THE BAPTISM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

By Gary Ray Branscome

As I have already explained, Christian baptism began with John the Baptist, and baptism has always been a divinely instituted way of pointing those who repent to Christ.

The words, “After this Jesus and His disciples went out into the countryside of Judea; and there He spent some time with them, and baptized. And John was also baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was plenty of water there: and people were coming, and being baptized,” tell us that Jesus and John were baptizing in the same area (John 3:22-23). Even though, “It was not Jesus who baptized, but His disciples,” they were working together (John 4:2). Furthermore, even though the Apostles, and even Apollos, were baptized by John the Baptist, they were never rebaptized (John 1:35-42, Acts 18:24-25). Therefore, when the Apostle Paul baptized certain men who had been baptized, “unto John’s baptism,” it is fairly obvious that they had not actually been baptized by John the Baptist. John not only did not baptize anyone “unto John’s baptism,” he pointed all who came to him to Christ, saying “He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost,” and they had not even heard of the Holy Ghost (Mark 1:8). That is why Dr. John Theodore Mueller said, “We may not be wrong in assuming that the “certain disciples” at Ephesus had not been baptized by John himself, but by some of his followers, who discarded their master's command to join Jesus as "the Lamb of God.” (“CHRISTIAN DOGMATICS,” page 505.) Such groups did exist.