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"eis governs only one case (the Accusative). Euclid uses eis when a line is drawn to
meet another line, at a certain point. Hence, it denotes motion to or unto an object, with
the purpose of reaching or touching it."
Those who responded to the call of John the Baptist (Matt. 3: 2), were baptized by
him "with (en) water unto (eis) repentance". In the wilderness John preached "the
baptism of repentance for (eis) the remission of sins" (Mark 1: 4). By listening to John's
message the people made their first step in moving towards his teaching. By undergoing
his baptism with (en) water they were associating themselves with his message. They
were identifying themselves with repentance and remission.
Baptism with water was carried out by the disciples (John 4: 1, 2) and after His
resurrection the Lord Jesus told them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16: 15, 16). Is
this referring to water baptism? Was water baptism necessary for salvation? It would
seem that from Peter's point of view the answer to both questions is `yes' for this is
exactly what he preached and performed during the Acts period:
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost"
(Acts 2: 38).
There are a number of similarities between the ministries of John the Baptist and
Peter. In both there was the call to repent. There was also water baptism and for both
"the kingdom of heaven was at hand" (compare Matt. 3: 2 with Acts 3: 19-22). If the
people to whom John preached had accepted the Lord Jesus as Messiah, that millennial
kingdom would have come soon afterwards. It was at hand. It had drawn near.
Matthew 12: records that they rejected Him as Prophet, Priest, and King so that offer of
the kingdom was withdrawn. However, another offer was made to them in the book of
Acts and Peter's speech in Acts 3: 19-26 makes it clear that if they repented, Christ
would return (Acts 3: 19, 20) and the kingdom would be restored (Acts 1: 6; 3: 21
restitution = restoration), Bearing in mind these parallels and the Lord's command to
him in Matt. 28: 19 and Mark 16: 16, Peter's insistence upon water baptism is very
understandable but what about the apostle Paul? Commenting upon the issue of water
baptism he wrote:
"Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel" (I Cor. 1: 17).
We shall look at Paul's teaching on baptism next time.