The origins of baptism in the New Testament

Overview

John's baptism, the baptism of Jesus, the practice in Acts and the theology Paul draws from it.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What Jewish practices lie behind Christian baptism?

   Model answer

   Judaism used ritual washing for purification, with stepped immersion pools attached to the Temple and to many houses, and the community at Qumran practised repeated washings. Some scholars also point to the immersion of Gentile converts to Judaism, though the date at which that practice began is disputed.

2. 2

   How does Mark describe the baptism of John?

   Model answer

   Mark presents John in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, with people coming from Judaea and Jerusalem to be baptised in the Jordan. Confession of sin accompanied the washing.

3. 3

   How did John's baptism differ from Jewish ritual washing?

   Model answer

   Jewish washings were repeated and largely self-administered, whereas John's baptism was received once, from another, at a particular moment of decision. John also gave it an eschatological meaning, as preparation for the coming judgement.

4. 4

   What did John say about the one who would come after him?

   Model answer

   John said that he baptised with water but that one mightier than he was coming, whose sandals he was not worthy to untie. That one, John said, would baptise with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

5. 5

   What is recorded at the baptism of Jesus?

   Model answer

   Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptised by John in the Jordan, and as he came up from the water he saw the heavens torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. A voice from heaven declared him the beloved Son in whom God was well pleased.

6. 6

   Why do scholars regard the baptism of Jesus as very likely historical?

   Model answer

   The event created an obvious difficulty for the early church, since Jesus received a baptism of repentance from a figure whom Christians regarded as his forerunner. Matthew's addition of a dialogue in which John protests and Jesus answers that it is to fulfil all righteousness suggests that the tradition was too well established to be dropped.

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