At a Town Called Adam
When I was a teenager considering baptism, I was encouraged to study the topic for myself. I had heard sermons about baptism and discussed baptism in youth classes. But I felt convicted that I needed to see what the Bible had to say on the matter for myself.
My approach was pretty simple. My family owned a fairly exhaustive concordance, so I opened it up and searched for every instance of the word “baptism” or “baptize” that occurred in the Bible.
I read the gospel accounts of Jesus’ baptism, and about the three thousand baptisms at Pentecost, and Philip’s response to the Ethiopian eunuch’s question, “What can stand in the way to my being baptized?”
I read Romans 6:3-5, and Galatians 3:28, and 1 Peter 3:21.
Looking back on that experience, I am struck by what should have been a glaring omission in my study.
In my entire study of baptism, I never once read anything from the Old Testament.
At first glance, that is not that surprising. The Old Testament never explicitly addresses baptism. How can you study something that isn’t there?
That was all before I came across this quote from Cyprian of Carthage: “Every time that water is named by itself in the Holy Scriptures, there is a prophetic allusion to baptism.” If that is true, then we have missed much of what the Bible has to say about baptism.
Consider, for example, this scene from the book of Joshua:
“So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So, the people crossed over opposite Jericho.” (Joshua 3:14-16, NIV)
The Israelites have come to an end of their wandering years. They are at the edge of the promised land – about to enter into the land of milk and honey. Only one thing stands in their way: the Jordan River. So, God orchestrates a miracle for them. It’s a familiar one – they’ve seen something like this before when they escaped Egypt. Once again, God will interrupt the flow of water so that they can cross over on dry ground.
Except, this time, the waters aren’t parted – it’s more like they are dammed up. The Jordan river flows from the Sea of Galilee down into the Dead Sea. And it’s as if the Ark of the Covenant produces a force field, and the waters just stop flowing. In fact, the force field is so strong that the waters stop 19 miles upstream.
And the waters stopped at a town called Adam.
At first, it seems like it’s just geographical information: “Here’s the location where the water stopped.” But I think there’s more to it than that.
Immediately, Romans 5:12 comes to mind.
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned…”
Do you hear what Paul is saying? From the “one man,” Adam, sin and death poured into the world. That is life in the age of Adam. Sin and death reign. Sin and death are universal human experiences. For Paul, Adam represents human powerlessness before sin and death.
But Paul doesn’t stop there. He continues:
“Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” (Rom. 5:18-19)
It used to be that our humanity had to look like Adam’s humanity – beholden to sin and death. But God doesn’t want our humanity to look like Adam’s humanity. So, Jesus becomes the new Adam. Jesus replaces Adam. And when does that he gives us a new humanity.
Did you know that in most icons of the crucifixion, there is a skull at the base of the cross? That is because church tradition says that Christ was crucified over Adam’s grave. It may not be true from an archaeological standpoint. But it is certainly true from a theological standpoint. Christ’s death replaces the death of Adam for us.
Adam’s death was final. It was hopeless. Death had the final word for Adam.
But Christ died a very different death. Christ’s death was not final. Christ’s death conquered death itself. Christ’s death revoked the power death held over humanity.
As Paul says elsewhere:
“For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Cor. 15:21-22)
So, when I read Joshua 3:16, here’s what I think Cyprian would invite us to see: Christ is the new Ark of the Covenant that enters into the river of sin and death that has been flowing from Adam since the beginning – and Christ’s presence drives that water back and holds it in place so that we can cross over into the promised land prepared for us.
Because Christ intends to restore everything that Adam took from us.
Christ’s life becomes our life. Christ’s death becomes our death. And Christ’s resurrection will become our resurrection. Because in Christ, and through Christ, and with Christ, we are drawn out of the river of sin and death that all started at a town called Adam.
It turns out the Old Testament has quite a bit to say about baptism, after all.
