Dive into the profound meaning behind Yeshua’s baptism and its roots in the ancient ritual of mikvah. Explore how these waters symbolize a return to creation’s genesis, allowing believers to be reborn and leave their past behind. This episode unpacks the theological implications of baptism, illustrating it as more than a mere ritual but as a transformative act of rebirth in Yeshua’s name. Join Rabbi Schneider as he navigates the divine connections between water, life, and spiritual renewal.
00:00:01 The Significance of Baptism in Yeshua’s Name
and Yeshua himself was baptized in a baptism for sinners unto repentance. Why would our Messiah go to a baptism that was for sinners unto repentance when he had never sinned? The theme of baptism, which is referred to in Hebrew as mikvah, the gathering of water and immersing yourself in that water, was introduced, beloved, in the Hebrew Bible. This is evidenced even in the New Testament where we see the people of Jerusalem coming out to John the Baptist and being immersed there in the Jordan River. This was before, beloved, Yeshua was proclaimed as Messiah. And so this was very much a part of the Jewish religion before Jesus came. And by understanding what mikvah or baptism meant to the children of Israel, we can more appreciate what it means to be baptized or immersed in water in the name of Jesus, in the name of Yeshua today. And so water, beloved, is the agent of creation. That in the very beginning, in the book of Genesis, which is called Beersheet in Hebrew, the first two verses show us that from the very beginning, before there was anything else, all there was, beloved, was God and the water. And so we read this in Genesis chapter 1, verse 1 and 2, and it says there, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. Now listen to this, and the Spirit of God created was moving over the surface of the water. All there was was God in the water, and then God began to speak, and he separated the waters, and he spoke again. And God then brought out of the water, beloved, the dry land, and he formed the earth. So that water, listen now, Yadid, is the womb of God. creation out of water the earth came so listen then God then Elohim said let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place and let the dry land appear and it was so continuing on the 10th verse and Elohim God said he called the dry land earth and and gathered the waters, and he called them together, the seas, and he saw it was good. And so when you are being called to go into the water to be baptized in Yeshua’s name, what God is actually doing is he’s calling you back, beloved, to the womb of creation. He’s allowing you to go back and start over. This is why Yeshua said to Nicodemus, unless you’re born again, you can’t see the kingdom of God. You see, in Messiah, beloved, old things pass away and all things become new. And that’s why Yeshua said, unless you believe and are baptized, you can’t be saved. We believe and then we go into the waters of the mikvah. God washes away our old life. Our sin is forgiven. The old life is buried and gone. And we come out of that water, beloved, born afresh and anew, a brand new life, a brand new slate, old things passed away, we’re now alive, hallelujah, to Yeshua. That is such a beautiful thing to know that regardless of where you’ve been, what you’ve done, what sins you’ve committed, beloved, how shameful you may feel that Jesus loves you and he’s calling you to receive him and to go into the waters of the mikvah, be baptized in his name, and your old life is passed away, all that shame is gone. All the things that made you feel filthy, that made you not be able to accept yourself, that made you not be able to love yourself, all that has passed away, is buried, and God brings you out of that water, beloved, a brand new creation. Just like out of that water, beloved, he formed the earth afresh and anew. I want to challenge you today. If the devil’s just been beating you up, he’s putting guilt on you and condemnation on you, don’t you know that Yeshua has forgiven you? And that old thing has passed away because Yeshua has made all things new. Now, I also want you to consider this, you dear beloved ones, that when God placed Adam and Eve in the garden, Remember, there was a river of life, and that river of life that flowed into the garden, beloved, branched out into four other rivers that watered the whole earth. I’m going to read for you now from the book of Genesis, chapter number 2, verse 7 through 10. Then Yahweh Elohim, then the Lord God… form man of the dust of the ground, and breathe into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. And Yahweh God, the Lord God, planted a garden. So God placed man in this garden. Why did God create man? For himself. And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east in Eden, and there he placed the man whom he had formed. And why did God make the man? Once again, the Lord said, let us make man in our image because the Lord wanted fellowship with them. And he created this paradise, Eden. And into this place called Eden was a river of life that flowed from the throne of God. And out of the ground, the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight for food and for good, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It’s all taking place in this habitat for man. Now listen to this, verse 10. Here’s the key verse I wanted you to get. Now the river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided and became four rivers. And these four rivers, beloved, cultivated the whole earth. They watered the entire world. So there was one river that proceeded from the throne of God. This river flowed into Eden, and then out of Eden, this river became four rivers, and these four rivers watered the entire world. So man is in the garden, Man sins, and when man sins, what does God do? He drives him out of the garden. The garden was the place of fellowship, and the water of life that flowed into the garden was man’s connection to God. This is why the Lord speaks about water. Yeshua said the spirit, the water, and the blood are all in agreement. This is why Yeshua commanded us to be baptized in water. Unless you’re born again of water and the spirit, Yeshua said, because water is the symbol, beloved, that connects us to our creator. Water is the womb of life. The spirit of God is symbolized by water, right? So man, when he sins, he eats of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, despite God’s command not to. And when he does, spiritual death comes upon him and he’s driven out of the garden. We can no longer return to the garden of the present time, but hallelujah, beloved, we can return to our connection to God through the water. Once again, the water in the garden is what connected man to God. And now the Lord says that I want to reconnect you. I want you to go and be baptized in water in the name of Yeshua. And the water that you’re baptized in is the same water that I water the garden of Eden with. There’s only one source of water, beloved, And the water that we have on earth today is the same water, beloved, that was in the beginning. In other words, God hasn’t created any new water. So what God is doing is he’s saying, I want you to go back into the water because water is the symbol of life that connects you to me. Now to prove this to you, I’m turning now to the book of Revelation. where we once again read about the new heaven and the new earth and how the water, beloved, is coming once again out of the throne of God, giving life to the world, beloved, and healing the nations. I’m reading Genesis chapter 22, verse number one and two. John says, the Lord showed me a river of the water of life. Where is John now? He’s in the new heaven and the new earth. He’s in the new Jerusalem. And he said, and he showed me, the Lord showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and the Lamb. And then he goes on to say that this water, beloved, listen now, was for the healing of the nations. It caused these trees to grow that were for the healing of the nations. So once again, what connects us to the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth? Obviously, God’s spirit is everywhere. We’re connected to him, but water is the theme, the center of life. the new heavens and the new earth, beloved, is once again the water of life. So water is extremely important. This is why Yeshua said, he that believes and is baptized will be saved. So don’t take being baptized in Yeshua’s name lightly. It’s not what saves us. Yeshua saves us. But if we’re saved, if we’re serious about him, we’re going to do what he tells us to do because it’s very important to him that we profess through baptism that our old life is gone. and then we’ve gone back into the womb of creation, and we’re born out of creation, afresh and anew, hallelujah, holy Tim, cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. Think about a child. Not only is the world born out of the water, not only is the water the womb of the world, but where did you come from? Where were you before you walked into this world as an independent being? You were enclosed, beloved, listen, in your mother’s what? Water sack. And when the water sack breaks, beloved, the baby comes out and he’s birthed into this world out of water. Isn’t it an awesome thing that you and I can start again? That regardless of what your life has looked like in the past, that there’s a new future for you in Messiah Jesus, that old things do pass away and all things become new. I just want to ask right now, if you’re hurting today, do you know that you can have a fresh start in life? The apostle Paul himself said that he was the chief of sinners, but God gave him a brand new life. And you know what? God wants to wash your sin away. He wants to wash your guilt away. He wants to empower you. He’s got a new destiny for you. Beloved, he wants to give you the gift of eternal life. He wants to crown you, beloved, with the crown from heaven. Just believe him, receive him, give yourself to him completely, and then go be baptized or immersed in water in his name and come out, beloved, afresh and anew. It’s amazing the change you’re going to see in your life, beloved, if you’re serious and do this sincerely unto him.
SPEAKER 02 :
You’re listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider, and he’ll be right back. But first, a quick announcement.
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SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I wanna talk about some other concepts that relate to the principle of being immersed in Yeshua’s name. Once again, the Jewish people call it a mikvah. The word mikvah means a gathering of water. First of all, beloved, by nature of the fact that when a high priest came into office in ancient Israel, the Torah commanded him to be bathed from the top of his head to the bottom of his seat with water, it speaks to us of the fact that being immersed in water speaks of consecration. That when we go into the waters of the mikvah to be baptized in Yeshua’s name, we’re consecrating ourselves to him. We’re saying, Lord, I am yours now. I exist for your purposes. I’m your property. I exist for you alone. Which ties us into the next concept, and that is that in Judaism, when a woman is about to be married, what does she do right before the marriage? She goes, beloved, to a mikvah bath. Again, same concept. She completely immerses herself in the waters of the mikvah bath. Why? Because she’s professing, beloved, by faith that old things are passing away, that she’s coming out now consecrated to her husband. You see, beloved, when a Jewish bride goes into the waters of the mikvah bath, just like you and I are immersed in the waters in Yeshua’s name, she’s professing that Things are changing for me. I’m going into the mikvah bath, a single woman, but I’m gonna then go under the waters of the mikvah bath, and I’m gonna be raised out, no longer a single person, but now I’m gonna be united to my husband. And so it is with you and I. We’ve been living autonomously from the Lord, but God has convicted us and brought us to himself. And so we go into the waters of the mikvah, go under the waters of the mikvah, no longer living as independent agents, But now we come out of the waters, beloved, united, hallelujah, to Yeshua, the Messiah, just as the bride comes out of the water, now united to her husband. The other thing that is symbolized, beloved, is that the Jewish bride was under the authority of her father, living in her father’s home. But she goes into the waters of the mikvah, and she comes out no longer under the authority of her father, but now that authority is transferred. Now she’s living under the authority, beloved, listen, of her new husband. And isn’t that the same thing with us? Before going to the waters of the mikvah, we’re under the authority, what, of sin? But we go under the water, and the Lord says, you’re no longer under the authority of sin. You’re under my authority, and I’ve given you the authority and the power now to live as my son. I’ve called you into freedom. We come out of the water of the mikvah, now under the authority, beloved, of Yeshua the Messiah. Now get this. In ancient Israel, listen, the water of the mikvah pool, which we would call baptismal pool, the waters of the mikvah pool had to be gathered in a place that was connected to the earth. Why? Because it symbolized death. Where does a person go when they die? They go where? They’re buried in the earth. Because it symbolizes, beloved, the old life is dying. It’s passing away. Just like when we die, we’re buried under the earth. And that’s what the New Testament teaches. Old things pass away. Our old life is dead and it’s gone. And so we’re immersed in a place buried in the earth and coming out, beloved, hallelujah, a brand new creation. Now, we also see that in the book of Matthew, where people are coming to the waters to John the Baptist, not to Jesus yet. Jesus hadn’t been introduced to the scene. It wasn’t until Jesus came to the waters of the Jordan to be immersed by John that he was first introduced where John pointed at him and said, behold, the Lamb of God. And John said, when Yeshua came, why are you coming to be baptized? The Lord opened John’s eyes to see that Yeshua was the Messiah. And John said, why are you coming to be baptized by me? I have need to be baptized by you. And what did Yeshua say? No, let all things be done that’s fitting for righteousness. And Yeshua himself, listen now, was baptized in a baptism for sinners unto repentance. Why would our Messiah go to a baptism that was for sinners unto repentance when he had never sinned? It’s a precious thing, beloved, because he did that because he was so identifying with you and I in our humanity. Isn’t that an awesome? something that he so loves us and so united himself to us that he identified with us in our sin, even unto repentance. And you know what it was at this point, perhaps Yeshua’s weakest point, having identified with us in our sin, that he comes out of the water, beloved, and the sky opens up. And the Lord says, you are my beloved son. And in you, I am well pleased. And you know what that teaches you and me? That God, beloved, he doesn’t just love us in our strength. Sometimes we think we can only be loved by the Lord when we’re strong. We think that God will only come to us when we’re performing well. But no, beloved, it was when Yeshua made himself the weakest that identifying himself with us, even in our sin, that the sky opened and the Lord said, you are my beloved son in whom I’m well pleased. God loves you and I, beloved, even when we’re weak. Well, as we continue here, we also see, as we’re gaining insight into what immersion means for us in Yeshua’s name, by looking at what it meant to ancient Israel, it was customary that in ancient Israel, when a Gentile wanted to convert to Judaism, They went through a mikvah process or they went to be baptized. Now, let me say, first of all, that I do not advise any Gentile to convert to Judaism because we’re not identifying with Judaism, beloved, we’re identifying with Jesus. But the rabbinic mindset of the day was that if a Gentile wanted a place in the world to come, they had to become a Jew. That was the mindset of the world before Jesus came. That’s why when Gentiles first believed, there was a debate in the book of Acts chapter 15 because it was the rabbinic mind. If a Gentile wants a place in heaven, they need to become a Jew. No longer is that the case. I would never convert any Gentile to being Jewish because you’re born Jewish, number one. And secondly, God tells us not to identify with anything but Jesus. But what happened in ancient Israel is a Gentile that wanted to convert to Judaism would once again go to the waters of a mikvah. He would get baptized. Why? Because it was signifying, listen to this, a complete conversion. change of status. That this Gentile was literally, listen to this now, being transformed, hallelujah, from a Gentile to a Jew. Isn’t that awesome? So God is saying to you that when you go into the waters of the mitzvah in Yeshua’s name, when you’re baptized in Yeshua’s name, it’s so radical what has happened to you. The life that you now have in my son is so radical. that things have so substantially changed for you that it’s even greater than what it was signifying for a Gentile that was suddenly, supposedly coming out of the water in Jew. You’ve been completely changed. You are a new creation in Messiah Jesus. And those of you that have really been born again, you know that there’s always change that’s taking place in your life because water, indeed, beloved one, is a symbol of change. Listen, when it’s real cold, water changes into ice when it’s real hot water evaporates into the air water is an agent of change and we’re commanded beloved to go into water because in jesus hallelujah we’re being changed indeed we’re being transformed father right now i release healing anointing father god and i release transformational anointing father god in the spirit father god to all those that are watching right now Father, I pray that you release the water of the Holy Spirit right now into the hearts of those that are thirsty, Father God, that they might receive, Father God, change in their life, that you might be even now, Lord, just a second, transforming your people, Father, cleansing them of sin, Father God, and strengthening them in life and righteousness. Build your kingdom, Father God. Cleanse your people and transform them into the image and the glory of Yeshua HaMashiach. I always make it a priority, beloved ones, to teach the truth of the Word of God. And I know that on the earth today, sometimes it’s hard to find teaching that you feel is authentic and that feeds you. I want to simply say this. It costs me a lot of money to broadcast. You see, Christian programmers like myself, we have to pay for our own airtime. And the only way that I can broadcast is when those that are receiving from this ministry respond by financially sowing into it. So I want to simply say, beloved one, if you believe in me, If this ministry is feeding you, would you make a special offering to the Lord through Discovering the Jewish Jesus? The Bible teaches that we should financially support those that are feeding us. Paul said such men are worthy of support. If you’re being blessed by this ministry, if you believe in what we’re doing, if you want other people to be blessed by it, simply, beloved, respond to the Holy Spirit and make an offering to the Lord today through Discovering the Jewish Jesus. I want to thank you in advance for your support. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 02 :
Amen. Thank you, Rabbi Schneider. And friends, the Lord is leading you to financially support discovering the Jewish Jesus today with the gift of any amount. Would you please give us a call? Our number is 800-777-7835. That’s 800-777-7835. You can also give online. Our web address is discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And before we wrap up our program today, we want to bless you with a free gift. It’s our self-deliverance teaching bundle. It’s an engaging resource and it includes Rabbi Schneider’s step-by-step PDF guide that explains how to recognize spiritual footholds and close open doors to the enemy through scripture. You’ll also receive an MP3 audio file with prayers that you can model to help walk you through this. You know, Rabbi created this course because when he was pastoring, there were so many people who needed deliverance and their deliverance team was booked out for a whole year. So he taught self-deliverance. This will be a great tool to help you find freedom. Get your copy for free at myfreegift.com forward slash freedom. That’s myfreegift.com forward slash freedom. Now here’s Rabbi with the Aaronic Blessing.
SPEAKER 04 :
In the book of Numbers chapter six, the Lord gave instructions to Moses and Aaron to speak this blessing over his people. And the Lord said, when you speak these words over my people, I will place my name on them and bless them. Receive the impartations of the Lord’s blessings.
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance. And the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 02 :
I’m your host, Dustin Roberts, and this program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. Join us again when Rabbi Schneider explores whether Jesus was mentioned in the Old Testament or not. That’s tomorrow on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
