The fact that Jesus was not an ascetic, and that he actively sought the fellowship of publicans and sinners may have been an offense to John and his disciples Matt ; Matt ; Luke Jesus may have rebuked John in this regard when he said, "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me" Matt ; Luke Finally, even though John was merely a witness serving as a transitional figure, the impact of his life and ministry should not be underestimated.
During his lifetime he had a following of disciples who shared common practices such as fasting and prayers Matt ; John ; John's disciples survived his death and spread throughout the Mediterranean world. Apollos was from Alexandria in North Africa and at one point knew only of the baptism of John Acts Similarly, upon arriving in Ephesus, Paul encountered about a dozen disciples of John.
They too had only experienced the baptism of John Acts These instances indicate that the Baptist's movement may have had more influence than what we are able to glean from the New Testament.
In recent scholarship, the historical relationship between Jesus and John has been the subject of study. How did Jesus view John and what did John make of Jesus' ministry? In this type of study, John often serves as a paradigm for interpreting the life and ministry of Jesus.
For example, the inclusion of the suffering and death of John may foreshadow the pain and death of Jesus on the cross.
Also, to what extent did John influence the life and ministry of Jesus? Indeed, the ill treatment of John by Herod Antipas may have had a significant impact upon Jesus' early ministry in Galilee and in his final days in Jerusalem. The early Christian traditions that form the Gospel material on John are also the focus of modern research.
For example, the scathing accusations and warnings of John are associated with the ministry of Jesus Luke , but in the end are not typical of his message. Also there appears to have been an early tradition that John had been raised from the dead Mark What possible sources may have given rise to these traditions? Even the topographical setting of John's ministry may be of theological significance. The desert setting may underscore the stark nature of John's message or may be symbolic of Israel's struggle in the desert.
And finally, the psychological and sociological analysis of John is of interest here. In accordance with the criteria of the sociology of deviance, John's behavior and message could be classified as "deviant. In conclusion, John the Baptist is of great theological importance in the New Testament.
He ended nearly four hundred years of prophetic silence and paved the way for the Messiah. In the spirit of Elijah, he preached a message of repentance and baptism. In his darkest hour he questioned if Jesus was the One who was to come, or whether there would be another. He inaugurated a spiritual movement that had influence long after his death and extended throughout the Mediterranean world.
See also Elijah ; Jesus Christ. Brown, New Testament Essays ; M. Cleary, IT Q 54 : ; M. John preached about the coming kingdom and the need to repent. Edersheim graphically describes the conditions of the time. Absolute right did not exist. Might was right. The social relations exhibited, if possible, even deeper corruption. The sanctity of marriage had ceased. Female dissipation and the general dissoluteness led at last to an almost entire cessation of marriage.
Moral corruption had made deep inroads into Judaism as well. Read carefully the second chapter of the book of Romans. When he saw superficial Hebrews submitting to his immersion, void of any radical change of conduct, he rebuked them:. Without fruit there is no real repentance. This will be discussed as a separate item below. It would be a regime of a different composition than that of the old theocracy a combined religious and political system.
The kingdom of Christ was not to be a this-world oriented system see Jn. The Greek term is engus. It can be used figuratively in prophecy to denote the certainty of an event, from the perspective of time as God views things cf. The subsequent context of the Gospel records reveals that literal proximity is indicated here. Jesus would later indicate that some of those in his audience would not die until they observed the kingdom arrive, accompanied by power Mk.
Eventually it becomes apparent that this was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost cf. Acts ; John proclaimed coming judgment. As mentioned earlier, the Old Testament closed with a prophecy concerning the coming of him who would be in the spirit and power of Elijah, namely John Mal. There are several figures of speech employed by the prophet to provide thrust to his message. First, the more immediate application probably was to the impending destruction of the Jewish nation.
Secondly, the fan was the winnowing shovel with which the harvested grain was tossed into the wind so as to separate the kernel from the chaff. It thus signified the great separation between the righteous and the wicked in the ultimate ordering of God. It is imperative in this study that attention be given to the baptism administered by John. Here are some points for consideration:.
Baptizo is found some eighty times, and it is almost always anglicized i. It becomes an English term with only slight letter modification. Such hybridization obscures the meaning of the original word, but is maintained today for commercial reasons. Unquestionably, the Greek terms denote the action of dipping, immersing, or submerging an object. Beasley-Murray writes:.
Such a reference would hardly have been necessary if baptism can be administered with but a few drops of water. The preposition eis has its usual prospective thrust. Two words in this text are key. This question has generated much discussion: Were those baptized by John, during those days when his ministry was operative, required to be rebaptized in order to enter the church following the day of Pentecost?
First, there is no clear, definitive statement regarding this theme in the New Testament record. Acts ff certainly does not settle the issue — it is too ambiguous. One must, therefore, assemble all the evidence available , and then attempt to draw what he perceives to be a reasonable conclusion. It is not a make-or-break issue. Where is the evidence that anyone who had been baptized by John was required to be immersed following Pentecost. Acts 19 surely does not demand that.
Their baptism had been predicated upon an insufficient faith regarding Jesus, and therefore, on that basis, was not valid. Is there evidence that any of the original apostles were baptized on Pentecost or thereafter?
One of these lads represented the chief priests and elders, the upper stratum of Jewish society, while the other boy signified the publicans and harlots, the offscouring of that culture. The Jewish leaders mostly rejected it Mt.
Why require baptism in view of the coming kingdom if that baptism had nothing to do with entering the kingdom? If it be argued that the same, in principle, might also apply to those Jews who had offered animal sacrifices, we respond that the two cases are not equal. Biblical typology is not always a clearly defined field of study. A type prefigures the antitype cf. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!
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