The Narrow Path Ministries

Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

I am wondering why they would be concerned about confessing sins when under the Covenant Law the sacrifices would aleviate that problem?

any thoughts?

hi jim-

it seems that John the baptist was trying to get people to have a change of heart, vs. simply slaying an animal and splattering the blood on the altar. his was a baptism of repentance. perhaps he was trying to move them away from the idea of ritual to the idea of a personal change of heart.

just my thoughts.

TK

Yeah, i like that answer TK.......i can see that as a definite possibility.........It does seem that thats what jesus was doing by getting to the heart of some of the formal law requirements...........thanks

Hi, TK!

perhaps he was trying to move them away from the idea of ritual to the idea of a personal change of heart.

And yet the act of baptism itself is straightforwardly ritualistic.

Perhaps John was looking for a way to touch people's hearts in a separate venue from the temple sacrifice (though not necessarily replacing the temple ritual in his mind). If nothing else, it is worth noting that baptism offered poor people a less expensive and more local way to express their repentance.

I would assert that the Torah gives a beginning to living out a godly life, and not the end of it. As such, there is no reason that additional pious ritual or discipline could not be practiced by the faithful. The two would not necessarily have to be seen as being at odds with each other.

Shalom,
Emmet

i agree, emmett, that at the time of john's baptism, at any rate, the ritual laws were all still in full force. but i still think he was get them to think differently in terms of personal accountability for sins, or something.

TK