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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 28, 1872

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 39, No. 24.

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Questions and Answers.

QUESTION. Will you please harmonize John 3:22 and John 4:2. One reads that our Lord baptized and the other, that he baptized not, but his disciples. J. L.
ANSWER. We regard John 4:2 as explaining chapter 3:22, and other texts which say that Jesus baptized. The same expression is used in chap. 4:1, where we read that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.
Then this explanation is thrown in in verse 2: “Though Jesus baptized not, but his disciples.” That is, Jesus was said to make disciples and baptize, because he was the leader of the movement; but the actual work of baptizing was done by the disciples. This is a common method of speaking. For example, it is said of Herod that he rebuilt the temple; though probably not a stroke of the manual labor was performed by him.