Mikveh, a Mandated Washing
We naturally equate John’s baptism to the church ordinance of today, which it wasn’t. In the Jewish practice of John’s day, many mikvehs—cleansings—such as those John performed, existed for many purposes. By his day, the Levitical mandate for cleansing from being unclean had been expanded and formalized, focusing on the act rather than the repentance or gratitude it was to express.
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For that matter, the whole purpose of the various cleansings when one was unclean is generally missed by non-Jews. Basically, it ends a time of quarantine for someone who might transmit some infection, small or great. When healed, a mikveh expressed gratitude for the healing. The most common mikveh was the monthly cleansing following a woman’s period. Rather than her uncleanness having been a quarantine to protect the community, she was quarantined to protect her. Bleeding tissue, even more so following childbirth, was a great health risk for the woman.
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Mikvehs still vary from ceremonial hand-washing, such as at the start of Passover, to full-immersion for non-Jews who wish to convert to Judaism. They, being gentile, were seen as the most unclean, and thus, needed total immersion. The Greek word we translate baptize is baptizo, meaning full immersion. Thus, those allowing John to baptize them, were expressing their deep regret for their past disregard of Yahweh, by a mikvah as if a gentile.
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