Month: July 2023

Paul gives conditions on what we are baptized into:

After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”*

When did baptism even become a thing? According to Jewish practice, the idea of a “mikveh” was developed in the mid-500’s B.C.E. during the time of captivity in Babylon.  That means that these ideas were developed by those like Daniel, Nehemiah, Ezra, and Malachi.  Then, it was a process of conversion, a pagan becoming a Jew.  Thus, the question posed to John the Baptist then makes more sense.  John was baptizing Jews, which made no sense to the Jewish leaders.