Sip #1 – Read Chapter 1 of Mark in the HCSB translation as we kick off Round 5 of our first Challenge series in Kafe PK
Sip #2 – Read my big takeaway from the day
Sip #3 – Add comments/thoughts/questions in the Comments Box (bottom of page). NOT REQUIRED
Sip #4 – Re-read any parts of Chapter 1 that impacted you
Sip #5 – Come back tomorrow as we move to Mark, Chapter 2

Can you believe it’s not just Monday… not just the start of a new work week… not just the first Monday in May… not just Cinco de Mayo… BUT, the start of Round FIVE of the KafePK Challenge! That means we have less than 60 days until a brand new set of books for the second half of 2025. It also means it’s time for…

Mark, Chapter 1…Let’s hone in on verses 4-5…

“John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.”

There may be some in the group who are not totally clear that…

…there is a difference between John the Baptist baptism and “Jesus” baptism.

John the Baptist’s baptism was a symbolic act of repentance and preparation for the coming of the Messiah, emphasizing the need to turn away from sin and be cleansed. 

After Jesus came, baptism transitioned to being baptized in Jesus’ name. There are key differences… Being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is to identify with Christ’s death and resurrection, signifying a new life in Him.  It’s a public declaration of faith in Jesus and entering into His kingdom. 

In BOTH cases, the baptism itself does not save. There’s only One who saves, and that is Jesus. He said it quite clearly… “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” AND, “…God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Baptism (in Jesus’ name) is identifying with Jesus symbolically (connected to water immersion), a public declaration of faith and identification with Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection.

Think of it this way… John’s baptism was based on ritual. Baptism in Jesus’ name is based on relationship. With John’s baptism I try to “fix” what I broke. With baptism in Jesus’ name, I declare Jesus is the one who can “fix” what I break. With John’s baptism I’m expectant that the Messiah will come. With baptism in Jesus’ name I declare he has come and I identify with him. With John’s baptism I rectify. With baptism in Jesus’ name I testify.

They are two very different baptisms.

Back in December (2024), well-known actor Denzel Washington received his minister’s license after getting baptized at Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ in New York. Mentioning he was about to turn 70 on 28 December, Washington told the congregation: “It took a while, but I’m here.”

“God is with us when we’re not with him. He’s for us when we’re not for him,” Washington continued. “He watches us when we don’t watch him. He protects us when we don’t protect ourselves. And he gives to us when we don’t deserve.”

He also spoke about an incident when he was 20 in which he encountered a woman called Ruth Green in his mother’s beauty parlour, who told him: “I was 20 when I sat in my mother’s beauty parlor. And Miss Ruth Green was known to have the gift of prophecy. Some of you may have heard this story; she prophesied, saying, ‘Boy, you are going to travel the world and preach to millions of people.’”

Washington has become outspoken about his Christian faith over the last several years.

“Man gives the award, God gives the reward. That’s what my mother told me about the eighth or ninth time I lost an Academy Award.”

Earlier in life he had given his soul to Christ several times, but it would take even more time for him to fully understand the magnitude of that conviction.

“Three times…I think we all go through that. I was filled with the Holy Spirit and it scared me,” he said. “I didn’t want to go this deep…I want to party. It was a supernatural, once-in-this-lifetime-experience that I couldn’t completely understand at the time.”

I don’t know Denzel at all. I am not suggesting that I know his heart and I am not suggesting that Denzel is any more special than you or me. It’s just to show that baptism in Jesus’ name is a public declaration that someone has made the decision to join “Team Jesus.” In this case, it’s a bold move from someone within a pretty dark industry–Hollywood’s elite. 

No, they are not all bad people… no worse than you or I. However, to step out in this way is not something we see on a regular basis. After all, think of it this way… in Hollywood, it’s pretty safe to say that ritual outweighs relationship, AND, generally, status relationships outweigh spiritual relationships (aka… a relationship with Jesus).

Which leads me to a question for each of us?

Bottom line… Do we put ritual over relationship? Do we put our human relationships above our relationship with the Lord? 

Baptism is an outward declaration of an inward personal relationship with the Savior of humankind. If it’s anything other than that it prompts the question… Has baptism reverted back to John’s baptism, cancelling baptism in Jesus’ name? 

It’s a fascinating question IF one has an open mind to consider it. Yes, it’s a hard-hitting question, but aren’t those the best kind? The ones that break entrenched paradigms or erode advancements. 

Plain and simple, Jesus made his relationship standard clear as day… “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”

Powerful stuff!