iii. The Public Ministry.— It was in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Cresar that the word of God came to John in the wilderness summoning him to enter upon his work as a prophet (Lk 3'- -). Immediately he obeyed the summons (v.'). The scene of his ministry, according to Mk., was 'the wilderness' (1^), according to Mt. 'the wilderness of Judfea' (3'), according to Lk. 'all the country about Jordan' (3^). Probably, as hitherto, the "Wilderness of Judaea continued to be his home- that wild region which stretches westwards from the Dead Sea and the Jordan to the edge of the central plateau of Palestine ; but when he preached he must have done .so in some place not too far removed from the haimts of men, while, owing to
♦ This theorj', put forth by Griitz (GescA. dcr Juden, iii. p. 100) and adopted by many since, has been repeated once more in the art. ' Essenes ' in Jewish Encyc, where it is added that the silence of the NT about the E^enes 'is perhaps the best proof that tbpy *.-.-'. '^v. th.. ,..^w sect {i.e. ChristianityJ with its
♦ That he ale i.. „oi,-, ...> i,.t IkJawin still do, not carob-beans, is now the prevalent opinion of scholars (cf. art. Locust, and in Hastings' DB, s.r.). Cheyne, however, holds out for carob-beans (.Encyc. Bibl., artt. ' Husks ' and ' John the Baptist ). See also Expos. Timet, xv. [1904] pp. 286, 335, 428, xvi. [1905] p. 882.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
JOHN THE BAPTIST
863
his practice of liaptism (almost certainly by im- mersion), the Jordan necessarily marked the central line of his activity (Mt S"- "■ « Mk 1=- »). To Jn. we owe the information that he baptized on both sides of the river (P* 3=^ 10*"). John's work may be considered under two aspects, (1) his preaching, (2) his baptism.
1. John's Preaching. — According to Mt. the essence of John's preaching, the text as we might say of all his sermons, was this : ' Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' (3-). The second part of this text was the fundamental part. It shows that John was fully conscious that the long-expeclr.I ^I(•<^KlIli(■ ai'i' ^v:l.s hdw about to dawn, .-11111 lli:it it \\;i^ liis mi,, ion |,, |a-oclaimthe fact. ]!v lii-. iriiiii].!'! ■^■.ii.■,.J prnilinn.-ition of this fact be tliiilli'il the nation to its lirait and drew forth the multitude into tlie wilderness to hear him (Mt 3*, Lk 3'; cf. Jos., Atif. xvill. v. 2)— men from Jerusalem and men from Galilee (Jn jiii. 35ff.)^ civilians and soldiers (Lk 3'"-'''), Pharisees and publicans side by side (Mt 3', Lk 3'=).
But while the preacher's fundamental message was the announcement of the near approach of the Messianic Kingdom, he combined with these glad tidings of good a stern summons to repentance. Repentance, he said, /itrdvoia, a change of mind and heart, were indispensable as a preparatory con- dition for all who would share in the privileges of the new order about to be set up. To the Jewish mind this was an unexpected and unwelcome note in a herald of the Messiah ; and John's utterance of it and strenuous emphasis upon it form one of the marks of his profound originality as a prophet. According to the popular conviction, all Israel would have a lot and a part in the blessings of the Messianiq age, and that specifically because of their descent from Abraham. It was recognized that judgments would accompany the appearance of the Christ, but these judgments were to fall upon the Gentiles, while Abraham's children would be secure and happy in that day of the Lord. The Talmud explains the cry of the prophetic watch- man, ' The morning cometh, and also the night ' (Is 21"), by saying, 'The night is only to the nations of the world, but the morning to Israel' (Jerus. Taan. 64(i, quoted by Edersheim, Life and Times, i. 271). Not so, said John. Repentance is the prime requisite for all who would enter the King- dom of heaven. Descent from Abraham counts for nothing (Mt S"). Every fruitless or worthless tree must be hewn down and cast into the fire (v'"). The very leaders of the nation themselves, the Pharisees and Sadducees, must bring forth fruit worthy of repentance if they are to escape from the wrath to come (vv.'- *).
2. John's Baptism.— Alongside of the spoken word John set that great distinctive symbol of his ministry from which his title ' the Baptist' (6 Bair- TiiTT^s) was derived. He came not only preaching but baptizing, or rather, so closely was the symbol interwoven with the word, he came ' preaching the baptism of repentance' (Mk l"", Lk 3^). To under- stand John's baptismal doctrine it is necessary to think of the historical roots out of which it sprang. For though he gave to the rite a depth of meaning it had never h.ad in Israel before, he evidently appealed to ideas on the subject which were already familiar to the Jewish people. In partic- ular, three moments in the preceding history of the religion of Israel appear to be gathered up in the b.aptism of John as it meets us in the Gospels.
(a) The theocratic washings of the Jcws{hv 11-15, Nu 19). That a religious intention underlay those ' divers washings' of the ceremonial law is evident (cf. Lv 143= 15'^ Mk 1« Lk 2== 5", Jn 2«), while the historical connexion of John's baptism with them is proved by the fact that in NT times