Considering the message of John the Baptist and the Jewish leaders reaction to it, what was the existing Jewish thought about Baptism? Who needed to be baptized and when?
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1This isn't a question about Christianity. You should ask in the Jewish community.– GrasperJan 4, 2019 at 13:33
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2I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it needs to be asked at mi yodea– KorvinStarmastJan 4, 2019 at 21:09
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1Or you could edit this question to make its relevance to Christianity more explicit.– curiousdannii ♦Jan 4, 2019 at 23:19
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I'm not "old enough to vote" but I agree with @curiousdannii that this question has potential to be relevant to Christianity as New Testament Background, to throw more light on why the Jewish leaders were not opposed to the idea of baptism per se but more of rejecting the Messiah that John the Baptist was pointing to (as the one who will baptize with fire). Both Jesus and John the Baptist's audience must have some pre-Christian understanding of baptism and both prophets transformed baptism in light of the new revelation. So this question is important for history of early Christian theology.– GratefulDiscipleFeb 1, 2020 at 2:13
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2 Answers
what was the existing Jewish thought about Baptism?
Who needed to be baptized and when?
According to the German Wikipedia, baptism was not common in the time of John the Baptist among the normal Jewish people at all.
There were different smaller (and probably more radical) religious groups (like the Essenes) that practiced rites similar to baptism.
... the message of John the Baptist and the Jewish leaders reaction to it ...
The reaction of the Jewish leaders is surely caused by John's message, not by the rite of baptism itself:
According to Mt 3,7, John the Baptist explicitly accused the religious Jewish leaders of his time to live in sin.
This explains that the Jewish religious leaders definitely did not agree to his message at all.
The Jews in and even before John's time didn't actually call it baptism, they called it "Mikvah" (or "Mikveh"). It was used for purification for women after childbirth and menstration, for men after they ejaculated , to prepare a body for burial AND it was also used as a ritual for people who were converting to Judaism !
In the case of John the Baptist, he was converting people, getting them ready for Jesus!
