“The question put to John the Baptist by the Pharisees in the deputation reflects one of their concerns: Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? Their interest is in what authorizes John’s baptismal practices. It is not that Baptism was unknown. Some Jewish groups practised ‘proselyte baptism’, i.e. proselytes were baptized in converting to Judaism. In the monastic community at Qumram, members invoked passages such as Ezekiel 36:25 to justify their daily Baptism, a sign that they were the righteous community of the end-time. However, in both instances, Baptism was self-administered. Candidates baptized themselves. One of the things that characterized the Baptism of John the Baptist is that he administered it. It may even be that the authority implicit in such an innovative step triggered the assumption in the minds of at least some Pharisees that John’s Baptism was an end-time rite administered by an end-time figure with great authority.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://morallife.foundation/2021/12/13/ushering-in-the-new-john-1-25-27/