Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2(although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. (John 4:1-2)
I have never really paid much attention to the first two verses of John 4. Like most avid readers of John’s gospel I always just sped right past them to get to the engrossing story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. This morning, however, these verses stopped me in my tracks. Question after question tumbled in my mind as I tried to make sense of this odd segue into this significant story.
The first question that occurred to me was why Jesus even cared that the Pharisees had heard that his ministry was eclipsing John’s. Since when has Jesus ever shied away from conflict from this self-appointed “God-squad” much less let them determine his agenda? Far too often religious leaders resort to management, control, and defensive behaviors designed to maintain the status quo even when the status quo is not working. This is true of Christian leaders just as much as Pharisees and the Pharisees (or at least some of them), true to form, operate out of this default. I suspect that Jesus’ desire to avoid entanglements with them is indicative of his consistent practice of sidelining the religious establishment, refusing to give it any credibility. His kingdom neither wants or needs the support of the establishment and dealing with the kind of interrogation to which they subjected John is just a waste of time and time is not something Jesus has to waste.
The second question that occurred to me is a much harder one, and as of yet, I have no satisfactory answer. Why is Jesus baptizing at all at this point? This certainly cannot be Christian baptism as it precedes his own crucifixion and resurrection – the very basis and meaning of Christian baptism. Furthermore, the Spirit has not yet been poured out on all flesh and elsewhere John makes quite a point regarding the fact that this has not yet happened and in fact cannot happen until Jesus returns to the Father (Jn 7:39; 14:17). Jesus was at this point uniquely the bearer of the Spirit, the one in whom the Spirit literally dwelled. This blessing would later be conferred on all of his disciples but that must wait until Pentecost. Is this then John’s baptism? That makes no sense either. Why would Jesus be immersing people into John’s baptism when John just admitted that his baptism had run its course and that it was time for his superior successor to usher in the final stage of God’s redemptive plan? This would only undermine John’s immediately preceding testimony to Jesus’ unqualified superiority.
It is also interesting that the account of Jesus engaging in a baptism ministry is unique to John’s gospel. The other gospels do not even hint at such a thing. What is going on here? Two possibilities occur to me, neither of which I find fully convincing yet. The first is that this is simply an interim baptism of discipleship. Baptism was understood to be the way in which one became a disciple of a certain rabbi (like John) and those who correctly understood John to be directing their discipleship to Jesus naturally were rebaptized to signal their graduation from John’s preparatory ministry to Jesus’ confirmatory, consummatory ministry. This then would, presumably, necessitate yet a third baptism post-Pentecost marking their reception of the indwelling Spirit. We will leave aside for the moment whether this third (re)baptism was in water or whether for those disciples whom Jesus had already baptized in water, it was a “dry baptism” in the Spirit.
This latter question, however, leads to a third possibility. What if those whom Jesus (or his disciples) baptized at the beginning of his earthly ministry experienced something parallel to what the Samaritans experienced in Acts 8 – a “two-stage” baptism? The Samaritans whom Phillip baptized did not immediately receive the Spirit at their baptism but rather had to wait for Peter to lay hands on them (Acts 8:14-17). Presumably, this was so that Peter could witness God’s acceptance of the Samaritans and testify to their full inclusion to his skeptical Jewish brothers in Jerusalem. After all, John 4:1-2 stands at the beginning of the story of Jesus’ initial encounter with Samaritans. Could it be that this water baptism of a growing number of disciples in John 4:1-2 is only half (or some lesser fraction?) of their baptism? Could it be that their entire three-year experience of following Jesus is one long baptism, an immersion into the person, teaching, and work of Christ, finally culminating on their reception of the Spirit at Pentecost? I do not know but that is an intriguing possibility and if there is anything to it, I may have to seriously revise my understanding of just what all is involved in baptism. Maybe baptism only begins with immersion in water but continues in a daily dying to self finally culminating in either a literal or metaphorical martyrdom in which we finally, fully surrender to the Spirit who has took up residence in us at our conversion and has been filling us as we yield and make way ever since (e.g. Lk 9:23-25).
The third and final question has to do with why John felt the need, at this point (4:2), to qualify his statement that Jesus had been baptizing in the Jordan. He has already said twice before that Jesus baptized more disciples than John at the Jordan clearly leaving the impression that Jesus was personally performing the rite (3:22, 26). At this point, however, he is careful to clarify that Jesus actually did not personally baptize anyone but authorized his disciples to do so. Why John waits until now to tell us this I do not know, but I do think I understand why he tells us this at all. John wants no human hierarchy in the churches he planted. He wants no one thinking that they have some basis for superiority because of the fame, or perceived importance of the person who preformed their baptism (see 1 Cor 1:10-17 for an example of how this became a problem in some churches). Jesus likely recused himself from performing baptisms to discourage this way of thinking. Perhaps it is especially relevant as John prepares to tell the story of the Samaritan woman to make the point that no one outranks anyone else in the kingdom of God regardless of their nationality or their spiritual pedigree. The ground is all level at the foot of the cross.
Father in Heaven,
Thank you for making me pause over a verse that I have so often overlooked and for the questions that it has raised in my mind, questions I never before thought to ask. Whether or not I ever have satisfactory answers to these questions, simply asking them has alerted me to the danger of seeing myself as superior to my brothers and sisters because of my spiritual pedigree, training, or perhaps even my denominational affiliation. Lord Jesus, thank you for loving us enough to protect us from our propensity to pride. Due to your wisdom and restraint no one can say “I was baptized by the Lord himself and therefore my spiritual experience is superior to yours.” Do forgive us for how silly and petty we can be. Holy Spirit, thank you for meeting me in my baptism, for taking up residence in me and gradually filling me as I empty myself of self and sin, pride and prejudice. Maybe my baptism is not simply in the past. Maybe it only began in water but continues now with my ever-deepening immersion in you, in Christ, in crucifixion, in daily death to self. Maybe my baptism will not be complete until you raise my body from the dust on the last day!
AMEN