Chapter III
The Sources of the Gospels and the Way of Writing Them
Section VI
The Texts which were quoted from the Old Testament, but they have not been attributed directly to it
In this section will examine the texts which were quoted from the Old Testament, but they have not been attributed directly to it, as is the case in the previous sections, which I call it Storyline or Plot-story or screenplay of the Gospels, where we will review the most of the events and stories and sayings that mentioned in the Gospels, and comparing them with the Old Testament and with Jesus as was portrayed in the Gospels, and his attributes in the laws of the faith of the churches as well.
6 - The Source of the Story of the Baptism of Jesus
The four Gospels have reported that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan, and later the churches considered that the baptism is a sign of the Covenant instead of circumcision, so is this a true story, or that the Gospels authors have quoted it from the Old Testament, as is their method and approach of writing the Gospels, as it appears in this book?
Before detailing the issue I'd like to review this story as it is written in the Gospels, which is as follows:
Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
Matthew 3:2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"
Matthew 3:3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight’."
Matthew 3:4 And John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
Matthew 3:5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him
Matthew 3:6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Matthew 3:8 "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,
Matthew 3:9 "and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Matthew 3:10 "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 3:11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Matthew 3:12 "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Matthew 3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
Matthew 3:14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"
Matthew 3:15 But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him.
Matthew 3:16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
Matthew 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Mark 1:4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
Mark 1:5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
Mark 1:6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
Mark 1:7 And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.
Mark 1:8 "I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
Mark 1:9 It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
Mark 1:10 And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.
Mark 1:11 Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Luke 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
Luke 3:2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
Luke 3:3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,
Luke 3:4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.
Luke 3:5 Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth;
Luke 3:6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God’."
Luke 3:7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Luke 3:8 "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Luke 3:9 "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
Luke 3:10 So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"
Luke 3:11 He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."
Luke 3:12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"
Luke 3:13 And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."
Luke 3:14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."
Luke 3:15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not,
Luke 3:16 John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Luke 3:17 "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."
Luke 3:18 And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.
Luke 3:19 But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,
Luke 3:20 also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.
Luke 3:21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
Luke 3:22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."
John 1:19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
John 1:20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."
John 1:21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No."
John 1:22 Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?"
John 1:23 He said: "I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the Lord,"‘ as the prophet Isaiah said."
John 1:24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.
John 1:25 And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
John 1:26 John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.
John 1:27 "It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."
John 1:28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:30 "This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me’.
John 1:31 "I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."
John 1:32 And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.
John 1:33 "I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit’.
These texts mention the story of baptizing Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan, and we find ourselves in front of several issues that must be discussed before talking about its sources in the Old Testament.
The first issue is that the baptizing Jesus by John, who is supposed to be a god and the son of God, and one of three Persons who are one and have the same nature and essence, as the Gospels authors and the churches believe in Jesus! Is unacceptable and cannot be conceivable, according to the Old Testament, which speaks of the greatness and the glory of the Lord, and that the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Him, and He who does not dwell with men on the earth, as is shown in the first chapter. Hence, how did those authors dare to write that a man may washed Him in the Jordan River and poured water on Him!
And it will be more difficult to imagine occurring such as this story if we know that the Gospels authors did not write that John was baptized by Jesus.
The second issue is that these texts have violated the Old Testament and its commandments, for the Baptism is not one of the commandments of the Law, and there are dozens of texts that warn of adding anything to it, so the Baptism is a commandment which was added to the commandments of the Law which is unacceptable because no one can add new laws, as is shown in the first chapter.
The third issue is on the saying that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, as Matthew and Luke wrote on the lips of John the Baptist, while Mark and John did not write about a fire, so where is this fire that mentioned by Matthew and Luke in the rite of baptism! Although the churches until now do not baptize with fire, but as was John baptizing with water only.
The fourth issue is on the saying that was written on the lips of John the Baptist that he did not know Jesus! So how he did not know Jesus; while Luke wrote that Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, and John himself leaped in his mother's womb when his mother heard Mary's greeting, (Luke 1:34-45), so how he did not know Jesus?
Moreover, John wrote in this text that John the Baptist said that he is not Elijah, and this contradicts Matthew who wrote that John the Baptist is Elijah, (Matthew 11:14), as shown previously.
The fifth issue is on the effectiveness of the baptism in human life, because the churches say it is filling the human with the Holy Spirit, yet some of these baptizers doing all evil acts such as theft, murder and adultery and so on, thus, what is the benefit and effectiveness of baptism?!
Also the baptism did not prevent the church to split into dozens of churches, so what is the role of the Holy Spirit in baptism?
In addition that its formula or method is not one among the churches, some churches are using Sprinkling the water, and some others using Pouring the water, and some others using Immersion in the water, and some churches baptize the children, and some others refuse to baptize them!
So, why all these differences among the churches; if it was a real story and its effectiveness exist?
Furthermore, John also wrote in his Gospel two texts reflect a state of turmoil concerning the story of baptism which are as follows:
John 3:22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.
John 3:23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized.
John 3:24 For John had not yet been thrown into prison.
John 3:25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification.
John 3:26 And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified — behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"
John 4:1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John
John 4:2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples),
John 4:3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.
In the first text we read that Jesus was baptizing and in the second text Jesus was not baptizing!
So what is the meaning of these paragraphs "He remained with them and baptized" and "though Jesus Himself did not baptize"?
As well as the first text says that Jesus and his disciples were baptizing before John was arrested, and this contrasts with the other Gospels that say that Jesus began his preaching after John the Baptist was arrested, as in the following texts:
Matthew 4:12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.
Mark 1:14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.
Finally, we note a difference in the name of the village that mentioned by John in the various versions of the New Testament, as in the following texts:
John 1:28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
New International Version
John 1:28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
English Standard Version
John 1:28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
King James Version
John 1:28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
New Revised Standard Version
John 1:28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
Wycliffe Version
John 1:28 These things were done in Bethany beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Translation of Codex Sinaiticus
John 1:28 These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Regardless of all these things what is the source of this story?
Let's read the following text:
2Kings 5:1 Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.
2Kings 5:2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife.
2Kings 5:3 Then she said to her mistress, "If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy."
2Kings 5:4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, "Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel."
2Kings 5:5 Then the king of Syria said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.
2Kings 5:6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.
2Kings 5:7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me."
2Kings 5:8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel."
2Kings 5:9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house.
2Kings 5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean."
2Kings 5:11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, "Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy’.
2Kings 5:12 "Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.
2Kings 5:13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?"
2Kings 5:14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
2Kings 5:15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, "Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant".
In this text we read that Naaman the leper heard the words of Elisha and went down to the Jordan River and washed or dipped himself seven times; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he became clean, and this process is the same thing of what the Gospels and the churches say about the baptism, with the only difference; which is that Naaman became clean of his leprosy, while the followers of the churches have not been filled with the Holy Spirit when they were baptized, and the leprosy in the Old Testament is a kind of sin, and there are many laws and ways talking how to make cleaned off, (Leviticus chapters 13 and 14) and (Numbers 5:1-4), it is part of the Law, while the baptism in addition to the lack of effectiveness in the reality of the life of the people, it is a law or a commandment which was added to the Law, which says the Old Testament that it was completed, and warns of any laws that might add to it.
Luke also had mentioned this story on the lips of Jesus in his Gospel, but he has made a mistake, as in the following text:
Luke 4:27 "And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."
In this text Luke writes on the lips of Jesus his saying that there were many lepers in the time of Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian, and this saying is wrong, because the young girl who had told Naaman about Elisha and his ability to heal him of his leprosy; should be heard before about cleansing Elisha some lepers, for if she had not heard before about cleansing Elisha some lepers, how will she know about this ability, so the saying that none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian is not true.
There is another text talks about the sprinkle water on the people for cleanse them, which looks like the baptism of the churches that used Sprinkle water on the people instead of immersion in the water, and that may have been relied upon by the churches in the way of the baptizing, which is as follows:
Ezekiel 36:25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
Ezekiel 36:26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Ezekiel 36:28 "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
Ezekiel 36:29 "I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you.
This text says that the LORD will sprinkle clean water on the children of Israel, and He will cleanse them from all their filthiness and from all their idols, and He will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them, and this is exactly what say the churches to their good followers about the baptizing, but the various churches do not say to their followers that they do not keep the commandments and statutes and the judgments of the LORD and do them, as shown previously, nor do cleanse them from all idols, because it has made millions of statues and idols and images and ordered their followers to worship them and to bow down to them.
From all of the above, we can see how the Gospels authors used the texts of the Old Testament to write this narrative, regardless if they violated the Old Testament and its commandments, or invalidate the laws of the faith of the churches, or contradict with each other, or distort the texts of the Old Testament in other stories, as Luke did here, and this indicates to the method and the approach of writing the Gospels that appears in this book, which means that the law "do not accept the lying and false" applies to this story.
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