Did Jesus Baptize Anyone?
Did Jesus Baptize Anyone?
In John 3:22, it states: "After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing," (John 3:22 NASB1995).
In John 4:2, it states: "(although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were)," (John 4:2 NASB1995).
John 3 seems to say Jesus baptized people while John 4 seems to contradict this; however, this is a misreading of the text.
The point John is getting at is that the disciples baptized the crowds under Jesus' authority. John seems to be parroting a common literary practice where a person would write an authority did an act when instead it was those who did something under another's authority. As Barnes explains: "Jesus did not Himself administer the ordinance of baptism, but his disciples did it by his direction and authority," (Barnes). Ellicot also explains: "This is a correction, not of the writer’s statement, but of the report carried to the Pharisees," (Ellicot). There is no contradiction in the text; rather, the argument comes from a lack of understanding of how John's style of writing.
References:
Barnes' Notes on the New Testament. United Kingdom, Kregel Publications, 1962.
Ellicott's Bible Commentary, Volume 1. N.p., Delmarva Publications, Inc., 2015.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.