Dimensions of Baptism Biblical and Theological Studies

THE BAPTISM OF JOHN IN A TYPOLOGICAL CONTEXT

Craig A. Evans

Discussion of the origin and significance of Christian baptism naturally

shows interest in the meaning that baptism had for John the Baptizer and

his followers, including Jesus of Nazareth, for it is assumed that Christian

baptism had its origin in John's baptism.^1 Accordingly, the better we

understand the nature of John's ministry, the better we shall understand

the meaning of baptism in early Christianity.

Recent discussion has focused on purification issues in John's baptism,

with the result that a dichotomy has developed. On the one hand we have

the better known interpretation of John's baptism as prophetic, intitiatory,

restorative, and once-only, while on the other hand we have a newer

interpretation that views the baptism as repeated ritual immersion for

purification, not unlike that practiced by many Jews and Jewish groups.^2

The view adopted here seeks a middle ground, contending that it is not

necessary to view a prophetic, restorative dimension of John's baptism as

competing with another dimension that recommends repeated immersions

for purification. Parallels between the lifestyle and teaching of John sug-

gest an overlap of both ideas.

1. See L. Hartman, 'Baptism', ABD, I, pp. 585-86. Hartman sums up scholarly
   opinion accordingly: 'John's baptism is the point of departure of Christian baptismal
   practice' (p. 585).


2. The principal players in this discussion are R.L. Webb, John the Baptizer and
   Prophet: A Socio-Historical Study (JSNTSup, 62; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1991), who
   sees John as a prophet, whose baptism was initiatory and eschatological; and B.D.
   Chilton, 'John the Purifier', in B.D. Chilton and C.A. Evans, Jesus in Context: Temple,
   Purity, and Restoration (AGJU, 39; Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1997), pp. 203-20, and J.E.
   Taylor, The Immerser: John the Baptist within Second Temple Judaism (SHJ; Grand
   Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), who see John's baptism as repeated and purificatory. Most
   older scholarship concerned with John more or less coheres with Webb's line of inter-
   pretation. The studies by Chilton and Taylor are reflective of New Testament scholars
   more sympathetic to viewing Jesus in a thorough Jewish, cultic context.