[TruthTalk] Jewish baptism

[Judy Taylor]

This is interesting Izzy My Mom would always tell me that "cleanliness is next to Godliness" and possibly this is where that saying originated. She probably heard it from her mother.  She also used to say "be sure your sin will find you out" and I found this one in my studies (Numbers 32:23) but I've never found the one about cleanliness.  The sad thing is that all OT ritual cleansings were a sign pointing to the spiritual reality or promise and mankind in general has always been so prone to hang on to the outward ritual, elevating it, while the meaning escapes so that all we are left with is dead form.  I have a dear friend in an Iowa Retirement Home who was just telling me last night how saw their religious services there are no matter what denomination there is so little understanding...   Jesus told his disciples that they were clean through the Word he had spoken to them (John 15:3) and he didn't react to the accusation of the Pharisees when they noted that his disciples did not wash their hands before eating....   judyt       Good point.  No wonder those who considered themselves above reproach were indignant.   An additional thought that I have had recurrently about Judaism is that everything is so centered around cleanliness.  This is impressive to a compulsive “clean freak” like myself.  The “baptism” for converts, for example, is no little splash in the pool.  Someone is assigned to help you prepare for it by taking off all bandaids, flossing your teeth, etc., and then makes sure you are totally immersed and soaked down to every little hair and opening and closing your toes so you are really washed.    The ritual washing laws are of course all about cleanliness.  There are those you can read in your OT.  There are many more added down through the ages by the Talmud, including a morning handwashing ritual when you arise in the morning. (Funny, I do that instinctively, even before getting my first cup of coffee or washing my face.) They serve to keep Jews not only clean, but healthy!   To me, the dietary restrictions are all about cleanliness (inside your cells/body) as well.  No eating scavengers which are full of the things they eat—dead or decaying material.   The Jewish festivals, especially Passover, include much ceremonial cleaning.  My Jewish friend, Edie, washes down every centimeter of her kitchen including cabinets, dishes, appliances, as well as does a major “spring cleaning” of her entire (5,000 sq ft) house prior to Passover every year.  She outcleans me by miles!   Good News: Messiah Yeshua has done the most important, major cleaning job which we could never accomplish on our own.  He washs away our sin. Blessed be the Name of the Lord, King of the Universe, and Blessed be His Son, Jesus, the Light of the World.   Izzy   I have believed for some time, now, that John the Baptist's "baptism for the remission of sins" and the same phrase used by Peter in Acts 2:38  were for the benefit of the Jewish assembly.   Immersion was used, even back then, in Gentile conversion.   A Jew was never to receive this rite because he was born a child of God.   I just think that as a Jew stood and listened to the Baptist give that command, he was probably blown away by its implications.   It meant that birthright no longer mattered !!!  Baptism "for the remission of sins" is an illustration for the Jewish community especially.  John