by Sandy » Tue Mar 10, 2015 8:38 pm
Jesus certainly thought the value of baptism was important enough to do it himself. It may be just a symbol using water, but it's what it symbolizes that is important, and I think Jesus was using it, as he did other things, to teach obedience. The only thing the water does is get you wet, but it symbolizes repentance, the washing away of sin, and the renewal of commitment to Jesus that is a necessity for church membership.
The example of the thief on the cross, more than anything else related to baptism, is proof that baptism is symbolic, and has no saving power in and of itself. But the thief never had a chance to become a member of a local body of Christians.