The Baptism of Jesus in Matthew
As I stated in previous posts, I believe that the authors of Matthew and Luke used Mark’s gospel as a starting point for their efforts, and that these were written many years later. Later on I hope to present evidence that these were written after Paul’s epistles.
It is not surprising to me to see that Matthew’s account of the baptism of Jesus follows that of Mark: some of the words and phrases are direct quotes of Mark. Yet there are some differences:
- Matthew elaborates on what the Baptist preached to the Pharisees and Sadducees (starting with “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”)
- Matthew records the following conversation between John and Jesus: "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."
I have no issue with the first embellishment in Matthew’s gospel, but the second embellishment stands in contrast to what is recorded in John. John asserts that John the Baptist, in his own words, stated that he did not know Jesus before the baptism, but rather that he was told to look for the sign of the Spirit to indicate who would be the One.
Matthew might be given a pass on this one, as perhaps he did not have John’s gospel available to him, and did not know he was contradicting another gospel. According to my rules, John gets the benefit of the doubt as his account was written earlier than Matthew, and I have found problems with Matthew in other areas (some of which I have already discussed).
So is this a big deal? Is it important for us to know if John knew Jesus or not before His baptism? Is it important to try and decide which account is correct? I hope to return to this question later.
The Baptism of Jesus in Luke
As with Matthew, Luke seems to use Mark as a template, but adds the following embellishments:
- Luke pinpoints the year that John the Baptist began his ministry
- Luke records additional discourses that John had with tax collectors and Roman soldiers
- Luke also gives evidence that John knew Jesus before the baptism. In fact Luke states that John knew who Jesus was before either one was even born.
I have no reason to question the first two embellishments, but the third also stands in contrast to John’s gospel. Although not explicitly stated, Luke’s gospel certainly implies that John and Jesus knew each other throughout their childhood, as Mary and Elizabeth were related and knew each other.
So should I take the vote as two against one and believe that John’s gospel has the contradiction? If I did, I would be going against my rules of thumb, which have served me well up to this point. Again, I will ask the same question that is surely present in some of your minds: What’s the big deal?
Who cares whether John and Jesus knew each other or not before Jesus’ baptism? Bear with me, as I continue with my analysis, and perhaps you will begin to see why I think this is a very important thing to discuss.