1. Messianic Expectations
and Ezekiel’s Sprinkling
Six centuries before Yeshua the Messiah was born
the prophet Ezekiel instructed the scattered remnant of Israel
that God would some day gather them back to their promised land. In the process
they would be struck with remorse for all their wicked ways. They would also
be dashed with purifying water, would receive a new spirit and the indwelling
Spirit of God, after which the nation would dwell in peace and abundance,
Ezekiel 36:24-38.
The central theme of this book is intimately tied
to this Messianic prophecy and may be summed up as follows:
God's promises
to Israel in Ezekiel 36:24-38, like that of a New Covenant to
Israel in Jeremiah 31, were initiated more than
nineteen centuries ago.1 They are discerned in various passages of
New Covenant Scripture. The national purification by dashing with pure water
was initiated by R. John the Baptizer.2 The promised
outpouring of the Spirit was initiated by Messiah Yeshua. The first decades
of the Messianic Era saw a partial and continuing fulfillment of these and
other promises among Jewish followers of Yeshua. Their complete fulfillment
is due after Yeshua’s return from heaven.
A major implication flowing from this thesis is
that the redemption of Israel,
indeed, the entire world, has long been hindered in a serious way through
lack of understanding.
The author believes many in the Christian Church,
as well as the modern Messianic Movement, will rethink these crucial issues.
God’s great message of redemption in Yeshua will be rightly understood,
rightly believed and rightly proclaimed.
The restoration of knowledge will enable Israel’s
eyes to be opened to the Good News and many Israelis will believe in Messiah
before He returns from heaven.
Promised Redemption
The Jewish people have long cherished the idea of
God’s great Messianic Redemption of Israel and the world. Indeed, the first
wave of Jews who returned home to the promised land from the Babylonian
exile--more than five hundred years before Yeshua was born--looked for the
promised Messianic Redemption. Subsequent prophets such as Zechariah and
Malachi spurred this faith and in the centuries following them others of the
scattered of Israel
with the same hope returned home from many lands.
By late second Temple
days Jews from “every nation under Heaven” were going up to Jerusalem.
The fifteen languages spoken on the day of Shavu’ot (Pentecost) cover
the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern world, Acts
2:5-11. Even Shaul, who became the Apostle Paul, had returned to the Holy
Land from his birthplace in Asia Minor.
The Jewish people knew this was in harmony with the
Torah (the five books of Moses) and the holy Prophets such as Isaiah,
Jeremiah and Ezekiel. They knew God would regather Israel
at the time of His promised Redemption. His Messiah and the Messianic Kingdom
would miraculously appear and shatter foreign oppressors.3 Any Jews still left among the nations
would be regathered.
God’s Spirit would be poured out freely and the
decrees of God would go forth to the world from Mount
Zion in Jerusalem.
Messiah, the Son of David, would rule Israel
and with great power would crush nations which were disobedient. The world
would learn peace and not war, the swords beaten into plowshares.
Kingdom Fervor
No wonder many in Israel
were consumed with Kingdom fever in those days. Jewish monastics, believed to
be Essenes, who were bound by covenant and striving for purity, left the
mainstream of “polluted” Jewish culture to become a voice in the wilderness
around the Dead Sea, looking to the Teacher of
Righteousness and expecting the war between the Sons of Light and the Sons of
Darkness.4
At the other end of the prophetic spectrum Jewish
guerrillas, like Bar Abbas, opposed Roman rule and pro-Roman Jews and
fomented uprisings in the hope they might some day free Israel
from foreign bondage, that they might serve God only.
Yohannan
Into this charged atmosphere stepped a fiery young
Rabbi named Yohannan, or John. The son of a priestly family of Cohens, from
birth he had been consecrated to self-denial, apparently the vow of the
nazirite found in Torah, cf. Luke 1:15, Numbers 6:1-21.
John lived an austere life in the wilds of the Jordan
valley, wore coarse clothing, ate wild foods and according to the vow, like
ancient Israel’s
famous judge Samson, would have had long hair. He cried out that Israel’s
long awaited Kingdom was really at hand. Everyone must repent and turn back
to God with a whole heart. Multitudes in Israel
took R. John seriously. He was a prophet, and many thought he might possibly
be the Messiah.
Other priestly Cohens and Levites of the
Pharisaical party were concerned with this popular movement and sent
messengers from Jerusalem to find
out who he was, John 1:19-24. The questions they asked throw light on
Messianic expectation of second Temple
days.
1. Was R. John
the Messiah?
Like all Israel the Pharisees expected an anointed King, the
Messiah, at the time of the Kingdom, Jeremiah 23:5-6.
2. Was he
Elijah?
He too was expected, Matthew 17:10, Malachi 3:23
(4:5).
3. Was he the
Prophet?
God would some day raise up for Israel a Prophet like Moshe Rabbenu, Moses our
great teacher, Deuteronomy 18:18.
R. John, though declaring the nearness of Israel’s
Kingdom, denied being any of these end-time Jewish figures. This provoked the
Pharisaical messengers to ask a final question that adds a great deal to our
knowledge of end-time belief in Israel.
“Why then do
you baptize if you are not Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John 1:25.
25 καὶ
ἠρώτησαν αὐτòν
καὶ εἰ̃παν
αὐτω̨̃ τί οὐ̃ν
βαπτίζεις εἰ
σὺ οὐκ εἰ̃ ὁ
Χριστòς οὐδὲ
’Ηλίας οὐδὲ ὁ
προφήτης
The structure of this question is meant to reveal
Pharisaical belief that Israel
would be baptized before entering the Kingdom. Here baptizing is being
scrutinized. Baptizeis (βαπτίζεις)
as the active indicative verb, sandwiched between “then” (οὐ̃ν)
and “if” (εἰ),
stresses the importance of this idea and its direct association with either
Messiah, Elijah or the Prophet.
They did not ask, “Why do you baptize?” as if they
had no idea, but, “Why,... if you are not one of the end-time
leaders?” In other words, they expected someone of the stature of Messiah or
Elijah or the Prophet to perform this work.
Neither did they ask “what” he was doing, as though
R. John had invented a new ritual. They were not surprised that someone would
proclaim Israel’s
Kingdom and baptize. Jay Adams writes,
"There is
not one hint in the New Testament concerning the institution of this
supposedly "new" practice. Rather, the Jewish people most
naturally assume that John is a prophet from God, because he is
baptizing. Notice the question asked by the representatives of the
Pharisees (those eagle-eyed heresy hunter would have instantly pounced upon
John for teaching new rites, had they not already been acquainted with and
accepted baptism). After John denied he was the Messiah or Elijah
returned to the earth, they asked him, "Then why are you baptizing, if
you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" By this
statement, the Jewish leaders clearly indicate that the Old Testament
predicted the coming of someone who would baptize and that this activity
would be one of his distinguishing characteristics."
A.M. Hunter
adds, “The Jews expected a general purifying of God’s People before Messiah
came.” 5
The Pharisees then were only puzzled that R. John
did not claim to be an end-time figure they looked for.
Where then did the Pharisees get the idea that all Israel
would undergo a water ritual for purification just before the promised
Messianic Age? Obviously, since they based their views of the coming of
Messiah on the Hebrew Scriptures, it is only natural to believe their
expectation of a water ritual for all Israel
also flowed from the Hebrew Scriptures. There is one prominent Messianic
cleansing with water promised to regathered Israel
in the Hebrew Scriptures, namely Ezekiel 36:24-38. Verse 25 reads,
“Then I will
sprinkle (literally "throw," or "dash") clean water on
you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and
from all your idols.”
åÀæÈøÇ÷ÀúÌÄé
òÂìÅéëÆí îÇéÄí èÀäåÉøÄéí åÌèÀäÇøÀúÌÆí; îÄëÌì èËîÀàåÉúÅéëÆí
åÌîÄëÌÈìÎâÌÄìÌåÌìÅéëÆí àÂèÇäÅø àÆúÀëÆíÓ
καὶ ῥανω̃
ἐφ' ὑμα̃ς ὕδωρ
καθαρόν καὶ
καθαρισθήσεσθε
ἀπὸ πασω̃ν
τω̃ν ἀκαθαρσιω̃ν
ὑμω̃ν καὶ ἀπὸ
πάντων τω̃ν εἰδώλων
ὑμω̃ν καὶ
καθαριω̃ ὑμα̃ς
This promised sprinkling-dashing is performed in
conjunction with Israel’s
regathering from all the nations to which God had scattered them, and is
accompanied by the promised favor Israel
would receive in the Messianic Age. The tenor of the passage is in harmony
with the Jewish situation of late second Temple
days since significant numbers of Jews were coming back to the Holy
Land from many lands.6
In contrast, it is difficult to see how a ritual
innovation on the part of Rabbi John, even if it were an adaptation of
proselyte baptism, would be sufficient for the Pharisaical messengers to
associate with the coming of Messiah or Elijah or the expected Prophet, all
promised in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Likewise, though widely held among Christians
today, the idea that John's baptism was an adaptation of proselyte baptism
seems even more unlikely to convince the Pharisees of John's Scriptural
authority. There was never a need for anyone as great as Messiah to
administer the so-called "proselyte baptism."
The Pharisees linked three end-time Jewish
personages promised in Scripture to the baptism John was performing, and it
seems abundantly clear that they would have done so only if the baptism also
appeared to be a fulfillment of Scripture.
Moreover, according to F.F. Bruce, this verse in
Ezekiel was very likely the impetus for the special water rituals practiced
by other Jewish groups of that time.
“The prophet
Ezekiel in earlier days had used the terminology of old ceremonial ablutions
to describe God’s inward cleansing of His people in the age of restoration:
‘I will
sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your
filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you’ (Ezekiel 36:25).
In language
like this the baptist groups that flourished in Judaism at the beginning of
the Christian era found scriptural authority for their ceremonial washings
which went beyond what the letter of the law required.”7
Now if other Jewish groups not within the Messianic
following of Yeshua and Rabbi John took this passage in Ezekiel as the basis
for special ceremonial rituals, can we believe Rabbi John and Yeshua (who
both claimed that they themselves were fulfilling Scripture) would invent a
new ritual not promised in Scripture? Surely they based their lives and
service to Israel
on Scripture.
Israel’s
promised purification by dashing also involves repentance. Purification from
an idol means one must turn away from it back to God. It was also written,
“Then you will
remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will
loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your
abominations.” Ezekiel 36:31.
Ezekiel 36 says regathered Israel
would be:
1. Sprinkled
and cleansed from all uncleannesses, v. 25
2. Saved from
all uncleannesses, v. 29
åÀäåÉùÑÇòÀúÌÄé àÆúÀëÆí, îÄëÌì èËîÀàåÉúÅéëÆí;
3. Cleansed
from iniquities, v. 33
ëÌä àÈîÇø àÂãðÈé éÀäåÄä, áÌÀéåÉí èÇäÂøÄé
àÆúÀëÆí, îÄëì òÂåÉðåÉúÅéëÆí
and all these blessings
bound up with,
4. Contrition
for all their evil ways, v. 31
åÌæÀëÇøÀúÌÆí àÆúÎãÌÇøÀëÅéëÆí äÈøÈòÄéí,
åÌîÇòÇìÀìÅéëÆí àÂùÑÆø ìàÎèåÉáÄéí;
åÌðÀ÷èúÆí áÌÄôÀðÅéëÆí, òÇì òÂåÉðÉúÅéëÆí,
åÀòÇì úÌåÉòÂáåÉúÅéëÆíÓ
In like manner R. John proclaimed a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness of sins, upbraiding the Jewish multitudes as a “brood of
vipers,” Luke 3:7.
ἔλεγεν
οὐ̃ν τοι̃ς ἐκπορευομένοις
ὄχλοις
βαπτισθη̃ναι
ὑπ' αὐτου̃
γεννήματα ἐχιδνω̃ν
τίς ὑπέδειξεν
ὑμι̃ν φυγει̃ν
ἀπò τη̃ς
μελλούσης ὀργη̃ς
The contrite came out to John to confess their
sins, their evil ways, their deeds that were not good, their iniquities and
abominations, and then, as was customary for the Jewish people of those days,
to be baptized, in other words, ritually purified.8 Scripture presents undeniable evidence
to show the end-time promise of Ezekiel, the hopes of Israel related to the
Kingdom, and the work of R. John were one and the same.
We should also contrast this sprinkling in Ezekiel
against other Jewish rituals because some believe it actually stems from the
Numbers 19 sprinkling with the ashes of the red heifer. However Numbers 19 in
no way speaks of purifying from all uncleannesses, or from defilement by
worshiping idols as does Ezekiel, it speaks of defilement by touch or
proximity to human dead.
Moreover Ezekiel does not mention ashes of a red
heifer. Rather, he speaks of pure water, a term not found in Numbers 19.
On top of that, Israel
practiced plenty of purifications of Torah. Why would one be singled out? In
other words, if Ezekiel meant to say Israel
needed to observe Numbers 19, then surely the other purifications of Torah
would be just as important.
Besides, only decades after Ezekiel prophesied this
sprinkling, the Jews returned to the land and performed the Numbers 19
ritual, and all the other rituals, but the promises of Ezekiel 36 did not
come to pass.
On the other hand, if the sprinkling of Ezekiel
were a newly promised end-time ritual based on purifications from the Torah
it could stand alone, not canceling Torah but complementing it, like other
later prophetic revelations to Israel,
e.g. David’s dynasty and the Temple
in Jerusalem. These revelations
were not found in the Torah, but neither were they symbols. They were new
revelations of God’s progressive relationship with Israel.
There is superficial similarity between Ezekiel 36 and Numbers 19 in that
both involve sprinkling water for purification, but the difference is far
greater.
Furthermore, the Talmud, the later record of
Rabbinical opinion, tells us Ezekiel’s sprinkling was the expected
purification prior to Israel’s
Messianic Kingdom. Kiddushin 72b reads,
“Our Rabbis
taught: Mamzerim and Nethinim will become pure in the future: this is R.
Jose’s view. R. Meir said: They will not become pure. Said R. Jose to him:
But was it not already stated, And I will sprinkle clean water upon you,
and ye shall be clean? R. Meir replied, When it is added, from all
your filthiness and from all your idols, [it implies] but not from
bastardy. Said R. Jose to him: When it is [further] said, will I cleanse
you, you must say, From bastardy too...
“Rab Judah said in Samuel’s name: The halachah agrees with R.
Jose. R. Joseph said: Had not Rab Judah ruled in Samuel’s name that the halachah is as R.
Jose, Elijah would have come and sent entire gangs away from us.”9
This tractate, Kiddushin, deals with the laws of
marriage according to Torah. R. Meir and R. Jose were two great disciples of
R. Akiva and all three of these men were in the mainstream of Rabbinic
tradition. Akiva died in 135 C.E. in the Bar Kokhba revolt, putting this
discussion in the middle to later half of that century, not long after the
last of the twelve Apostles, about the time of Justin Martyr.
The point R. Jose makes is that even ritually
impure children of marriages not sanctioned by Torah would be purified by
Ezekiel’s sprinkling (i.e. ritually “born again”). The technical term “in
the future” in this passage speaks of the time of Israel’s
Kingdom. So here the sprinkling of Ezekiel purifies Israel
for the coming Kingdom and was later linked to Elijah, certainly reminding us
of the Pharisaical messengers and R. John, who himself had been called Elijah
by others.
This Rabbinic tradition would appear to come hard
on the heels of the original Apostles. In any case it has no doubt
Ezekiel’s prophecy would literally be fulfilled, contradicting the
view of most modern commentaries that say Ezekiel wrote only of a symbolic,
non-existent purification. For Rabbinical Judaism it was a real end-time
purification for Israel
with cleansing power far different than Numbers 19.10
We should also remember that on occasion God
accomplished His purpose through messengers, even though no additional signs
were given that one would be used. God had often promised Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob that He would give their descendants the Holy Land,
continually saying “I will...(bring about the promises).”11
Joseph told his brothers, “God will surely remember
you, and bring you up out of this land into the land which he swore to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” Genesis 50:24.
In these passages we read only of God fulfilling
His promise. It is not until we get to the burning bush that we realize God
intended to use a messenger. “I will send you, Moses,...that you may
bring My people out of Egypt,”
Exodus 3:10.
It would be completely in line with Scripture for
God to send another great messenger to accomplish another of His promises; “I
will sprinkle clean water on you.” And R. John testified that he had been
“sent” by God to baptize Israel,
John 1:33.
It must be pointed out that no passage of the New
Covenant quotes Ezekiel 36:25 and then says R. John initiated it. This means
there is no direct basis to prove R. John’s baptism and Ezekiel’s
sprinkling are one and the same. At first glance this seems a little awkward,
but on second thought there are good reasons to maintain such an
identification.
First we should remember that writers did not use
every Messianic passage in their works. For example, as striking as is the
passage of the “Suffering Servant” of Isaiah 53, we only find brief excerpts
of it in the New Covenant. In fact, in Matthew’s passion scene, written for
Jewish readers, not even a verse from this prophecy appears. Yet would anyone
doubt that Matthew believed it spoke of Yeshua in His death? He had earlier
applied Isaiah 53 to Yeshua, Matthew 8:17.
On the other hand Matthew did use verses from Psalm
22 to describe Messiah’s suffering. We realize then, that early writers made
selective use of the Hebrew Scriptures. And if this happened when describing
their crucified and risen Master, would it be a great marvel if other, less
important Scriptures were left unused?
Another example: While the term “New Covenant” is
mentioned five times in Scripture, only the book of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah
31 at length. Should we believe the author of Hebrews was the only one who
took Messiah’s New Covenant as the one mentioned in Jeremiah 31? No, the
other writers simply felt no need to spell out something they believed was so
obvious.
So although we lack a Scriptural reference linking
R. John and Ezekiel and thus cannot directly prove an identification,
the tremendous weight of circumstantial evidence must be considered.
The anchor for any circumstantial evidence has to be
the deep Jewish reverence for the writings of Moses and the Prophets in
second Temple days. The Torah was
the foundation of authority.
For example, we read: “We have found Him of whom
Moses in the Torah, and also the Prophets wrote,” John 1:44. “If you believed Moses you would believe Me, for
he wrote about Me, but if you do not believe his writings, how will you
believe My words?” John 5:46-47.
Peter had so much confidence in Scripture he could
say the days in which they were living had been predicted by all the
prophets, beginning from Samuel onward, Acts 3:24.12
The disciples saw the story of Yeshua revealed in
Scripture, Acts 3:18. But not just His life, Peter said even Judas the
betrayer had been predicted, Acts 1:16-20. Messiah Himself said the same
thing, John 13:18.
A passage of lament in Jeremiah written six hundred
years earlier was identified with Herod’s slaughter of babies, Matthew
2:16-18, and Messiah named Pharisees as the subject of Isaiah 29:13 since
they held to the traditions of the elders in place of God’s commands. In
precisely the same way R. John’s career was seen pre-recorded.
The “Messenger” of Malachi and Isaiah’s “Voice
in the wilderness” were specific predictions of R. John, Mark 1:2-3, and
he personally told Pharisees he was the “voice” of Isaiah, John 1:23.
The special activity of the two prophecies is
similar: the Messenger is said to “prepare the way” while the Voice calls out
for everyone else to “prepare the way” using the same Hebrew words.13 R. John, together with his work of
“preparing the way,” whatever it involved, were predicted by the prophets.
John's water ritual was a central feature of his
service to Israel
and he said he had been sent by God to baptize. He did not create this ritual
by his own ingenuity. Jews of second Temple days would find it easy to
believe this miraculously born, God-sent Messenger who prepares the way, who
had been predicted in Scripture, would also perform the Kingdom purification
promised by another Hebrew prophet, even Ezekiel.
Yeshua said R. John was the Messenger of Malachi,
and Elijah, Matthew 11:10, 14. In fact, after John had been beheaded Messiah
again said he was Elijah, “and that they did to him whatever they wished,
just as it is written of him,” Mark 9:12-13,
Matthew 17:12-13.
But Elijah did not die, nor is there a prediction
of his death in Malachi, nor any other prophet. The Lord must be inferring
from Ahab’s and Jezebel’s persecution of Elijah that R. John too must suffer
by the current characters, Herod and Herodias.
This inference was sufficient evidence to say it
had been “written” about him. So, if his suffering could be seen from such an
indirect passage, could also his great service of baptizing be found in
Scripture?
R. John had been filled with the Holy Spirit while
a babe in the womb. He served in the spirit and power of Elijah, was called
the Messenger, the Voice, and Elijah and was even given a special surname,
“The Baptizer.” Some had believed he was Messiah.
He was held in high esteem by many in Israel
as Josephus indicates.14 He
proclaimed the Kingdom and prepared Israel,
turning the hearts of the fathers back to their children. Even Professor
Flusser of the Hebrew University
pays tribute to R. John with the following: “This influential man, who was
loved by the Jewish people, was executed by Herod Antipas.”15
John was not just another righteous Jew. He was a
key in God’s prophetic puzzle. If something as obscure as the price of
Messiah’s betrayal could be found by His disciples in the Hebrew Scriptures,
Matthew 27:9-10, would it not be imperative for the ritual baptism initiated
by one of Israel’s
greatest prophets to also have been foretold?
The answer would appear to be affirmative. Ezekiel
prophesied a purification with water based on contrition and turning from sin
just before the Kingdom and this is precisely what R. John proclaimed.
Moreover, there is a direct and decisive parallel
to this identification. Messiah continually told His disciples they would
receive the Gift of the Spirit promised by the Father. He described this Gift
in terms of being baptized with the Spirit, as had R. John before Him, and
this was His final promise of the wonderful Gift, just before He ascended,
Acts 1:4-8.
Yet days later on Shavu’ot (Pentecost) the
Apostles looked to the Hebrew Scriptures and directly identified the freshly
experienced Spirit baptism with the long promised out-pouring found in Joel,
Acts 2:4, 17-21. It is only natural to believe the first disciples also
searched the Scriptures to find the end-time water baptism proclaimed by the
great prophet and forerunner, R. John, and its similarity to Ezekiel’s
purification is substantial.
It is no surprise John’s name would be permanently
attached to this purification, marking it “John’s baptism.”
This mighty prophet had been revered by many Jews
and according to tradition had been miraculously conceived (Ezekiel had not),
filled with the Spirit while in the womb (there is no sign Ezekiel was),
called Elijah and thought by some to be Messiah (Ezekiel had not), under the
nazirite vow from birth (there is no sign Ezekiel was), appointed by God to
usher in Israel’s Kingdom, (Ezekiel prophesied about those days) and would
later sanctify the name of God by dying a martyr’s death. R. John was truly
one of Israel’s
all-time greats.
We now turn to a sticky question on the other side
of the coin. The Talmud flatly relates the Jewish belief that Ezekiel’s
sprinkling was a literal ritual associated with Israel’s
Kingdom. We also saw testimony that Jewish baptist groups of second Temple
days found authority for their rites from this sprinkling.
Furthermore modern commentaries, almost to a man,
cite Ezekiel 36:25-27 on John 3:5, “born of water and of Spirit,” while
others see the sprinkling reflected in Hebrews 10:22.16 The Dead Sea Scrolls allude to verses
in Ezekiel 36 and may refer directly to the sprinkling as well.17
Now if R. John proclaimed the nearness of Israel’s
Kingdom but performed a different ritual, then when would Ezekiel’s widely
anticipated purification ever be fulfilled?
The traditional Christian world, which only
recently has begun to recover an awareness of its Jewish roots, has usually
held;
1.
Ezekiel’s
ritual for Israel was not initiated.
2.
R.
John performed a water baptism of unknown origin.
3.
After
a few short years John’s baptism was superseded by another different water
baptism which, in form, was nearly identical with John’s.
In other words, supposedly there are three different
end-time water rituals for Israel.
Ezekiel’s long standing promise never came to pass. R. John’s new invention
lasted only a short time. Then a different one superseded the other two.18
If this were really true there would be no reason
for Ezekiel’s rite to ever come to pass. The power ascribed to the last
baptism by traditional Christianity surpasses anything associated with
Ezekiel’s purification. There is thus no point for it anymore. It will never
be used except in footnotes as an Old Testament type of baptism for
traditional Christendom.
In contrast, from a Jewish point of view it seems
impossible to imagine that those announcing the Messianic Kingdom promised in
the Torah and Prophets would invent new rituals and not endorse one already
promised in Scripture. On the other hand, if typical Christian thought has
been mistaken in relation to R. John’s baptism, then all the
other teachings about New Covenant baptism are suspect.
Paul taught that John’s baptism was to prepare Israel
for the coming of the Messiah, Acts 13:23-24.
R. John taught that it was to reveal Messiah to Israel,
John 1:31.
Yeshua taught that it was not a human innovation on
John’s part, but was a crucial part of God’s plan for Israel,
Matthew 21:25.
Jewish crowds following the Lord had been baptized
with John’s baptism while unbelieving Jews rejected God’s purpose by
not participating in it, Luke 7:24-30.
Plus the Pharisees saw R. John baptizing just as
they expected at the time of Israel’s
Kingdom, which is apparently identified in the Talmud as the sprinkling in
Ezekiel.
All this tells us R. John’s baptism was critical for
Israel, and this is something gentile believers throughout the age simply
could not be expected to fully appreciate.
Jewish and non-Jewish believers today who foresee a
great filling-up of the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31 in modern Israel (cf.
Romans 11:15, 24-27) should have no difficulty seeing a similar fulfillment
of Ezekiel 36:25-27 in the near future, even if it contradicts centuries of
traditional Christian belief.
Israel
has again been regathered from the nations and various Jewish groups are
looking for Israel’s
redemption. Large bright banners are still found in Jerusalem
urging Israel
to prepare for the soon coming of a messiah.19
If the glorious return of the resurrected Son of
Man with the clouds of Heaven is near, as disciples of Yeshua believe, should
Israel not
also expect to see the purification of the nation promised in Ezekiel? Are
not Jewish believers called to make this known and understood by our nation?
And now another question. Many today take it for
granted the Greek word baptizo was never used for anything beyond
immerse. How then could John have sprinkled? Since he “baptized” he must have
immersed.
Support for this view is thought to come from the
fact that Jews immerse in a special pool called a mikveh. The end result of
this belief is that he could not have performed Ezekiel’s sprinkling, he
performed some other unpredicted ritual.
The next chapter reviews Jewish purification and
New Covenant usage of baptizo to see if this belief holds water.
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