Passover to Pentecost – Dividing the Red Sea        Week 1 Day 7

This is the day according to Jewish legend that the people of Israel went through the Red Sea.  This is still in the Feast of Unleavened Bread which was very practical because they were still in a hurry trying to get out of Egypt.  Then to add to the drama and to allow God to get more glory, Pharaoh was chasing them.   The additional glory would come when Pharaoh watched his army drown (I don’t think he leads his troops into the sea).

This post is not to debate if it could happen, or how it happened, but to see this as a shadow of baptism and part of the Great Commission.  Please see the post My Start to Out of Egypt for discussion and websites on the topic of going through the Red Sea.  I do believe this really happened.  My logic is simple – the Jewish people are an ancient and enduring people with a written history and the Red Sea and the Exodus is part of that history.  The Exodus story is recorded in many other books in the Bible (see the post Exodus in Other Books).  Since the Great Commission was given after Passover in the time of the Counting of the Omer we will talk more about it later.

Baptism

Baptism is a physical act of your free will that identifies you with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  We as disciples are to baptize other disciples as part of teaching them the commands of Jesus.  In the New Testament, John was baptizing people in the Jordan when Jesus met His cousin.  John wanted Jesus to baptize him but “all righteousness” had to be fulfilled (Matthew 3:15).  Jesus had His disciples baptize people (John 3: 22), and the Book of Acts has many examples of people being baptized.

The Jews of Jesus’ time regularly practiced a ceremonial washing, which is what John was doing.  The Qumran sect, who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, practiced this type of washing.  Jesus was “washed” by John, it was necessary; so they are related but not the same.

Shadows from the Old Testament

• The Flood in Genesis with Noah in a pitch covered boat
• Moses in the Nile in a pitch covered basket (see Noah and Moses)
• Moses and Israel passing through the Red Sea
• Joshua and Israel passing through the Jordan River
• Naaman (2 Kings 5) dipping in the Jordan River

A Hand or Four Fingers and a Thumb

Pope Francis has noted that ISIS hates and kills Christians; they don’t seem to care how you are baptized.

Sprinkled or dunked, infant or by choice, Matthew 28: 19 or Acts 10: 48 I will respectfully say that Jesus is Lord of Baptism!  Jesus gave instructions to His disciples and they followed them, we tend to complicate things!

http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2008/august/what-is-pre-christian-history-of-baptismal-ceremony.html