Baptism in Christianity

John the Baptist's cave?

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Biblical and archaeological evidence of John the Baptist:

The Gospel of Matthew describes John the Baptist as being a contemporary of Jesus. He preached "...in the wilderness of Judea." ₁ He urgently called on people to repent because he believed that the kingdom of heaven was in his immediate future. ₂ The author of the Gospel of Mark relates that John survived by eating locusts and wild honey. He recognized Jesus as the "...one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose." ₃ 

He baptized Jews by full immersion in the Jordan river, or in a stream that flowed into the Jordan, "...in that part of the Jordan valley (Luke, iii, 3) which is called the desert (Mark, i, 4)." ₄ The Gospel of John mentions that the baptisms were "done in Bethabara (Bethany) beyond Jordan." ₅ This should not be confused with the town also named Bethany where Lazarus lived. After John was executed, Jesus was attacked by his fellow Jews in Jerusalem. He escaped, and "...went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized." ₆ The location where John first baptized his followers appears to be on the East side of the Jordan river, in what is now the Kingdom of Jordan. In the fourth century CE, "The Byzantine writers Jerome and Eusebius mentioned 'Bethabara beyond the Jordan' ...as a pilgrimage destination where people went to be baptised."  Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, is [said] to have crossed the Jordan River and visited Elijah's Hill and the cave where John the Baptist lived, and built a church there to commemorate him." ₇ Also on the east side of the Jordan, near the location of John's baptisms there is a hill called Hermon where it is believed that Elijah was caught up. ₈ "The ongoing survey excavations at Bethany in Jordan have uncovered a 1st Century AD settlement with plastered pools and water system that were used almost certainly for baptism, and a 5th-6th Century AD late Byzantine settlement with churches, a monastery, and other structures probably catering to religious pilgrims." ₉ 

However, "Israel has long held that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist at Qasir al-Yahud, a West Bank area just north of the Dead Sea..." ₁₀ This is an area that is currenlty occupied by Israel. Vassilios Tzaferis, of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said that neither location can be proven to be the site of John's baptisms. He said: "Archaeologically speaking, we don't have any real evidence. Pilgrims are connected by faith, religion and dogmas. You either believe it or you don't." ₁₀

John's spiritual movement survived his execution. When Paul visited Ephesis, he found a group of John's followers there. The modern-day Mandeans (pronounced Man-DE-uns) believe regard John the Baptist as their founder. They live in southern Iran and Iraq and number about 25,000. ₁₁

The cave:

A cave that some believe is linked to John the Baptist is located on an Kibbutz Tzuba, a communal farm just to the west of Jerusalem. It is not far from John's birthplace. The cave is about 25 meters long, 4 meters wide and 5 meters high. It was carved by the ancient Hebrews during the Iron Age, between 800 and 500 BCE. "It apparently was used from the start as a ritual immersion pool, preceding the Jewish tradition of the ritual bath." ₁₂

The cave contains:

Opinion is divided over whether the cave is linked to John the Baptist:

Conclusions:

More complete data may not be available for years, until after the cave is fully excavated. Based on current information published in the media:

Two-thirds of the cave has yet to be excavated. When the archaeological work is completed, there should be more information published. Of principle interest will be any artifacts from the first and second century CE.