22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.
Verses 3:22-36 relate that Jesus’ disciples, as well as John the Baptist, baptized. John’s ministry overlapped Jesus’ ministry for a short period. This was necessary because God designed his ministry to introduce the Messiah (Is 40:3; Mal 3:1). Jesus and John were not rivals but had complementary ministries.
22 After these things
These words describe the section 2:13-3:21 that included the cleansing of the temple and dialogue with Nicodemus. It also signals the end of Jesus’ speech to Nicodemus.
Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea,
Jesus began His ministry in Galilee and then moved to Jerusalem. Now He was in the region of Judea. Jesus left urban Jerusalem to the more rural areas of Judea.
and there He remained with them [disciples]
Jesus spent some time with His disciples while they were baptizing in Judea.
and baptized.
The Greek says “was baptizing”; that is, there were a number of baptisms during this period. The disciples were baptizing over a period of time, but Jesus did not personally baptize others Himself (Jn 4:2). Jesus preached about the kingdom during this time (Mt 4:17).
The baptism here is not Christian baptism but baptism about the kingdom that Jesus offered to Israel.
PRINCIPLE:
John’s and Jesus’ baptisms were not Christian baptism.
APPLICATION:
It is important to note that the baptism during Jesus’ time was different than Christian baptism. His was a baptism with a view to the kingdom. God instituted Christian baptism after the resurrection. Believers’ baptism is a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
