170 Dimensions of Baptism
The symbolism could extend to the idea that the suffering of judgment by
Jesus initiates an era in which.. .those who receive his word share with him
in suffering at the hands of a hostile world, in harmony with the call to
discipleship in terms of shouldering a cross with Jesus (Mk 8.34).^34- The Baptism of 'Blood'
Is it possible, then, to make a connection between Jesus' description of his
own death as a baptism, the prediction that some of his disciples would
share the same fate, martyrdom, and the meaning of 'baptisms' in Heb.
6.2?^35brought him to court was so moved at seeing him testify as to confess that he also was
himself a Christian. "So they were both led away together... [and] both were beheaded
at the same time'" (Eusebius, The Ecclesiastical History [2 vols.; LCL; London:
William Heinemann, 1965], I, p. 127). Though this is clearly several centuries after
Hebrews was written, it nevertheless reflects indirectly the ongoing association of
Jesus' baptism of death and that of James (and John) with that of other Christians. For
the relevance of this, see the discussion below. The later tradition that John was
martyred alongside his brother James is almost certainly due to an attempt to show that
Jesus' words in Mk 10.38-39 were fulfilled. The spurious nature of this tradition has
been convincingly demonstrated by Taylor, Mark, p. 442, and L. Morris, Studies in the
Fourth Gospel (Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1969), pp. 280-83. The 'apparent' unfulfll-
ment of this logion is, indirectly, an argument for its authenticity.
- Beasley-Murray, Kingdom of God, pp. 251-52.
- G. Jeanes, 'Baptism Portrayed as Martyrdom in the Early Church', SL 23.2
(1993), pp. 158-76, discusses both general instances of the connection between
baptism and martyrdom (i.e. in the writings of Tertullian, Hippolytus and John
Chrysostom, on whom see the following discussion)—which he traces to the time of
Tertullian, whereas the evidence discussed below shows that it is in fact earlier—and
actual instances of parallels (i.e. in terms of the use of the common language and
settings: of the courtroom and judgment, the contest with Satan [which employs the
imagery of the athlete and soldier, the imitation of Christ, and the confession of faith],
as well as minor motifs, such as the imagery of bread, and that of a spiritual marriage).
He also examines the employment of the baptismal symbolism in the martyr literature,
which is not affected by the late and spurious nature of this literature (p. 173), and in so
doing he agrees with H. Musurillo (ed.), The Acts of the Christian Martyrs (Oxford
Early Christian Texts; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), pp. xl-xli. It must be noted,
though, that Jeanes, 'Baptism', p. 174, concentrates on the historical process whereby
'the language of dying with Christ entered into the baptismal liturgies', which he dates
to the fourth century and later. I wish to argue, however, that the evidence shows that a
case can be made for seeing a continuous tradition of speaking about martyrdom in
terms of the baptism of blood which originated in the early ministry of Jesus.