Baptism of Jesus
The baptism of Jesus, the ritual purification of Jesus with water by John the Baptist, was a major event described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke)[a]. It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Bethany Beyond the Jordan), today located in Jordan.
"Baptism of Christ" redirects here. For other uses, see Baptism of Christ (disambiguation).Date
Early 1st century AD (most likely in c. AD 28/29)
Present-day Al-Maghtas, Jordan
Modern biblical scholars view the baptism of Jesus as a historical event to which a high degree of certainty can be assigned.[1][2][3][4][5] Along with the crucifixion of Jesus, biblical scholars view it as one of the two historically certain facts about him, and often use it as the starting point for the study of the historical Jesus.[6]
The baptism is one of the events in the narrative of the life of Jesus in the canonical Gospels; others include the Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension.[7][8] Most Christian denominations view the baptism of Jesus as an important event and a basis for the Christian rite of baptism (see also Acts 19:1–7).[9] In Eastern Christianity, Jesus's baptism is commemorated on 6 January (the Julian calendar date of which corresponds to 19 January on the Gregorian calendar), the feast of Epiphany.[10] In the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran Churches and some other Western denominations, it is recalled on a day within the following week, the feast of the baptism of the Lord. In Roman Catholicism, the baptism of Jesus is one of the Luminous Mysteries sometimes added to the Rosary. It is a Trinitarian feast in the Eastern Orthodox Churches.
In the Gospel of the Nazarenes[edit]
According to the non-canonical Gospel of the Nazarenes, the idea of being baptized by John came from the mother and brothers of Jesus, and Jesus himself, originally opposed, reluctantly accepted it.[38] Benjamin Urrutia suggests that this version is supported by the criterion of embarrassment, since followers of Jesus would not have invented an episode in which Jesus changes his mind and comes to accept someone else's plan. Plus, the story came from the community that included the family of Jesus, who would have guaranteed the authenticity of the narrative.[39]
Arian Baptistry, Ravenna, 6th-century mosaic. A classical personification of the Jordan attends at left.
Miniature from the Psalter of Eleanor of Aquitaine (c. 1185)
Relief in Kärlich, around the 17th century
While the gospel of Luke is explicit about the Spirit of God descending in the shape of a dove, the wording of Matthew is vague enough that it could be interpreted only to suggest that the descent was in the style of a dove. Although a variety of symbolisms were attached to doves at the time these passages were written, the dove imagery has become a well known symbol for the Holy Spirit in Christian art.[79][80] Depictions of the baptismal scene typically show the sky opening and the Holy Spirit descending as a dove towards Jesus.[81]
Artists usually tried to show the whole body of Christ as he stood in the water, which could give them difficulties. The reasonably coherent 6th-century mosaic image in the Arian Baptistry, Ravenna, with the water hemmed in by two banks, when used in many generations of copies in Western Europe, by artists unskilled in depicting visual recession, led to images like that in the Psalter of Eleanor of Aquitaine, where there appears to be a standing mound of water.
At least one attendant archangel, holding Christ's robe, and often another with a towel, became usual in medieval images.