Bulletin Articles
Baptism for the Dead?
In 1st Corinthians 15, Paul addresses questions about resurrection. Some were even saying there is no resurrection of the dead, to which Paul responds--if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Jesus Christ wasn’t raised. If He wasn’t raised, then there is no resurrection for us to hope for. When we die, we die in our sins, and there is no hope of life—just death. Consequently, only pitiful fools believe in resurrection. But…Paul continues...Jesus Christ WAS raised from the dead, and what we believe is valid and the foundation of our faith.
The concern of there being no resurrection and hopeless death lingers in his writing. He says in verse 29, “Otherwise what will they do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, then why are people baptized for them?” This section of his letter is difficult to imagine. Some religious groups have created such a ceremony where a baptism is enacted for those who have died. What was Paul getting at in these verses? This doesn’t seem to show up anywhere else in Scripture.
The clue, I believe, lies in what he says next, “Why are we in danger every hour? I face death every day, as surely as I may boast about you, brothers and sisters, in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus as a mere man, what good did that do me? If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Immediately, Paul turns from talking about being baptized for the dead to the persecution he faces on account of teaching and preaching the gospel of Christ.
Jesus uses the word “baptized” similarly when speaking to His disciples in Mark 9. When James and John ask to be at His right and left hands in glory, Jesus responds in verse 38, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” Here Jesus isn’t speaking about water, John’s or the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He is asking if they can endure being immersed fully in pain and suffering on behalf of the gospel.
When we see the work “baptism,” we immediately think of water immersion. However, Jesus uses it in a way to describe intense persecution and death for the gospel that I believe Paul uses in 1st Corinthians 15. Paul is asking, “Why are some of us facing suffering, beatings, riots, stoning, persecutions and even death to teach and preach the gospel if there is no resurrection. If we are all dead in our sins, then why even bother trying to teach others, if it is all hopeless anyways.” Paul, along with many others, obviously believed the opposite. There is a resurrection to look forward to—one they were willing to give their lives for to tell others about.
So, “baptized” in this passage refers to an immersion in pain and suffering for the gospel, and “the dead” in the passage refer to all of humanity IF the resurrection DOESN’T exist. Fear not! The resurrection DOES exist and we, like Paul, should strive to teach about Jesus in any and all circumstances with full assurance of the upward calling someday!
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