Page 163 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Revised

that made you a member of the group. It was the action by which you demonstrated that you were a
member of the group in public and were received into the community. Many pastors are unaware of this
background and mistakenly assume that the act of baptism is the point of salvation. In fact, if the
purpose of baptism remains similar, the action of baptism is a proclamation that you are already a
recipient of the rabbi’s purity and are a member of the community.

Now you might ask yourself, are there any differences in Christian baptism and Jewish ritual bathing?
The answer is yes. The Jewish ritual of bathing was performed every day. Jesus does not simply lead His
followers in a purification ritual that is ongoing; He gives them His purity. As a result, Christian baptism is
never seen to be an ongoing thing in the New Testament. It is a one-time act that declares to the public
that you were identifying with Jesus' teaching and purity. It was and is the declaration that you are
already in the purity of Jesus and that His teaching is true. In short, you believe in Him and receive His
righteousness as your own. You then make a publicly understood declaration of that internal reality by a
ritual washing to symbolize that cleansing. Also, you are not being cleansed to entice Messiah to come;
you are proclaiming that the Messiah has come. As a result, the very notion of baptismal salvation is
problematic if one understands the cultural background of the Jews. The only place in which one may
wonder is the baptism of Gentile converts to Judaism. Even in that case, however, the baptism is an
initiation into the group purity rituals and lifestyle; it is never seen as bestowing eternal salvation. To
equate it to that in the Christian use is to import meaning into baptism that it did not have at that time.

Another important point that shows the unity of much Jewish and Christian thought regarding baptism
is found in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that
there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same

judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you,

my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or
“I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were

you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus

and Gaius so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did also baptize the

household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ

did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom,
lest the cross of Christ is emptied of its power. (ESV)

Notice that, as in the Jewish customs, the Christians were aligning with their baptizer as the one whom
they followed. Some followed Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter), and some Christ. Paul says this is nonsense!
He says he was sent to preach the Gospel, not primarily to baptize. That they were dividing when Christ
was not divided, confirms that they still saw baptism very similarly to Jewish baptism. Yet there were
changes in the Christian meaning of baptism. Also, it confirms that Paul saw the Gospel, not baptism, as
the most important issue. It further shows us that Paul did not consider baptism as part of the Gospel.
This background is very important for pastors to understand when reading Scripture.

Jewish Sectarianism
The Jews were not simply a single unity who thought the same way and pursued the same goals; even
their perception of exile and how to bring it to an end differed widely. In order to understand the
cultural makeup of the Jewish world, we need to be able to summarize the major groups we know of in
that culture. Let’s briefly explain who the groups were and how they show up in the Bible.

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