Section 3:22–30
John the Baptist told his disciples that Jesus was greater than him
John’s disciples had an argument with another Jew. They argued about whether John’s baptism or Jesus’ baptism was better. John told his disciples that he was just there to tell people that Jesus was the Savior. So Jesus should get more followers. Jesus was superior to him.
Here are some other possible section headings:
Jesus was more important than John the Baptist
-or-
John the Baptist told the truth that he knew about Jesus
Paragraph 3:22–26
John’s disciples began to discuss ceremonial washing. They told John that Jesus was baptizing more people than he was. John said that Jesus was superior to him and should get more disciples.
3:22a
After this: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as After this indicates a change in the time setting of the story. For example:
On another occasion
-or-
Later (God’s Word)
Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean countryside: This clause tells the place setting for the next part of the story. The Greek more literally says Jesus and His disciples “went into the land of Judea,” as in the Revised Standard Version. Jesus had earlier been in Jerusalem. See 2:13, 2:23. Jerusalem was a city in the province or region of Judea. So it may be natural to translate the clause in this way:
Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside (New Living Translation (2004))
disciples: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as disciples refers to “learners” in a learner-teacher relationship. The disciple followed his teacher in order to learn from him and live based on his teaching and example. See how you translated this word in 1:35.
Judean countryside: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Judean countryside refers to that part of Judea that was outside the towns. It included farms, villages, and wild country.
3:22b
where He spent some time with them: The word He refers to Jesus and the word them to his disciples or followers. Here is another way to translate this clause:
where he stayed with his followers (New Century Version)
spent some time: The Greek text does not indicate how much time Jesus spent (how long Jesus stayed) in the Judean countryside. It is good to use a general expression. For example:
where he stayed (New Century Version)
If you must indicate how long Jesus stayed there, it is recommended that you indicate that it was several weeks.
and baptized: In some languages it is more natural to include the object, people. For example:
and baptized people (New Century Version)
baptized: The verb baptized means to wash a person with water in a religious ritual. This religious ritual represented purification from sin. It was a sign that someone had repented. It also marked the beginning of a person’s life as one of God’s pure people.
Here are some ways to translate the word baptized in this context:
• Use a descriptive term. For example:
⌊ritually⌋ wash
-or-
accept ⌊people⌋ as believers in/with water
• Use a term for a similar ritual that is already used in your culture. You may need to indicate that in this context it has a special connection with God. For example:
show that God has purified people with a ceremonial bath
-or-
wash people for God
• Use a term that is already accepted by the local churches. In some areas this term may have been borrowed from the national language or transliterated from Greek or English.
You may need to use footnotes or a glossary to explain the meaning more completely.
See the note and how you translated this term in 1:25a. See also Key Biblical Terms baptize, baptism A2.
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