Subject: John Baptist's Jewish legal credentials? |
Bible Note: EdB, You quoted from the Holman Bible Dictionary as follows: "At some point close to the time of Jesus, Judaism began a heavy emphasis on ritual washings to cleanse from impurity. This goes back to priestly baths prior to offering sacrifices (Lev. 16:4,24). Probably shortly prior to the time of Jesus or contemporary with Him, Jews began baptizing Gentile converts, though circumcision still remained the primary entrance rite into Judaism." In this light, wouldn't circumcision be on an equivalent level as baptism? The early Jewish church seems to have thought so. How would circumcision and baptism really differ, if at all? Acts 15 1 Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." (NAS95) - Blessings, Reighnskye |