Question: Was there baptism before Jesus (John the Baptist?)
Was that a Jewish custom? Who started baptism?
Answer (Pastor Deb): Cleansing with water as a ritual had been around before Jesus' day in a
variety of cultures.
Certainly, cleansing rituals were a part of Jewish custom - though it was
associated more with a sense of sanitation - more like getting cleaned up before
a meal. By the time of Jesus it was a common practice as a ritual for repentance
and renewal as John the Baptist used it.
It is only with Jesus that it became more unique: associated with his forgiveness, dying and rising, new creation. Previous practices implied that it needed to be repeated regularly. There was no indication that Christian baptism needed to be repeated in order to be effective.