Week 4: Burial

Buried with Him

Yesterday we meditated on the burial of Jesus as validating and confirming Jesus' death. Only Paul includes the burial in the summary statements of the Gospel found in the NT. Today, we turn to another of Paul’s letters, Colossians.

Paul writes to encourage and admonish the believers in Colossae. The problem in Colossae was a kind of religious syncretism. In the middle of a significant trade route, Colossae was exposed to various religious beliefs. The church in Colossae appears to have brought in various aspects or thoughts from these other religions and meshed them with their Christian discipleship. Paul warns them, “see to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”

When people try to add or subtract to the Gospel, Paul points adamantly back towards Jesus. He argues that “in Christ, all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” In other words, the Colossians don’t need other sources for religious insight or wisdom. They don’t need angel worship or special mystical knowledge. The fullness of God has been made known to them intimately and personally through Jesus.

Paul continues this rich teaching by encouraging them not to fall back into the Jewish practice of circumcision because their whole flesh has already died with Christ. How do they know that they died with Christ? For the Jewish people, circumcision was the physical marker of the covenant, but If they don’t have circumcision as the physical marker of their covenant now, what can validate and mark their death in Christ? Paul’s answer is clear, Jesus' followers have “been buried with him in baptism.”

Just as the burial of Jesus validates and confirms his death, so our baptism, our burial, validates and confirms our death with Jesus. Paul uses a specific word that he possibly makes up to describe this. He says in today’s text we are “co-buried.” It’s the same word he uses in Romans 6:4. That’s the only two places it is used in all of the New Testament.

In baptism, God does a variety of incredible and mystical things. This is one dimension that is often overlooked. When we are baptized, we are co-buried with Jesus. As the burial of Jesus confirms his death, our baptism confirms our death.

I need that point in my life. I need that specific moment in time for my Gospel formation. I point again to my baptism. When my sin feels overwhelming and intoxicating, I recall my burial with Jesus. I died with him.

Remember your baptism today as the marker of your burial.