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NASB | John 1:25 They asked him, and said to him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 1:25 They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" |
Bible Question:
John 1:25 They asked him, and said to him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" Why did the religeous leaders of the day ask this question? It seems they already have some kind of underdstanding of Baptism and an expectation that The Messiah or Elijah or The Prophet would baptize. What is their frame of reference for baptism and for the 3 individuals? |
Bible Answer: Here is a quote that I think best explains this situation. However you may also want to do a study on Mikvah which is ritual Baptism in Judaism. 1:25. The reason the Pharisees came to John, that is, to find out who he was, now broadened into criticism. John was calling Jews, including Pharisees, to the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Matthew 3:1-9; Mark 1:5; Luke 3:8). This was something new in Israel. The Talmud specified the rite by which Gentiles might become identified with Jews as proselytes. Usually proselytes went into the water and stood while elders recited the Law which would thenceforth be binding on them. They then dipped in the water; males were also circumcised. By this ceremony Gentiles were accepted as belonging to Israel. The Pharisees taught most dogmatically that no prophet after Moses, except the Messiah himself, had a right to introduce any new rite for Israelites. The delegation saw no reason for John to initiate a new system. Why not allow the One he introduced to do that job? John, however, viewed his ministry as one that would prepare the hearts of people to receive the Messiah's message. In mentioning Elijah, the Pharisees showed that they knew the prophecy of Malachi that God would send Elijah before the great Day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5,6). They also knew of "that Prophet" who was foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15,18). Like the scribes with whom Herod consulted about Messiah's birthplace (Matthew 2:4-6), the Pharisees were intellectually prepared for the coming of the Christ. They were not spiritually perceptive, however. If they had been, they would have known that John, in the spirit and power of Elijah, was preparing the way of the Messiah (Matthew 11:14). Complete Biblical Library Commentary The Complete Biblical Library John. |
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