When I was a kid, I loved to watch war movies. But one part of those movies that I didn’t enjoy was what I considered to be the painfully slow build-up to the action. As a kid, I didn’t care about the context; I just wanted the action. Now, I see why the context is so important.

This week’s session continues the build-up toward the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry. But while it might be tempting to follow in my childhood footsteps and want to get to the “action,” that’s not a mistake I would encourage you to copy from me. These sessions are really important (and they have some solid “action” too). This week the baptism of Jesus.

Why Was Jesus Baptized?

The question that begs to be answered in this session is why Jesus was baptized. There are several possible reasons.

• By being baptized, Jesus was identifying with sinners.
• By being baptized, Jesus was living a life of full obedience to God.
• By being baptized, Jesus was affirming John’s ministry.

These are all solid explanations, and perhaps all factor into it. I don’t know if we have to choose one over the others, especially since they do not contradict one another. But while we cannot be absolutely certain of why Jesus was baptized, we can be certain of one wrong reason: because of sin.

We know baptism today as a picture of the spiritual reality of our salvation. Part of this is repentance of sin. But we also know that this was not the reason Jesus was baptized, for He was without sin. As you teach your kids this week, be sure that this is made plain to them.

Baptism and Kids

This session might also provide a wonderful opportunity to talk with your kids about being baptized. Perhaps any kids who have been baptized can share their experience and any kids who are curious about baptism can ask the questions they have.

But be sure to consider the different nuances of baptism, and find out if your church has an official position on this, if you don’t already know what it is.

• For some, baptism is tied more closely to the process of salvation. It is more required than it is advised.
• For others, baptism is tied more closely to the profession of faith. In other words, instead of walking an aisle or raising a hand being the profession of faith, it is baptism. Those who would be in this camp would want a kid to be baptized upon confirming some semblance of a desire to trust in Christ. Baptism is, therefore, the marker of a person’s faith—what others can point back to to affirm that they made a decision to trust in Christ. We see churches with this view conduct more of spontaneous baptisms.
• For others, baptism is protected more and some fruit of salvation would want to be seen before baptism is done. A church might have a class that a child (or adult) works through, or some kind of official or unofficial interview process. We see churches with this view conduct more planned baptisms.

I know that is a pretty broad, quick overview, but I hope that you can see why it is important to know what you believe and what your church believes about baptism. Whatever that position might be, enjoy this opportunity of helping your kids understand more deeply what discipleship is all about.

We need the gospel. We need it more than books. More than studies. More than groups. We need the life-giving, identity-establishing, purpose-defining gospel of Jesus Christ.” — Eric Mason

Eric Mason, Manhood Restored (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2013), 1.

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