covenant of Grace. They argue from the promise God made to Abraham as the basis for sprinkling children. Yet, the Abrahamic covenant is a shadow and not the substance. Second, in the Abrahamic Covenant only the male children and servants were circumcised. Yet, Presbyterians sprinkle girls, but they do not sprinkle employees. This practice does not mirror the Abrahamic Covenant. Third, in the Abrahamic Covenant the offspring were circumcised based on genealogy. If the parents are descendants of Abraham, then the males are circumcised. It did not matter if the parents had genuine faith in Christ. Presbyterians, however, make baptism dependent on one of the parents having faith. Finally, Presbyterians have two discipleship programs. When evangelizing the world, they teach the gospel and then baptize those who respond with repentance and faith. Yet, in the church, they sprinkle the children and then teach them the gospel. For these reasons and many more, the Presbyterian view should be rejected.
We can look to the Great Commission for our guiding principles. Matthew 28:18-20 says, “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This passage ends the gospel of Matthew. Earlier we looked at John’s baptism in Mathew 3. Who did John baptize? He baptized individuals who repented of their sins and looked to the coming Christ. We also looked at Jesus’ baptism. At what age was Jesus baptized? He was thirty. He was an adult who trusted in God. In the same way, how should we read Matthew 28:18-20? We are to make disciples by preaching the gospel. If they repent and believe, then we baptize them in the name of the Triune God. After coming into the church, we continue to teach them God’s commandments, so that they will grow in obedience. If they remain in unrepentant sin, then we go back to Matthew 18 and perform church discipline. The Gospel of Matthew consistently instructs the church to baptize disciples who repent and believe.
Finally, what is the proper mode of baptism? Most paedobaptists sprinkle the babies or adult converts. The Orthodox Churches, however, will immerse babies. In the 17th century, some Baptists in England poured water over a person’s head, which is called affusion. They, however, came to reject that practice for immersion. Why does immersion matter? First, the priests and people in the Old Testament cleansed themselves through immersion. Baptism builds upon this foundation. Second, the Greek word for baptism means “to dip or immerse.” It does not mean to sprinkle or pour over. In obedience to the text, we must immerse. Finally, immersion best symbolizes a believer’s identity in Christ. Through being plunged under water, he is buried in Christ’s death. When he comes out of the water, he identifies with Christ’s resurrection. His wet body from head to toes symbolizes Christ’s work. The Lord has cleansed the recipient’s whole body from sin.
Charles Spurgeon’s baptism illustrates the meaning of this ordinance. Having been sprinkled in the Congregational Church in which his father and grandfather ministered, Spurgeon did not come to saving faith until he was fifteen. On January 6, 1850, he came into a Methodist church from out of a snowstorm. Due to the weather, he could not walk to the church he wanted to attend and settled for this small chapel. In that congregation of a dozen, the fill-in preacher, a man without eloquence, kept calling the people—and Spurgeon in particular—to look to Christ to be saved. In that hour, God saved His soul. Four months later on May 3rd, he decided to be baptized. Spurgeon believed the Bible taught baptism as immersion based upon a person’s profession of faith. Hence, Spurgeon’s sprinkling as a baby did not count. He, therefore, went out into the country to the river Lark with Mr. Cantlow, a Baptist minister, and with other believers. In the public sight of all, Spurgeon showed his identity with Christ. It had a profound effect on him.
He writes, “I felt as if Heaven, and earth, and hell, might all gaze upon me, for I was not ashamed, there and then, to own myself a follower of the Lamb. My timidity was washed away; it floated down the river into the sea, and must have been devoured by the fishes, for I have never felt anything of the kind since. Baptism also loosed my tongue, and from that day it has never been quiet.”[5]
Of course, the waters in the river did not change Spurgeon. Rather, the public act of identifying with Christ brought the reality of his conversion to bear. God had set him apart to follow Him. Through this first step, Spurgeon vowed to live for God the rest of his life.
How should we apply our passage on baptism? First, brethren, remember that baptism is God’s sign to save those who trust in Him. Be encouraged every time you witness a baptism. It is a symbol which preaches of God’s saving grace to those who look to Him. Also, be thankful for God’s immutable promise. He will not change His mind, nor will He renounce His Word. Christ saves sinners. That truth will never change.
Second, brethren, remember your baptism when you are tempted to sin. When Luther felt tempted by the devil, he would say, “Get away from me. I am baptized!” In believer’s baptism, the recipient is taking an oath to follow the Lord. He is going to take up his cross and follow Jesus no matter the circumstances. In the same way, husbands and wives take a vow on their wedding day. If a spouse faces temptation to lust or commit adultery, he should remember his vow to his wife. He made a promise in the presence of God to be committed to this one woman. By remembering this vow, he flees temptation. If you are a Christian, remember your oath to follow the Lord when temptation comes. You have been bought with the blood of Christ. In the presence of other saints, you have publicly identified with Christ. When you are tempted, remind yourself of this truth. God has saved you “to walk in newness of life” not to sin.
To those who have faith but are not baptized, what are you waiting for? Why do you delay identifying with Christ? Here are some questions to consider. Do you see yourself as condemned under the law deserving punishment in hell? Do you confess Christ as God and Savior? Are you repenting of your sins? Are you trusting in Christ alone to save you? Are you bearing the fruits of repentance and the fruits of the Spirit? Do you desire to follow the Lord all of your days? Do you love God? If you can answer “yes” to all of these questions, then be baptized! Obey the Lord by identifying with Him in the waters.
What about children? Should they be baptized? In some circles, churches teach that children should wait until they are adults. We obviously want to be on guard against easy believism. Yet, the Bible does not give an age for baptism. It only gives the requirements. Charles Spurgeon’s church would baptize twelve-year-olds if they had credible profession of faith. To you parents, if your child seems to be a genuine convert, then what is stopping him from being baptized? If you see fruit in his life, then why should he wait to identify with his Savior and Lord? Remember what the eunuch said to Philip after hearing about Jesus in Isaiah 53: “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”
As we have covered, the washings in the Old Testament paved the way for Christian baptism in the New Covenant. May we see this sacrament as God’s sign to save those who call upon Him by faith.
[1] Timothy George, Faithful Witness: The Life and Mission of William Carey (United States: Christian History Institute, 1998), 8-14.
[2] Everett Ferguson, Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2009), 63-64.
[3] Thomas J. Nettles with Steve Weaver, Teaching Truth, Training Hearts: The Study of Catechisms in Baptist Life, Revised Edition (Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2017), 141.
[4] Samuel Renihan, The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, & His Kingdom (Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2019), 204.
[5] Charles Spurgeon, C.H Spurgeon Autobiography: Volume 1 The Early Years (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1962, 2011), 149.
Brandon Rhea (Ph.D. Historical Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is a pastor and an ACBC certified Biblical counselor. He met his wife, Karise, while doing pulpit supply in 2013-14. In April 2016, he accepted the call to pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Kirksville, Missouri. He loves history and has a heart for street preaching and evangelism. He is the author of “Spurgeon’s Forgotten Sabbatarianism” and teaches “Spurgeon on the Law & Sabbath” for Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.
