3:22,23
We now get back to John the Baptist. First of all we are told that Jesus went into the Judean countryside with His disciples and baptised. John 4:2 tells us that it was actually only the disciples who did the actual baptising. It is not specified what sort of baptism this was, though presumably it was still a baptism of repentance. This is made all the more likely by the mention of John baptising. “Because there was plenty of water”. This is a wonderfully practical reason! It does emphasise the importance of water in baptism. It is also apparent that John the Baptist still enjoyed considerable popularity at this time.
3:24
“This was before John was put in prison.” At first glance this seems a rather needless phrase, of course it was before John was put in prison, for he was in no position to do any baptising after that! However, the reason for this comment is that the synoptic gospels record Jesus’ ministry after John was out in prison (Mark 1:14). So the verse is putting the current activities in context, and it also demonstrates that John was aware of the synoptic gospels.
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