{"id":8544,"date":"2023-08-01T16:17:22","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T16:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/?p=8544"},"modified":"2024-08-06T00:08:38","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T00:08:38","slug":"where-was-jesus-baptized","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/where-was-jesus-baptized\/","title":{"rendered":"Where was Jesus Baptized in the Bible? Was Jesus Baptized By John the Baptist?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Where was Jesus Baptized? Unearthing the Evidence<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Written by <\/a>Joshua Schachterle, Ph.D<\/a><\/p>\n

Author |  Professor | Scholar<\/p>\n

Author |  Professor | BE Contributor<\/p>\n

Verified!  See our editorial guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n

Verified!  See our guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n\nDate written: August 1st, 2023\n

\nDate written: August 1st, 2023<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. – Dr. Bart D. Ehrman<\/p>\n

Where was Jesus baptized, and did John the Baptist baptize Jesus? This<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0is a significant topic in Christian history and scriptural studies.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Gospels<\/span> say he did, but unfortunately, the Gospels weren\u2019t always concerned with historical accuracy.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In this post, I first explore the evidence that the baptism of Jesus occurred and then investigate where the baptism might have happened.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are interested in exploring the Gospels further, you should check out a free 50-minute webinar with Bart Ehrman<\/a>. He provides an engaging and informative explanation of the Gospels\u2019 authors.<\/p>\n

\"Where<\/span><\/p>\n

Was Jesus Baptized by John the Baptist?<\/h2>\n

If the baptism of Jesus never happened, there\u2019s no point in looking for its location. Let\u2019s begin by looking at the evidence.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, the bad news: there is no archeological evidence for the location of John\u2019s baptism.<\/strong> The good news? We do have textual sources of information from which we can reasonably speculate about this event.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Criterion of Embarrassment<\/h3>\n

Here, I must introduce a historical research principle called the embarrassment criterion<\/span>. This states that a historical story is probably true if its events might embarrass the author or subject of the story.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s an example: Let’s say I’m telling a heroic story about myself. But everyone knows I also tripped and fell during the story’s events. Including my embarrassing fall in the story makes it likely that the fall really happened.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why? While I would love to omit the fall, I must include it because people already know about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Omitting the story of Jesus’s baptism was not an option in telling his life story.<\/em> It was a fact that Jesus’s followers passed down. Therefore, most scholars agree that John baptized Jesus because of the criterion of embarrassment. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why embarrassment? Well, including his baptism in the story created some potential problems.<\/strong><\/p>\n

First,<\/span> Joel Marcus<\/span><\/a> notes that John’s baptism was supposed to be for “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). But the early church believed that Jesus never sinned. How could they explain that?<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, Jesus was supposed to be superior to John. All four Gospels say that John’s only real purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus’s arrival. Since the superior usually baptizes the inferior \u2013 a priest baptizes a layperson, for example \u2013 why would John baptize Jesus?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

How the Gospels Deal with Jesus\u2019s Baptism<\/h2>\n

Mark, our oldest Gospel<\/span><\/a>, starts by having John announce that someone far superior to him is coming. We assume, of course, that he is referring to Jesus. However, Jesus\u2019s baptism in Mark is mentioned without comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Joel Marcus, the author of Matthew portrays a dialogue between John and Jesus. John protests that Jesus should baptize him. Jesus, however, humbly insists that he must be baptized to \u201cfulfill all righteousness\u201d (3:15).<\/strong> Although Jesus is without sin, he still sees it necessary to behave appropriately by submitting to baptism.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Luke, Jesus\u2019s baptism is more of a collective rite, an \u201cact of solidarity with his nation,\u201d according to Marcus, rather than a personal act. The Gospel of John, by the way, deals with this problem by never explicitly mentioning Jesus\u2019s baptism.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

So, since the synoptic Gospels include the disconcerting fact of Jesus\u2019s baptism by John, scholars know it probably occurred. But can we know why it might have happened outside of Matthew\u2019s and Luke\u2019s explanations?<\/span><\/p>\n

NOW AVAILABLE FREE!<\/p>\n

Did Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Actually Write Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The New Testament Gospels are anonymous. So why did early Christians say they were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? And what’s the evidence that they actually did?<\/p>\n

__CONFIG_colors_palette__{“active_palette”:0,”config”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“name”:”Main Accent”,”parent”:-1}},”gradients”:[]},”palettes”:[{“name”:”Default Palette”,”value”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“val”:”rgb(255, 133, 34)”,”hsl”:{“h”:26,”s”:0.99,”l”:0.5667}}},”gradients”:[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__ <\/span> GET THE FREE WEBINAR<\/strong><\/span><\/span> <\/a> \"Did<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

The Relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus<\/h3>\n

In my other post on John the Baptist<\/a>, I mentioned a theory held by many scholars: Jesus may have initially been a disciple of John the Baptist.<\/em> This would certainly explain why John baptized Jesus. If baptism were as central to John\u2019s program as it appears, Jesus, as his follower, would undoubtedly have experienced it. Although it was necessary for the Gospels to include this well-known fact, they would not have mentioned Jesus following anyone.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, the Gospels say Jesus just went to the Jordan River once to be baptized and then left. However, other information shows that Jesus had more of a relationship with John than that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Matthew 11, for example, Jesus says John was a prophet and the greatest man who ever lived.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

In addition, Acts 19 mentions followers of John the Baptist continuing his legacy long after John\u2019s death.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In another early Christian document, the Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions<\/a>, followers of John claim that John was the Messiah centuries after his death. This brings up a question: would John\u2019s followers have continued his legacy if John himself had indicated that everyone should follow Jesus?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What River Was Jesus Baptized In? Jesus was Baptized in the Jordan River<\/h4>\n

Since we established that John the Baptist likely did baptize Jesus, where did it happen?<\/span><\/p>\n

We already know what river Jesus was baptized in. All four Gospels agree<\/a> that John had a practice of baptizing people in the Jordan River. Before going further, we must understand the great significance of the Jordan River for John\u2019s mission.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Joshua 3 and 4, Joshua leads the Israelites across the Jordan River to take the Promised Land.<\/span> John Dominic Crossan<\/span><\/a> points out that several self-proclaimed prophets appeared in the Judean desert in the 1<\/span>st<\/span> century CE. They led great multitudes to recross the Jordan into Israel, the Promised Land, as a gesture of protest against Roman control. The act of crossing the Jordan River holds significant importance in Jewish identity.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Crossan, therefore, argues that this is why John baptized in the Jordan River. When people came to John, he sent them \u201cthrough the Jordan\u2026 purified and ready, into the Promised Land, there to await\u2026 the redeeming and avenging God.\u201d This would ensure that when God triumphed, the wicked Romans would be punished. Meanwhile, the Jews, made righteous through John\u2019s baptism, would be saved.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Was<\/span><\/p>\n

Where Was Jesus Baptized in the Bible?<\/h3>\n

So, we established that John baptized in the Jordan River and why. But the Jordan River is many miles long. Can we get any more specific about where he baptized Jesus?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Matthew 3:1, John baptized \u201cin the wilderness of Judea.\u201d Not exactly precise. However, we can speculate on possible sites for John\u2019s baptizing practice using what evidence we do have.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Scholar<\/span> Shimon Gibson<\/span><\/a> says there are two traditional candidates for the place where Jesus was baptized. The first, Yardenit, is where the Jordan empties into the Sea of Galilee. This is a possibility since Jesus originally came from the Galilee.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Gibson says the most likely place for Jesus\u2019s baptism is al-Maghtas, where the Jordan ends at the Dead Sea. The Gospels tell us large crowds visited John to be baptized and to hear him preach. The proximity of this site to Jerusalem and other cities makes this location Gibson\u2019s best guess.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion: Where Was Jesus Baptized?<\/h2>\n

We can be relatively sure that John the Baptist baptized Jesus.<\/strong> The criterion of embarrassment makes it highly likely. The authors of the Gospels would not have included his baptism if it hadn\u2019t already been known as fact. Moreover, Jesus was probably John the Baptist\u2019s disciple before he began his own ministry.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

John certainly baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. The Jordan\u2019s significance for the story of Israel made it key for John\u2019s apocalyptic preaching. By reenacting that crossing through baptism, John the Baptist was preparing Jews to escape the wrath of God. He may have hoped that Rome, as the wicked oppressors, would bear the brunt of that wrath.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, though there is no archeological evidence for John\u2019s place of baptism, it might have been at al-Maghtas.<\/strong> This site is near enough to Jerusalem and other cities that large crowds could have come to John for Baptism.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Where was Jesus Baptized? Unearthing the Evidence Written by Joshua Schachterle, Ph.D Author |  Professor | Scholar Author |  Professor | BE Contributor Verified!  See our editorial guidelines Verified!  See our guidelines Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. – Dr. Bart […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":8600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"

\n\t
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Where was Jesus Baptized? Unearthing the Evidence<\/h2><\/div>
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. - Dr. Bart D. Ehrman<\/p><\/div>

___TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW__<p><strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where was Jesus baptized, and did John the Baptist baptize Jesus? This<\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a significant topic in Christian history and scriptural studies. <\/span><\/strong><\/p><p><em><strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Gospels<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> say he did, but unfortunately, the Gospels weren\u2019t always concerned with historical accuracy.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p><p><strong>In this post, I first explore the evidence that the baptism of Jesus occurred and then investigate where the baptism might have happened.<\/strong><\/p><p>If you are interested in exploring the Gospels further, you should check out <a href=\"https:\/\/ehrmanblog.org\/free-webinar-on-june-12-did-matthew-mark-luke-and-john-write-matthew-mark-luke-and-john\/\">a free 50-minute webinar with Bart Ehrman<\/a>. He provides an engaging and informative explanation of the Gospels\u2019 authors.<\/p>__TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW___<\/div><\/div>
\"Where<\/span><\/div>

Was Jesus Baptized by John the Baptist?<\/h2><\/div>
___TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW__<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the baptism of Jesus never happened, there\u2019s no point in looking for its location. Let\u2019s begin by looking at the evidence.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>First, the bad news: there is no archeological evidence for the location of John\u2019s baptism.<\/strong> The good news? We do have textual sources of information from which we can reasonably speculate about this event.<\/span><\/p>__TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW___<\/div><\/div>

The Criterion of Embarrassment<\/h3><\/div>
___TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW__<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here, I must introduce a historical research principle called the embarrassment criterion<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <strong>This states that a historical story is probably true if its events might embarrass the author or subject of the story.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here's an example: Let's say I'm telling a heroic story about myself. But everyone knows I also tripped and fell during the story's events. Including my embarrassing fall in the story makes it likely that the fall really happened.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why? While I would love to omit the fall, I must include it because people already know about it.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Omitting the story of Jesus's baptism was not an option in telling his life story.<\/em> It was a fact that Jesus's followers passed down. Therefore, most scholars agree that John baptized Jesus because of the criterion of embarrassment. <\/span><\/p><p><strong>Why embarrassment? Well, including his baptism in the story created some potential problems.<\/strong><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uscpress.com\/John-the-Baptist-in-History-and-Theology\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Joel Marcus<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> notes that John's baptism was supposed to be for \"repentance for the forgiveness of sins\" (Mark 1:4). But the early church believed that Jesus never sinned. How could they explain that?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Second, Jesus was supposed to be superior to John. All four Gospels say that John's only real purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus's arrival. Since the superior usually baptizes the inferior \u2013 a priest baptizes a layperson, for example \u2013 <em>why would John baptize Jesus?<\/em><\/span><\/p>__TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW___<\/div><\/div>

How the Gospels Deal with Jesus\u2019s Baptism<\/h2><\/div>
___TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW__<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/who-wrote-the-gospel-of-mark\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mark, our oldest Gospel<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, starts by having John announce that someone far superior to him is coming. We assume, of course, that he is referring to Jesus. However, Jesus\u2019s baptism in Mark is mentioned without comment.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Joel Marcus, the author of Matthew portrays a dialogue between John and Jesus. John protests that Jesus should baptize him. <strong>Jesus, however, humbly insists that he must be baptized to \u201cfulfill all righteousness\u201d (3:15).<\/strong> Although Jesus is without sin, he still sees it necessary to behave appropriately by submitting to baptism.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Luke, Jesus\u2019s baptism is more of a collective rite, an \u201cact of solidarity with his nation,\u201d according to Marcus, rather than a personal act. <em>The Gospel of John, by the way, deals with this problem by never explicitly mentioning Jesus\u2019s baptism.<\/em><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, since the synoptic Gospels include the disconcerting fact of Jesus\u2019s baptism by John, scholars know it probably occurred. But can we know why it might have happened outside of Matthew\u2019s and Luke\u2019s explanations?<\/span><\/p>__TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW___<\/div><\/div>
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The Relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus<\/h3><\/div>
___TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW__<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/who-was-john-the-baptist\/\">In my other post on John the Baptist<\/a>, I mentioned a theory held by many scholars: <em>Jesus may have initially been a disciple of John the Baptist.<\/em> This would certainly explain why John baptized Jesus. If baptism were as central to John\u2019s program as it appears, Jesus, as his follower, would undoubtedly have experienced it. <strong>Although it was necessary for the Gospels to include this well-known fact, they would not have mentioned Jesus following anyone.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, the Gospels say Jesus just went to the Jordan River once to be baptized and then left. However, other information shows that Jesus had more of a relationship with John than that.<\/span><\/p><p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Matthew 11, for example, Jesus says John was a prophet and the greatest man who ever lived.<\/span><\/em><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition, Acts 19 mentions followers of John the Baptist continuing his legacy long after John\u2019s death. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In another early Christian document,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordbibliographies.com\/display\/document\/obo-9780195393361\/obo-9780195393361-0306.xml\"> the Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions<\/a>, followers of John claim that John was the Messiah centuries after his death. This brings up a question: <strong>would John\u2019s followers have continued his legacy if John himself had indicated that everyone should follow Jesus?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>__TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW___<\/div><\/div>

What River Was Jesus Baptized In? Jesus was Baptized in the Jordan River<\/h4><\/div>
___TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW__<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since we established that John the Baptist likely did baptize Jesus, where did it happen?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We already know what river Jesus was baptized in. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/who-wrote-the-gospels\/\">All four Gospels agree<\/a> that John had a practice of baptizing people in the Jordan River. Before going further, we must understand the great significance of the Jordan River for John\u2019s mission.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Joshua 3 and 4, Joshua leads the Israelites across the Jordan River to take the Promised Land.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harpercollins.com\/products\/jesus-john-dominic-crossan?variant=32130275213346\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">John Dominic Crossan<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> points out that several self-proclaimed prophets appeared in the Judean desert in the 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> century CE. They led great multitudes to recross the Jordan into Israel, the Promised Land, as a gesture of protest against Roman control.<strong> The act of crossing the Jordan River holds significant importance in Jewish identity.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crossan, therefore, argues that this is why John baptized in the Jordan River. When people came to John, he sent them \u201cthrough the Jordan\u2026 purified and ready, into the Promised Land, there to await\u2026 the redeeming and avenging God.\u201d This would ensure that when God triumphed, the wicked Romans would be punished. <em>Meanwhile, the Jews, made righteous through John\u2019s baptism, would be saved.<\/em><\/span><\/p>__TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW___<\/div><\/div>
\"Was<\/span><\/div>

Where Was Jesus Baptized in the Bible?<\/h3><\/div>
___TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW__<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, we established that John baptized in the Jordan River and why. But the Jordan River is many miles long. Can we get any more specific about where he baptized Jesus?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Matthew 3:1, John baptized \u201cin the wilderness of Judea.\u201d Not exactly precise. However, we can speculate on possible sites for John\u2019s baptizing practice using what evidence we do have.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scholar<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomsbury.com\/us\/fountains-of-wisdom-9780567701282\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shimon Gibson<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> says there are two traditional candidates for the place where Jesus was baptized. The first, Yardenit, is where the Jordan empties into the Sea of Galilee. This is a possibility since Jesus originally came from the Galilee.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, Gibson says the most likely place for Jesus\u2019s baptism is al-Maghtas, where the Jordan ends at the Dead Sea. The Gospels tell us large crowds visited John to be baptized and to hear him preach. The proximity of this site to Jerusalem and other cities makes this location Gibson\u2019s best guess.<\/span><\/p>__TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW___<\/div><\/div>

Conclusion: Where Was Jesus Baptized?<\/h2><\/div>
___TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW__<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>We can be relatively sure that John the Baptist baptized Jesus.<\/strong> The criterion of embarrassment makes it highly likely. The authors of the Gospels would not have included his baptism if it hadn\u2019t already been known as fact. <em>Moreover, Jesus was probably John the Baptist\u2019s disciple before he began his own ministry.<\/em><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">John certainly baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. The Jordan\u2019s significance for the story of Israel made it key for John\u2019s apocalyptic preaching. By reenacting that crossing through baptism, John the Baptist was preparing Jews to escape the wrath of God. He may have hoped that Rome, as the wicked oppressors, would bear the brunt of that wrath.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Finally, though there is no archeological evidence for John\u2019s place of baptism, it might have been at al-Maghtas.<\/strong> This site is near enough to Jerusalem and other cities that large crowds could have come to John for Baptism.<\/span><\/p>__TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW___<\/div><\/div>
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