... make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19
Baptism - Immersion - the Mikveh
Immersion and cleansing in Judaism and Christianity
the Mikveh - John the Baptist - Christian Baptism
Jewish immersion is usually done in a Mikveh, defined as a pool where water has gathered.
A Mikveh is an essential part of any Synagogue and they were also part of the second temple in Jerusalem.
Immersion is not for physical cleaning, which would have been done beforehand. It is for Spiritual cleansing in a purification ceremony.
The terms Purity and Impurity are inadequate translations from the Hebrew and give a physical rather than spiritual sound to the process.
Immersion is conducted on various occasions. (obviously not for forgiveness of sins)
Women after childbirth or menstruation
A bride before her wedding
Priests (in the Temple) before divine service
Men on the eve of Yom Kippur (also optionally, before Shabbat)
For converts to Judaism
In preparation of a dead person for burial
For new kitchen utensils
(There are separate Mikvot for men, women, the dead and for utensils)
Hezekiah's Tunnel, where it comes out at the Pool of Siloam, counts as a mikveh.
The author met a young Jewish man who had just been into the tunnel to immerse himself in readiness for the upcoming holy day.
For a long time, this pool was known as the Pool of Siloam. The true Pool of Siloam has more recently been uncovered.
Immersion in the Torah ?
The Torah does not say much about immersion and the mikveh, but it appears to have become an
essential part of Jewish religious life by Temple times. Leviticus 12 v5 covers washing for purification for women, and Leviticus 14 v8-9
of purification after recovery from leprosy. Exodus 29 v4-5 gives instruction for consecrating the priests,
"Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, ........"; Also Exodus 30 v20 on entering the Mishkan
"Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die."A search on the word "bathe" will produce many verses, such as Leviticus 15 v 13
" `When a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days for his ceremonial cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean
Immersion is not mentioned, but the context of these commands is of the moving Mishkan / Tabernacle in the wilderness; where immersion in a Mikveh was presumably impractical.
In Jerusalem, you can see Mikvot outside the Temple, for worshippers to immerse themselves.
This Mikveh can be seen on the south side of the Temple Mount, just outside the Hulda Gate, where it was part of the Temple facility for immersion before entering with a sacrifice, or whatever.
Here you can see steps with remains of a dividing wall. The worshipper would descend one side, immerse himself and ascend the other side.
This video is fascinating - excavating the Mikvot south of the Temple (about 12 min in)
Naaman, who was not a Jew was told to immerse himself seven times in the Jordan for his cleansing from leprosy. ( 2Kings 5 v14) Although the prophet was performing a miraculous healing, was he using the Jewish rite of immersion to teach this Gentile about the application of trust in the God of Israel?
The Baptism of John
The above throws some light on the ministry of John the Baptist, Yochanan ha Matbil, , who was, one might say, the last of the Old Testament immersers. ( Read Matthew ch3, Mark ch1, Luke ch3 and John ch1.)
What was the baptism for? Careful thought of the text suggests that it was not washing away sins but an act of repentance for sin. And repentance for sin is what God wants from us all so that He can forgive us and apply his Chesed (hesed - grace, mercy, lovingkindness). Indeed, this is, or should be, part of the baptism of a new christian after conversion
To understand how Old Testament saints were justified by repentance and trusting that God would provide through his Messiah, read David in Psalm 51 and Mark 12:36. (This is the snag for Jews trusting in the Old Testament - Old Testament saints trusted in the coming Messiah but since he came and was rejected, the OT trust is no longer applicable. Trust in the Messiah who came is needed.
The baptism of John was by immersion, not sprinkling as depicted by Renaissance artists like Per Dela Francesca, as Mark 1 records Jesus coming up out of the water.
A Jewish person being immersed would wade into the water and then crouch down below the surface. That way, no contact from the immerser prevented the water from reaching their whole body. See the picture above and imagine the candidate going down one side of the steps, immersing himself (herself) and coming back up the other side.
In using the title Yochanan ha Matbil, Dwight Prior emphasised that John did not put people under the water in the same manner as most Christians today; John was the one who supervised people as they immersed themselves in response to his call to repentance.
One might say that John's baptism was a step from Old Covenant towards New Covenant practice.
The immersion of Jesus / Yeshua
Qder el Yahud - most probable site of Jesus' baptism by John
Also, probably, the site of Jordan crossings during the Exodus and by Elijah & Elisha. The river is, today, diminished by water extraction.
The birth of Yochanan is recorded in Luke ch1, where we note that his father was a priest ministering in the Temple. So John was of the priestly line as well as being a child of special promise of God, as the one who would prepare the way for Messiah after the manner of Elijah. It has been observed that John, being of Levitical descent would be a priest at that time were it not for his special commission in the Jordan wilderness
We read that Jesus submitted to immersion by John, in spite of John's reservations. It was " to fulfil all righteousness" Jesus said. ( Matt 3 v15) What did he mean? What was going on? Jesus was obviously not being baptised for repentance or remission of sin!
At that time, the religious heirarchy was, like the king, an instrument of Rome and thus corrupted and spurned by many of true faith. The Essenes were a body that went as far as to reject the Jerusalem priesthood to live faithfully in the Jordan Valley. (at Masada) In light of this Jesus taking up his commission as our great High Priest whould not be inducted into his ministry by corrupt men but by a faithful man from the line of Levi. John son of Zachariah was that man, chosen before his birth to announce "the Lamb of God" and to mark the commencement of Jesus' God given ministry (Jesus being of the kingly line of David - not of Levi.)
God showed his approval of the event when the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus as a dove and there was a voice from heaven. After that John was happy to recede into the background.
How did Judaism's immersion transfer across into the Christian Baptism?
Baptism (Immersion) was instituted or continued by Jesus, Yeshua, himself in one parting instruction to His followers. This was for Jews and Gentiles who came to believe in the risen Jesus and join the early church. ( see Matt 28 v18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Or in the CJB for another perspective.
Matt 28:19 Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim, immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh
Some Baptisms as the practice settled down (before the New Covenant was written.
"When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus."Baptism/immersion was obviously normal practice, but not the final thing needed.
In Acts 22 v14-16 it is said to Paul,
"`The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'"
Paul said, in Romans 6 v2-6
"We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. "
And for the life connection read what Paul said in Galatians 3 v26-27
"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Paul spells out the deeper spiritual significance of immersion in Romans 6 v3-11; how baptism is about death and burial.
Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
This picture shows a baptism at Elisha's Spring in Jericho. The candidate had become a Christian a while before, and wished to be baptized as a public declaration about what Jesus had done for her. She went down under the water, as in dying with Christ, and came up to newness of life in him. This ritual does not bring about cleansing from sin, the blood of Yeshua already accomplished that, but it is a pictorial demonstration / witness of what has happened.
The fact that "Baptism" actually means immersion is very significant, and this comes out in the Complete Jewish Bible translation of Matthew 28 v19 and Mark 1. Here the word talks of new believers being "immersed into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach ha Kodesh" (Holy Spirit) Ponder on that!
The Greek word transliterated into English as Baptism or Baptize is "Baptizo", meaning to immerse. (Strong's Bible Dictionary gives the Greek as meaning
baptizoĢ - bap-tid'-zo From a derivative of G911; to make whelmed (that is, fully wet); used only (in the New Testament) of ceremonial ablution, especially (technically) of the ordinance of Christian baptism: - baptist, baptize, wash.)David Stern (JNTC p373, on Romans 6 v3-6) adds that the word refers to a process in which the thing that is immersed takes on the qualities of the substance into which it is immersed. He uses the example of cloth into a dye solution. This is why being immersed into the Messiah is equated with being united with Him.
David Baron - (The Visions and Prophecies of Zechariah) points out that the "fountain" (Hebrew Maqor ) of Zechariah 13 v1 is not the modern picture of a fountain but of a dug out cistern or pool or spring where water is gathered - that is the description of a Mikveh where priests are immersed for cleansing or consecration. He also points out that that fountain for cleansing has existed since Yeshua died on the tree, but it will be opened to the House of David when the Holy Spirit applies it; as He has for every individual who is brought to faith by having the spirit of Grace and supplication poured on him or her (Zech 12 v10).
On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.)
See also Jewish New Testament Commentary on Acts ch1.
Self immersion for the Christian ?
Someone asked me if one can immerse oneself, based on a translation such as the CJB, of Sha'ul recounting Hananyah's ministry to him,
Acts 22:16 "So now, what are you waiting for? Get up, immerse yourself and have your sins washed away as you call on his name."
But the same translation has Luke's narrative of the original evant.
Acts 9:18 In that moment, something like scales fell away from Sha'ul's eyes; and he could see again. He got up and was immersed;
This suggests that close concentration on the English words is not helpful in determining the precise meaning. "Be immersed" does not necessarily prove that someone had to have someone dunk him under the water, and there would not have been a Baptist church down the road in Damascus, where he could have got someone to immerse him.
As a devout Jew, Sha'ul would have been used to immersing himself on various occasions and this could have been a natural thing to do.
However, it is clear that Saul/Paul affirmed the practice of converts "being baptised" during his ministry (he said in 1Corinthians 1:16,
Oh yes, I did also immerse Stephanas and his household; beyond that, I can't remember whether I immersed anyone else.)
I tend to think Saul might have immersed himself, but as he codified the New Covenant for Gentile believers, he encouraged the practice of immersion administered by a minister of the Gospel as part of fellowship worship. This would accord better with Jesus' commands. Believer's Baptism is always a time of great worship and encouragement in the life of the fellowship; so self immersion would appear to be incompatible with becoming part of Messiah's body.
(This is only a personal reasoned argument; not holy law.)
Updated 27/09/25
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