John The Baptist

A question came to mind yesterday and I thought I would post it here for your thoughts and comments.

John The Baptist was baptizing people long before Jesus entered the picture. My question is: WHY?

Since baptism is associated with Christianity and there was no Christianity before Jesus, why was John baptizing people? Where in the Bible does it mention that he was do to this?

Baptism seems to come from the ritual cleansing in the Old Testament (see Numbers 19). It was also a requirement for conversion to Judaism.

John was saying to people "you are unclean because of your sins" and telling them to convert their hearts.

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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace on this forum. Where there is hatred, grant that I may sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, unity; where there is doubt, faith; where there is error, Your truth and not my personal opinion; where there is despair, hope; where there is sadness, joy; where there is darkness, light. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled by people here as to console them; to be understood by them, as to understand them; to be loved by them, as to love them: For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Thank you for your reply. It makes sense now.

The New Testament is the story of 2. In Luke you will find, 2 babies, 2 mothers, 2 Miracle
Births, 2 ministries, 2 deaths by the blade 2, Tombs, 2 Beliefs of resurrections,
You will find the Son of God, and The Son of Man. You will also meet a Kind, Healing, Jesus and a Mad, Vengeful Jesus. A Jesus who ascends to the Father and a Jesus
who will rule a Jeweled Kingdom with an Iron Rod. A Jesus who people run to and a
Jesus no one recognizes. One who forgives, and one who tells others to drink poison and handle snakes. One who was born in June, when Shepard's were tending their
Flocks and One born in late December.
I do not know who John the Baptist is, all I know is that there are millions of
people you call themselves Baptists.
Jesus is Living Water, Shed on the Cross, and John is dead earth water.

John was baptising in repentence
where you basically would proclaim that
you realized your sins and repent and change your ways
and basically be cleansed

he paved the wave for Jesus, and preceded him to let those know who Jesus was and when he would come

In Isiah 40:2 it talks about the verse Mark is talking about in the beginning

Was not John considered to be the first Christian? He "preached" and spoke of Christ (Lamb of God) coming soon to take away sins of the world.
And to the Op, I think Jesus was born before John so Jesus was in around at the same time as John, ie; John spoke of Jesus "coming before him"

Hey there Julie! Because God told him to.

St. John the Baptist was sent by God to prepare the way for the Lord. We do the same today in the Sacrament of Baptism. By it the Christian is welcomed into the Church. It is the first Sacrament one is to receive. It prepares the Way for the Christian to follow and starts the Christian life. It is a Sacrament of initiation.

St. John the Baptist did exactly what God needed him to do. He also preceeded our Lord into death, his being a Martyr's death by beheading.

John's voice was one crying in the desert, prepare the way for the Lord, etc. He and God met when he was still in St. Elizabeth's womb and God was in Mary's womb. He lept for joy at hearing the voice of his Lord as you will see if you open a Bible and read through waht we call the visitation, which is a mystery of the Rosary as well.

I would suggest you read the passage and then pray a decade of the Rosary, asking God for understanding of the Mystery.

I think St. John the Baptist is a wonderful saint.

Peace and all good,

Gail

Baptism wasn't invented by Christians. Ritual washings of various types are found in almost all of the world's religions.

No, John was Jewish, as was Jesus.

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