Did you know there is such a thing as a “Jewish baptism”?
As with other religions, Judaism has various forms of washings and immersions in water. The priests often washed themselves in various ways before sacrifices and ceremonies in the Temple, and men and women had to undergo various ritual washings for other purposes.
Baptism for Converts to Judaism
One common form of baptism was for proselytes to Judaism. When a Gentile wanted to convert to Judaism, one of the rites of initiation was to undergo a ritual washing of purification called a Mikvah.
The Jewish Talmud, in the Mikva’ot tractate, states that when a Gentile wishes to become a Jew, he must be instructed according to the 613 commandments of the Torah, must be circumscribed, and must go through a Mikvah, that is, be baptized.
The Talmud teaches that when the convert goes under the water, he goes under as a Gentile, but when he comes back out, he comes out as a Jew, born again like a new-born babe, with a new soul, spiritually and ritually pure (Oepke, TDNT,
Ongoing Baptisms for Jews
However, once a person becomes a Jew, they will often continue this practice of ritual washings throughout their life. Devout Jews will often go through numerous Mikvahs per year, sometimes as frequently as once per day.
These washings are intended to purify the person from ritual impurity that occurred throughout life (cf. 2 Kings 5:24; Sirach 34:25; Mark 7:4). Undergoing the Jewish baptism was a way of maintaining ritual and moral purity.
The Baptism of John the Baptist
It is something similar John was calling the people of Israel to in his day. The Jewish religious system and political scene had become corrupt, full of power-hungry priests and religious leaders who stole from the poor and the widows to make themselves rich so they could bribe political officials for special privileges and positions.
The baptism of John was not for the purpose of calling people away from Judaism and into Christianity. Christianity didn’t even exist yet. No, the baptism of John was a call to Jews to return to true and proper Judaism, where people were generous with their money, honest in their business dealings, and gracious in their use of power over others (Luke 3:10-14).
John was simply calling the people back to the standards and ideals which God had wanted for His people all along.
Hmmm! “the baptism of John was a call to Jews to return to true and proper Judaism, where people were generous with their money, honest in their business dealings, and gracious in their use of power over others (Luke 3:10-14).”
That statement reminded me of something a nonbeliever said regarding many “Christians” who have been baptized. He observed that their baptisms must not have “taken”, essentially because they do not display those characteristics (among others).
What do you think – Might Christian baptism, in a similar fashion to the baptism of John, be a call to be generous with our money, honest in our business dealings and gracious in our use of power over others? Might not those characteristics reveal our true identification with (total immersion in) Christ? If those characteristics are largely absent, might the chief benefit of baptism be, in the words of my friend, “getting wet”?
Perhaps this is indeed the true “mystery” of baptism.
Yes, definitely. I will be heading in this direction after we look at a few Scripture passages on baptism over the course of the next week.
Read Colossians 2. Baptism is circumcision made without hands. The problem with so many people is that they believe they can be saved any time they choose. Not so. God’s Word tells us that we cannot come to Christ unless the Spirit draws us, and He cannot draw us unless the Father bids Him to do so. God chooses the time…not us. Also, God’s Spirit will not always strive with a man. Today is the day of salvation. It appears that there will always be those who want to “muddy the water” concerning this issue. Don’t be too quick to smile because someone “just got wet”. A true circumcision of a person’s heart may bring about a change in charitable giving and service, but that cannot be stated as the purpose of baptism. A word of warning: God’s Holy Spirit is tied directly to the water and the blood (baptism). It is not wise to mock Him. There are dire consequences for doing so. To blaspheme Him means certain destruction without any possibility of being forgiven in this world or the next. He is not to be trifled with or joked about in any way. Hell awaits the unbeliever.
Thank you for this post! It really helped me to understand some things I have been wondering about. Looking forward to reading more about it.
Glad you found it helpful.
One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Circumcision of the heart. Obedience. Baptism is a ‘mikvah’. Yochanan’s (John’s) life was about nothing else but baptism. Jesus defended Yochanan’s life before the Sanhedrin – His baptism was of God, not of man. Kings have messengers who go before them – Yochanan’s message was making one’s life ‘straight’ through submission to baptism. Three things on earth that agree: Spirit, water and blood, and they are one. The New Testament (First Codicil) is filled with instructions to baptize for the remission of sin. When will people simply do what Jesus told us to do? Why must salvation be made so tedious? Read the Bible for yourself and ask God, through the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), to give you the understanding. Then obey His Word and enter into our Lord’s death, burial and resurrection (baptism), without which you cannot enter into His Kingdom. Simply put, Christianity is knowing what Jesus did and following His example. No denomination can be considered as Christian unless it follows this simple definition. It is possible for someone to belong to a denomination and be a Christian, even though the denomination itself, by its own tenets, is not. Therefore, many ‘churches’ cannot be considered Christian. Catholicism is, in my opinion, the most dangerous religion of all, followed closely by Islam. They have linked together, for a time at least, but the end of this relationship is disaster. Again, read the Bible for yourself. Stop listening to those whose god is not YHWH. Baruch Hashem! (Praise the Lord!) Amen.