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.
- 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). - 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.