MARK 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
MARK 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
MARK 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
MARK 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
MARK 1:5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
John the Baptist was a prophet of God. Consider his very title: John the baptist. According to Mark 1:4, one of the main things that John preached was "the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins," that is, the baptism of John was in response to repentance, and it was for "the remission of sins. " Note that in verse 5 that they were baptized...confessing their sins.
Our obvious role model for faithfulness and righteousness is Jesus Christ, who both lived and died without sin (Hebrews 4:14-15). Let's take the time to consider the testimony of Jesus Christ...what did He actually do? Consider:
MATTHEW 3:13 ¶ Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
MATTHEW 3:14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
(John protested, because Jesus had no sins to confess...in fact it was Christ who was to judge men of their sins. Did not John say something about Jesus Christ baptizing with fire (Matthew 3:11)? This is judgement!
MATTHEW 3:15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
MATTHEW 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
MATTHEW 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Jesus Christ deliberately was baptized, just because it was the right thing to do! Although He had no sins to confess or be forgiven of, He did it anyway, because it was appropriate for Him ("it becometh us") to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15-16).
1.1.1 Jesus Christ "received the Holy Ghost" (so to speak) when He was baptized in water. That is when "the heavens were opened unto him" (cf. Matthew 3:16). Likewise, this Son of Man "pleased God" when He was baptized in water, for that is when He was so commended by God (Matthew 3:17)! These things did not happen before He was baptized—they both happened when He was baptized (Matthew 3:16 specifically states this). Should we not learn from our Lord?
Let there be no confusion about this: Just as John the Baptist, was followed by Jesus Christ, so too was the baptism of John, superseded by the baptism of Jesus Christ (in the name of Jesus Christ, Acts 19:1-6)! Both baptisms, in their respective times, were ordained by God.
This is the precedent established by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who is the "firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:17-18).
1.1.2 Jesus Christ never spoke in "tongues". This does not necessarily suggest that it is wrong to do so, but Jesus came "to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15), and speaking in tongues is not among those things that He did. Some suggest that speaking in tongues is always "initial evidence of having received the Holy Ghost. " Jesus Christ "received" the Holy Ghost when He was baptized (cf. John 1:32-34, Matthew 3:16), but never spoke in tongues.