BEMA Episode Link: 91: Tavilah T'Shuvah
Episode Length: 37:41
Published Date: Thu, 01 Nov 2018 01:00:00 -0700
Session 3
About this episode:

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings dive into the third chapter of the gospel of Matthew, uncovering the ministry of John the Baptist.

Discussion Video for BEMA 91

Complete Jewish Bible by David Stern

Jewish New Testament Commentary by David Stern

BEMA 42: The Fire of Elijah

Transcript for BEMA 91

Notes

*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.

BEMA Episode 91: Tavilah T’Shuvah - Study Notes

Title & Source Summary

Episode Title: Tavilah T’Shuvah (Baptism of Repentance)

Scripture Focus: Matthew 3:1-17; 2 Kings 1:5-8; Isaiah 40

Topic Overview: This episode explores the ministry of John the Baptist through a Jewish lens, examining his connection to the Essene movement, his role as an Elijah figure, and the meaning of baptism as a ritual of repentance (tavilah t’shuvah) in first-century Jewish context. The episode also raises questions about whether John’s theology of judgment accurately aligns with the mission of the coming Messiah.

Key Takeaways

  • John the Baptist deliberately dressed and acted as Elijah to signal his prophetic role of calling God’s people back to covenant faithfulness
  • There were two types of baptism in first-century Judaism: Pharisaic mikveh (ritualistic cleansing) and Essene mikveh (baptism of repentance)
  • John’s baptism was tavilah t’shuvah - a public declaration of turning from sin and returning to obedience to God’s original call
  • John likely had connections to the Essene community at Qumran, as evidenced by his location, his use of Isaiah 40, and his father Zechariah being a righteous priest
  • John’s message included fiery judgment language (fire, axes, winnowing forks) that may not fully align with Jesus’s actual mission
  • John the Baptist functioned as Jesus’s rabbi, which adds complexity when Jesus later steps outside John’s theological framework

Main Concepts & Theories

1. John the Baptist’s Connection to the Essenes

Background Context:

  • John’s father Zechariah was a “righteous priest” - notably not called a Sadducee, suggesting he opposed the corrupt temple priesthood
  • The Essenes were a group of priests who withdrew to Qumran in the wilderness, viewing themselves as faithful when the temple system had become corrupt
  • When dedicating a son to the Lord, a righteous priest would not give his child to the corrupt temple priesthood

Evidence for Essene Connection:

  • John baptized at three locations, all connected to major Elijah stories: Bethany beyond the Jordan, Aenon near Salim, and the wilderness of Judea
  • The wilderness of Judea location was less than three miles from Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found
  • John’s introduction uses Isaiah 40 (“a voice calling in the wilderness”), the exact passage the Essenes used to explain their desert community
  • His baptism was specifically a “baptism of repentance” (Essene practice) rather than ritualistic washing (Pharisaic practice)

John’s Departure from Essene Practice: John took the Essene worldview but went on mission with it. Rather than waiting in the desert for people to come seeking the path, John brought the path to the people - demonstrating the “fire of Elijah” by actively calling people to repentance.

2. The Elijah Connection: Costume, Location, and Message

The Costume:

  • 2 Kings 1:8 describes Elijah wearing “a garment of hair and a leather belt around his waist”
  • Matthew 3:4 describes John wearing clothes made of camel’s hair and a leather belt
  • Camel’s hair worn with the hide against the skin was extremely uncomfortable - like wearing a Brillo pad
  • Elijah wore this as a constant reminder of how irritated God was with the sin of his people
  • John deliberately wore this “Elijah costume” to signal his prophetic role without needing to preach about it

Eastern vs. Western Communication: As an Easterner, John didn’t need to preach a sermon explaining “I am like Elijah” - he simply showed up in the Elijah costume and his Jewish audience immediately understood. This is Text-to-context communication.

The Locations: John’s three baptism locations directly correspond to major Elijah narratives:

  • Bethany beyond the Jordan - where Elijah was fed by ravens before Mount Carmel
  • Aenon near Salim - where Elijah commissioned his disciple Elisha
  • Wilderness of Judea - where Elijah ascended in chariots of fire

The Message: Like Elijah, John’s message was passionate, confrontational, and focused on calling people back from idolatry and sin to covenant faithfulness.

3. Two Types of Mikveh (Baptism)

Pharisaic Mikveh:

  • Ritualistic, liturgical cleansing performed frequently
  • Done before meals, before entering synagogue, as part of daily routine
  • More prayer-focused than repentance-focused
  • Example: Washing stations in Orthodox Jewish establishments
  • Jesus both participated in this practice and critiqued those who made it merely external ritual

Essene Mikveh (Tavilah T’Shuvah):

  • A baptism of repentance performed when making a decision to turn from sin
  • Not ritualistic or routine - done when choosing to “walk in the light” after “walking in error”
  • A public declaration: “I have been disobedient, and today I start walking in a new way”
  • Self-performed immersion (not done by another person)
  • Required “fruit in keeping with repentance” - demonstrable life change before baptism

Important Distinction: When people came “to be baptized by John,” this refers to John’s authority and program, not John physically dunking people. In Jewish practice, individuals immersed themselves; baptism was self-performed.

4. John’s Confrontation of Religious Leadership

The Challenge (Matthew 3:7-10): John called the Pharisees and Sadducees “a brood of vipers” when they came to be baptized, demanding they “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” before he would baptize them.

The Theological Point:

  • John refused to baptize those merely putting on a show
  • He rejected reliance on ethnic identity: “Do not think you can say, ‘We have Abraham as our father’”
  • He insisted on actual life transformation, not religious performance
  • This was pure Essene theology: devotion must be genuine, not merely ritualistic

John’s Radical Ministry: Some scholars suggest John was providing mikveh outside the temple system:

  • The Sadducees had co-opted baptism within their corrupt temple system
  • The Pharisees had created exclusionary rules about who could and couldn’t be baptized
  • John, as a priestly descendant (son of Zechariah), offered mikveh in the desert to tax collectors, soldiers, and cultural outcasts
  • This was an extraordinarily bold challenge to both the Pharisaic and Sadducean establishments
5. John’s Theology of Judgment

The Fire and Judgment Language:

  • “The ax is already at the root of the trees” (Matthew 3:10)
  • “His winnowing fork is in his hand” (Matthew 3:12)
  • “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11)
  • References to the threshing floor where the temple was built

Biblical Connections:

  • Water imagery: the Flood (Genesis) - judgment
  • Fire imagery: Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis) - judgment
  • The winnowing fork at the threshing floor: God judging His own temple

John’s Expectation: John believed the coming Messiah would bring the kingdom of God with immediate judgment - purging, separating wheat from chaff, cutting down unfruitful trees.

6. The Unresolved Question: Was John’s Theology Correct?

The Tension:

  • John accurately called people back to covenant faithfulness and obedience
  • John correctly identified Jesus as the Messiah
  • BUT: Did John correctly understand what Messiah had come to do?
  • Jesus said He came “not to condemn the world but to save it” (John 3:17)

The Elijah Lesson: In Jewish tradition, Elijah learned that fire and passion don’t always change the human heart. John embodied the fire and passion of Elijah, but had he learned Elijah’s lesson about transformation coming through means other than judgment?

John as Jesus’s Rabbi:

  • John the Baptist likely functioned as Jesus’s rabbi
  • Jesus would need to step outside the theological bounds of His rabbi’s teaching
  • Later in the Gospels, Jesus and John will have a conversation about this very issue
  • This adds complexity: how does a disciple honor their rabbi while correcting their theology?

The Open Question: The episode deliberately leaves this tension unresolved, to be explored further in Session 3 as Jesus’s ministry unfolds and demonstrates a different approach than John anticipated.

Examples & Applications

1. Cultural Communication Styles

John’s Approach: Rather than explaining “I am like Elijah,” John simply dressed as Elijah and went to Elijah’s locations. His Jewish audience immediately understood without verbal explanation.

Modern Application: Different cultures communicate through different means. Some cultures value direct verbal explanation; others communicate through symbol, action, and context. Understanding these differences helps us read Scripture more accurately and communicate cross-culturally more effectively.

2. External Religion vs. Heart Transformation

John’s Challenge: When religious leaders came for baptism, John demanded they first “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” - demonstrable life change, not just ritual participation.

Modern Parallel: Churches and religious communities can fall into the trap of valuing attendance, membership, and ritual participation over genuine heart transformation and life change. John’s message challenges us to examine whether our religious practices reflect actual obedience or merely external performance.

3. Prophetic Courage vs. Complete Understanding

John’s Example: John had the courage to confront corrupt religious systems and call people to repentance, even while his understanding of Messiah’s mission may have been incomplete.

Modern Application: We can speak truth and call people to righteousness even when our theology isn’t perfect. Prophetic courage doesn’t require complete understanding, but it does require humility to learn and grow when corrected.

4. The Temple System and Alternative Access to God

First-Century Context: John provided baptism outside the exclusive temple system, making it available to tax collectors, soldiers, and others excluded by religious gatekeepers.

Contemporary Relevance: Religious institutions can become gatekeepers who exclude those on the margins. The gospel calls us to break down barriers and make God’s grace accessible to those whom religious systems have pushed away.

5. The Original Plot: Blessing All Nations

John’s Message: He called people back to God’s original purpose for His people - to be hospitable, generous, and blessing to others, living at the crossroads of the earth.

Application for Communities: It’s easy for religious communities to lose sight of their missional purpose and build their own empires instead. John reminds us to continually return to God’s original call: to be a people who bless all nations through generosity, hospitality, and obedient trust.

Potential Areas for Further Exploration

1. The Essene Community and the Dead Sea Scrolls
  • Deep dive into Essene theology, practices, and their concept of “Sons of Light”
  • Study the Community Rule and other Dead Sea Scroll documents
  • Examine Essene eschatology and expectations of Messiah
  • Explore the archaeological evidence from Qumran
2. The Relationship Between Jesus and John the Baptist
  • Trace the full narrative of their relationship through all four Gospels
  • Study the conversation when John sends disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:2-6)
  • Examine Jesus’s statements about John: “Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11)
  • Investigate how Jesus honored John while also departing from his theology
3. Baptism Theology and Practice Across Christian History
  • Compare Jewish mikveh practices with early Christian baptism
  • Study how baptism theology developed in different Christian traditions
  • Examine the shift from self-immersion to baptism administered by another
  • Explore contemporary debates about baptism: infant vs. believer’s baptism, mode, meaning, and efficacy
4. The Prophet Elijah in Jewish and Christian Tradition
  • Study the full Elijah narrative in 1 Kings and 2 Kings
  • Examine Jewish expectations of Elijah’s return (Malachi 4:5-6)
  • Investigate the Transfiguration account where Elijah appears with Moses and Jesus
  • Explore ongoing Jewish traditions related to Elijah (Passover, circumcisions, etc.)
5. Judgment and Mercy in Biblical Theology
  • Trace themes of judgment through the Old Testament prophets
  • Study Jesus’s statements about judgment and His mission
  • Examine the tension between “already and not yet” in kingdom theology
  • Investigate how Jesus redefines messianic expectations
6. The Pharisees and Sadducees in Second Temple Judaism
  • Deep study of Pharisaic theology, practices, and their various schools
  • Examine Sadducean control of the temple and their theological distinctives
  • Understand the political and religious tensions between these groups
  • Study Jesus’s interactions with both groups throughout the Gospels
7. Repentance (T’shuvah) in Jewish Thought
  • Study the Hebrew concept of t’shuvah (return/repentance)
  • Examine repentance themes in the prophets, especially Zephaniah
  • Explore how repentance differs from guilt in Western Christian thought
  • Investigate contemporary Jewish teachings on t’shuvah, especially around the High Holy Days
8. The Temple and the Threshing Floor
  • Study the narrative of David purchasing the threshing floor (2 Samuel 24)
  • Examine the symbolism of threshing floors in Scripture
  • Investigate temple construction and its theological significance
  • Explore Jesus’s prophecies about the temple’s destruction

Comprehension Questions

  1. Compare and Contrast: What are the key differences between Pharisaic mikveh and Essene mikveh (tavilah t’shuvah)? Why did John the Baptist practice one and not the other?

  2. Textual Connection: How did John the Baptist use clothing, location, and language to identify himself with the prophet Elijah? What was he communicating to his first-century Jewish audience through these choices?

  3. Theological Tension: What aspects of John the Baptist’s theology appear to be accurate, and what aspects does the episode suggest might be incomplete or incorrect? How does this relate to the lessons God taught Elijah?

  4. Social Challenge: When John told tax collectors not to take more than required and soldiers not to use their power to extort, what was radical about his message? How did this connect to God’s original call for His people in Genesis?

  5. Critical Thinking: The episode suggests John the Baptist may have been Jesus’s rabbi. Why does this create complexity when Jesus later steps outside John’s theological framework? How does a disciple honor their teacher while also correcting their understanding?

Personalized Summary

In this episode, we encounter John the Baptist not as a generic wilderness preacher, but as a complex figure deeply embedded in first-century Jewish context. By deliberately dressing as Elijah - wearing uncomfortable camel’s hair with a leather belt - and by baptizing at the same locations where Elijah’s major stories took place, John communicated his prophetic mission without needing to explain it. His Jewish audience would have immediately recognized: here is someone calling us back to covenant faithfulness with the fire and passion of Elijah.

John’s ministry represents a fascinating hybrid. He appears to have been raised with or deeply influenced by the Essene community at Qumran - evidenced by his use of Isaiah 40 (the Essenes’ defining passage), his practice of baptism of repentance rather than mere ritual washing, and his father Zechariah being a righteous priest who would not have dedicated his son to the corrupt temple system. Yet John took the Essene worldview and brought it on mission, refusing to simply wait in the desert for people to seek the way, instead going out and bringing the path to the people.

The baptism John practiced - tavilah t’shuvah - was not Christian baptism but Jewish baptism of repentance. It was a public declaration made by individuals who had decided to turn from walking in error and begin walking in obedience. Significantly, baptism was self-performed (individuals immersed themselves), and John required “fruit in keeping with repentance” - demonstrable life change - before he would allow religious leaders to participate. He rejected mere external ritual and ethnic identity (“we have Abraham as our father”), insisting on genuine heart transformation.

John’s message called people back to God’s original plot - the call to bless all nations through hospitality, generosity, and obedient trust. He challenged the corruption of the Sadducees and the exclusionary practices of the Pharisees, possibly providing baptism to tax collectors, soldiers, and other cultural outcasts who were shut out of the temple system. This was extraordinarily bold: a priestly descendant offering mikveh outside the established religious structures.

Yet the episode leaves us with a crucial unresolved question: Did John correctly understand what Messiah had come to do? John’s theology was saturated with judgment language - axes at the root of trees, winnowing forks purging threshing floors, baptism with fire. He expected Messiah to bring immediate judgment on the corrupt systems. But Jesus said He came “not to condemn the world but to save it.” If John functioned as Jesus’s rabbi (as the evidence suggests), this creates a profound tension: at what point would Jesus need to step outside His rabbi’s theological framework? Had John learned the lesson God taught Elijah - that fire and passion don’t always transform the human heart?

This episode challenges us to hold multiple truths in tension: prophetic courage is valuable even when theology is incomplete; genuine repentance requires demonstrable life change, not just religious ritual; and the mission of Jesus may surprise even those who prepare the way for Him. John got much right - but the fullness of Messiah’s mission would exceed and redirect even this passionate prophet’s expectations.

Note: These study notes are designed to be used alongside the BEMA podcast episode for deeper understanding. For discussion group resources and additional materials, visit bemadiscipleship.com.

Original Notes

  • David Stern: A messianic Jewish Teach in Jerusalem. Wrote the CJB translation and the Jewish New Testament Commentary.
    • I believe this is the translation the Marty uses for his daily writing discipline.
    • Stern prefers some specific terms in lieu of traditional ones like Immerser instead of Baptizer.
    • Stern also has some views that Marty disagrees with. For instance, he believes that Jewish people become apostates the moment they are baptized. This is part of the reason why he chooses Immerser in his translation.
  • Matt 3:1-19
    • Isaiah 40 is quoted in Matt. 3. This is also mentioned in the episode about the Essenes.
      • We know that John the Baptist’s (JTB) father is a Righteous priest.
      • We cannot say that Zechariah was an essene but we can be certain that he doesn’t align with the Temple Priesthood.
      • However, parents could dedicate their children to the priesthood. In lieu of the temple priesthood, he could have sent JTB to the Essenes for this training.
      • JTB baptizes Jesus in the Jordan less than three miles away from the Qumran.
      • You are FEELING ESSENE while reading about JTB by mentioning Isaiah.
    • Why is JTB wearing camel’s hair and a leather belt?
      • Camel’s hair would have been worn with the hair facing the skin and would have felt like a brillo pad. Not a typical clothing choice.
      • Why? It’s in the Text.
      • Elijah wore camel’s hair and a leather belt as well. 2 Kings 1:5-8 “…They replied, “He had a garment of hair[fn] and had a leather belt around his waist.” The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”
      • Elijah was all about the fire. He always wore the camel’s hair facing the skin so the is always reminded of how irritated God is with his people.
      • JTB is wearing his Elijah costume. “I am Elijah.” Matthew, the Jew, writing to his audience, the Jews, would have immediately picked this up. No need to preach a 3-point sermon about who he is.
      • Why wear the costume? Because his message aligns with Elijah’s. Elijah was zealous, passionate, will show everyone that his God is the real God.
        • Also, there was a lesson that God was trying to teach Elijah. That there is a place for zeal but it’s not what changes hearts.
      • Some students of the text have pointed out that JTB was performing Mikvah for people who were not allowed to perform Mikvah at the temple.
  • Types of baptism.
    • Two types: Pharisee and Essene
    • JTB wasn’t doing a Christian baptism (Jesus wasn’t around yet). Instead he was doing a Jewish baptism. This is Mikvah.
    • Pharisee Baptism
      • We would have seen this in Synagogue.
      • Marty’s kosher deli story about mikvah in the back.
      • Jesus was chastised for not performing ritual hand washing before eating. This is about spiritual cleansing and not a physical cleansing.
      • Jesus critiqued Pharisaical cleansing all of the time. He did not condemn it though. Jesus likely performed it all of the time.
      • Marty performs a daily mikvah in the shower.
      • This is a daily prayerful liturgical activity rather than one of repentance.
    • Essene Baptism
      • This is a baptism of repentance. That is t’shuvah (which was our word for Zepheniah).
      • The Essenes said, when you baptize, it is not just a ritual washing you do before you eat. It is a washing of repentance.
      • When you decide that you have been walking in sin and error and instead you want to walk in the light, you repent. Once you have repented, and not before, you tell EVERYONE THAT IS WATCHING, I have decided publicly that I have been in error and I’m going to start walking accurately. That is a baptism of repentance.
      • One would immerse themselves. Being baptized by another is a Christian detail. Baptized by JTB would have meant by his authority, not necessarily by JTB.
  • JTB’s three places of baptism: These
    • Bethany beyond the Jordan where Elijah was fed by the Ravens
    • Aenon beyond the Shaleme where Elijah…
    • Judean Wilderness where Elijah…
    • JTB’s message is “you are in sin and you need to repent” just like Elijah.
  • Examples of Repentance?
    • What should I do? If you have two cloaks, give one away. If you have plenty, share it.
    • Even though we say JTB was Essene like, this is where he departs from the Essene worldview. He chooses to meet the people and take the path to them rather than waiting for the path to come to him.
  • Essene mikvah while copying the text
    • Essene scribes would pause and mikvah before writing the name of Adonai (yud hey vav hey).
  • JTB calls the Pharisees and the Sadducees a brood of vipers.
    • He tells them to produce fruit that represents repentance. PROVE that you’ve repented before you take on this baptism.
    • JTB is inviting the people of God, not the Pharisees and Sadducees. This is partly why some believe JTB was performing mikvah for those who weren’t allowed to do so at the temple. The Sadducees and Pharisees had created their own temple purity system and JTB rejected that.
    • John uses a metaphor about an ax being at the root of the tree and dead trees not producing fruit would be thrown into the fire. Matthew also mentions “the winnowing fork is in his hand… he stands at his threshing floor…” The temple was built on the threshing floor.
      • Which gospel makes this mention?
    • Why does JTB use this imagery? This is JTB throwing down fire on the priesthood. Calling down God’s judgment on them.
    • JTB makes references to holy spirit and fire (another gospel with water and fire).
      • The first reference to major water is the flood which was a reference to judgment.
      • Baptism with fire would reference Sodom and Gomorrah.
      • Water and Fire would make reference to the plagues and Exodus.
  • Does JTB have a correct assessment of the situation?
    • JTB is calling people out, rebuking, bringing judgment… but does he have all of his theology right? Is the bible asking us to consider this question?
    • Did JTB learn Elijah’s lesson?
    • How does a later conversation between Jesus and JTB allude to the answer to this question?
    • Marty argues that JTB is the rabbi of Jesus and that somewhere along the way, Jesus will step out of the way and tell JTB that he has his theology wrong.
  • How could John have been Jesus’ Rabbi?
    • Jesus wouldn’t have followed the typical educational model
    • Jesus was a mumzer. He would not have been allowed to attend Beit Sefer, Beit Talmud/Midrash.
    • His family would have likely trained him.
    • Is it typical for a rabbi to be six months older than a disciple? No. Jesus wasn’t typical though.
    • Every interaction Jesus has with John would be an interaction a person would expect a disciple to have with his Rabbi.
    • Bruce Chilton’s book, Rabbi Jesus on Amazon.

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