by Tad Lindley
Please take a look at last week’s issue for Part I.
Why is it that people who weren’t there often know exactly what you should have done to be more successful?These self-proclaimed experts abound.They were not there, but somehow know exactly what you did wrong, and believe that you are hungry to learn from their expertise. Like when you report back on the day’s hunting, how you shot five seals, but two of them sank. He quickly imparts his wisdom, “You should have been wearing Ray-ban sunglasses. Then they never would’ve sank.” And you are left shaking your head at this know-it-all.
The real experts were there
When it comes to knowing what happened when Jesus walked the earth, the real experts are the ones that actually lived during that time. They include more than five hundred people that saw Jesus after his resurrection (I Corinthians 15:5-8). More specifically, they include his 11 surviving disciples (Judas having committed suicide), and approximately 109 other people including Mary the mother of Jesus and his half-brothers (Mary’s other sons, please see Acts 1:14 for the proof). These are the ones who received instructions from Jesus for starting the early church.
Instructions for starting the church
In the forty days following the resurrection Jesus gave some final teaching to his disciples and the others. We find four places that describe what he said to them, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-19, Luke 24:45-51, and Acts 1:4-8. I want to dial in particularly on Matthew 28:18-20, Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The self-proclaimed experts and Matthew 28:19
Can we unpack that some more? Notice this line from verse 19, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. In 2024, the majority of Christians read that and they understand it to mean, “sprinkling them with water and saying, ‘In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.’” Many go even further and tell people that the “them” really means infants, and that we are supposed to sprinkle infants with water. A major problem with those who claim that is the correct interpretation of Matthew 28:19 is that they were not there. They did not eat, sleep, and travel with Jesus. They did not hear him teach or preach. They were not there.
The real experts were there at Matthew 28:19
Fortunately for us, we have the Book of Acts. It tells us what the disciples did when they started the church in the beginning. These are the men who were there at Matthew 28:19. They are experts, because they were there. We can study the book of acts and see how they obeyed Matthew 28:19.
1. They always baptized, they never sprinkled. How do we know this? The Greek word, baptidzo, means to submerge in a liquid. The word for sprinkling is completely different.
2. They used the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. That name is Jesus.
Here is the evidence:
Acts 2:38- Words of Peter, who was there at Matthew 28:19. Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8:16- Philip in Samaria. …only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 10:48- Peter again. And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
Acts 19:5- Paul, who trained diligently among the apostles. When they heard this they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
What does the evidence tell us
I have just given you the four detailed descriptions of baptism from the Bible. There is not a single one that has someone being sprinkled, and not a single one that someone said, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” The real experts, the ones that knew Jesus in his humanity as well as his deity, the ones that heard him preach and teach, carry out Jesus’ instructions as he intended.
What will you do with the evidence?
Someday everyone of us will stand before God and give an account for our lives (Romans 14:12). If you were sprinkled, not baptized, an “expert” gave you bad advice. If you were baptized by someone who simply said, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” but they never said the name, Jesus, it’s not too late. Listen to the ones who really were there in the Book of Acts: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
Reverend Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska.
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