Understanding New Testament Jewish baptismal practices.

[Ain't Zwinglian]

Baptism as a Jewish institution was well known and in common practice in the NT era. The Pharisees baptized themselves often. It was customary to baptize themselves before eating a meal. Also after coming from any market place, they baptized their hands.

• Mark 7:2, 3, 5: The Pharisees had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with unclean hands, that is, unwashed. 3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they baptize (βαπτίσωνται) their unclean hands.
• Also Luke 11:38: The Pharisee was astonished that “Jesus had not first baptized (ἐβαπτίσθη) [his hands] before dinner."

The whole of the Jewish culture practiced ceremonial baptism every day. Of course, Jesus severely criticized the Pharisees for this ceremonial baptism, as this baptism was only commanded for the priests in the OT and not for the common people (Mark 7:5-7). Enforcing ceremonial hand baptisms on the whole population was, according to Jesus... “holding to the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:7)

We certainly can refer to these baptisms in English as "immersing hands in water" or "washing hands in water" as they are linguistic equivalents.

We make two distinctions between Jewish baptism and Christian baptism.

• Jewish baptisms were repeated over and over again many times a day. Christian baptism is done once.
• Jewish baptisms were performed by the individual himself, whereas in Christian baptism, another Christian baptizes the recipient.

 

[One God and Father of All]

A priest does not only need to immerse his hands before entering the tabernacle but his whole self.
What good is it to just wash your hands if you refuse to wash your whole body

 

[One God and Father of All]

In order to enter the true tabernacle (not made with hands) one needs to wash his entire body (immerse) not just his hands.

 

[ViaCrucis]

A priest does not only need to immerse his hands before entering the tabernacle but his whole self.
What good is it to just wash your hands if you refuse to wash your whole body

Not immerse, netilat yadayim., ritual hand washing, required that water be poured over the hands. Priests serving in the Tabernacle (later Temple) were required to wash their hands and feet (Exodus 30:17-19). This practice, under rabbinic tradition and teaching, ultimately was viewed as required not only for priests but as a general rule of Jewish ritual practice. This is why there were Pharisees that became irate with Jesus that His disciples didn't perform netilat yadayim before eating bread.

Tevilah, ritual immersion in a ritual bath (a mikveh) was also something priests were to do, such as when the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, made the offering in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. As well as for other ritual purposes--contact with a dead body for example.

Both were practiced. As well as ritual washing of utensils and furniture; the Gospel of Mark mentions the practice of ritually washing utensils and vesseles, and even klinon (reclining tables).

In Mark 7:4, when referring to the Jewish practice of hand washing before eating, the Greek of the text reads:

καὶ ἀπό ἀγορᾶς ἐὰν μὴ βαπτίσωνται οὐκ ἐσθίουσιν

And from [the] market [they come] except they wash (baptisontai) they do not eat.

This is a reference to ritual hand-washing, netilat yadayim, which required pouring water over the hands, and was expected in rabbinical teaching to be done prior to eating a meal. The same ritual which the rabbinic authorities were upset with Jesus' disciples for not doing. And St. Mark, in his Gospel text, calls a "baptism". Not only is this not a full body immersion being referred to, it's not any kind of immersion, because netilat yadayim involved pouring water over the hands, not immersing the hands. If one immersed the hands rather than poured water, the hands would have remained ritually unclean.

In order to enter the true tabernacle (not made with hands) one needs to wash his entire body (immerse) not just his hands.

When we come and enter into the Holy of Holies where Christ is, we enter through by His blood, having been washed clean in the sacred laver of Baptism, whether by pouring upon the head or fully immersed into water it does not matter: because this is not a ritual cleansing or a physical cleaning, but a spiritual cleansing. Thus we, as St. Paul has declared, have been cleansed by the washing of water by the word (Ephesians 5:26).

The quanity of water, and how much of our bodies made contact with the water is inconsequential: for it is the word itself--connected to and with the water by the promise of God--which washes us clean; God having declared our sins wholly and altogether forgiven by the once-and-perfect atoning work of Christ who is the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[One God and Father of All]

Not immerse, netilat yadayim., ritual hand washing, required that water be poured over the hands. Priests serving in the Tabernacle (later Temple) were required to wash their hands and feet (Exodus 30:17-19). This practice, under rabbinic tradition and teaching, ultimately was viewed as required not only for priests but as a general rule of Jewish ritual practice. This is why there were Pharisees that became irate with Jesus that His disciples didn't perform netilat yadayim before eating bread.

Tevilah, ritual immersion in a ritual bath (a mikveh) was also something priests were to do, such as when the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, made the offering in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. As well as for other ritual purposes--contact with a dead body for example.

Both were practiced. As well as ritual washing of utensils and furniture; the Gospel of Mark mentions the practice of ritually washing utensils and vesseles, and even klinon (reclining tables).

In Mark 7:4, when referring to the Jewish practice of hand washing before eating, the Greek of the text reads:

καὶ ἀπό ἀγορᾶς ἐὰν μὴ βαπτίσωνται οὐκ ἐσθίουσιν

And from [the] market [they come] except they wash (baptisontai) they do not eat.

This is a reference to ritual hand-washing, netilat yadayim, which required pouring water over the hands, and was expected in rabbinical teaching to be done prior to eating a meal. The same ritual which the rabbinic authorities were upset with Jesus' disciples for not doing. And St. Mark, in his Gospel text, calls a "baptism". Not only is this not a full body immersion being referred to, it's not any kind of immersion, because netilat yadayim involved pouring water over the hands, not immersing the hands. If one immersed the hands rather than poured water, the hands would have remained ritually unclean.



When we come and enter into the Holy of Holies where Christ is, we enter through by His blood, having been washed clean in the sacred laver of Baptism, whether by pouring upon the head or fully immersed into water it does not matter: because this is not a ritual cleansing or a physical cleaning, but a spiritual cleansing. Thus we, as St. Paul has declared, have been cleansed by the washing of water by the word (Ephesians 5:26).

The quanity of water, and how much of our bodies made contact with the water is inconsequential: for it is the word itself--connected to and with the water by the promise of God--which washes us clean; God having declared our sins wholly and altogether forgiven by the once-and-perfect atoning work of Christ who is the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

-CryptoLutheran

When we enter the Holy of Holies we go where Christ has gone. We are made “to die no more” just as is said of him. The writer of Hebrews calls this being made perfect though suffering. Christ was made perfect through suffering. Yet he was baptized of John.
The only way therefore to enter behind the veil into the most holy place is by Christ’s suffering and not by bulls and goats. His own blood.
Before entering the Most Holy place one must enter the tabernacle’s first compartment. He does this by baptism or immersion in water. John’s baptism was for the remission of sins, which allows those to enter the body of Christ.

Luke 7:29And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors [h]justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. 30But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

Because the Pharisees justified themselves and rejected the will of God against themselves by not submitting to John’s baptism, they could not enter the first compartment of the tabernacle. Neither would they then enter the Most Holy by the sacrifice of Jesus.
John’s baptism required full immersion in water. We cannot find anyone who is said to have been sprinkled. Jesus himself was fully immersed in the Jordan.

 

[FireDragon76]

Water and washing is an important symbol of spiritual purification in many cultures, so it's understandable where the idea of baptism comes from.