We typically speak of baptism in doctrinal terms, using biblical patterns and Greek lexicons to define its how and why. Archaeology provides another voice to illuminate our understanding.
The New Testament introduces the practice of baptism with John the Baptist. All four Gospels note his “baptism of repentance,” but no account describes the method in detail. Our modern translations confuse the matter further by using a transliterated term that carries broad definitions today. Was ancient baptism an immersion, or was it closer to pouring or sprinkling? While Mark 1:10 may hint at immersion by noting Jesus “came up out of the water” (ESV), the text does not elaborate on how the process worked.
Why does the Bible not describe baptism in more detail? No explanation was needed in Christianity’s early days because people already understood it. Jewish literary sources reveal the ancient practice involved immersion, and archaeology has uncovered widespread evidence that Jewish communities practiced ritual immersion around the first century AD. Even today, observant Jews continue to perform ritual immersion on certain occasions.
Archaeological Evidence
We have broad physical evidence of its popular use in Jesus’s time. Archaeologists have uncovered hundreds of ancient ritual immersion pools from around the time of Jesus in Judea and Galilee, and even in further locations where Jews also lived, such as southern France. These ancient pools are called mikvaot (singular mikveh) and were equivalent to our modern “baptistries” for immersing a person in water. Mikvaot are typically found next to ancient synagogue sites, and dozens have been revealed in excavations around Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.
Jewish Ritual Immersion
Jews would regularly immerse themselves in a mikveh to purify themselves for worship in the Temple or a synagogue. This immersion was not connected with forgiveness of sin but was considered an extension of the priestly washing rituals in the Torah (Exod. 29:1-4; 30:20, et al.). Jews also considered the mikveh immersion ritual to be consistent with the pattern of water immersions in the Old Testament. The “good” Creation had emerged from water (Gen. 1:2, 6-7). The Great Flood washed sin from the world in Noah’s time (Gen. 7-8; 1 Pet. 3:20). Israel escaped slavery and was “baptized” into the Law of Moses under the guiding cloud and through the waters of the Red Sea (1 Cor. 10:1-2). Israel received the Promised Land after passing through the waters of the Jordan. These patterns, combined with required washings in the Torah, gradually created a “water purification” mindset among Jews. The concept of the mikveh arose from this during the intertestamental period and was widespread by Jesus’s time.
Widespread Practice
Mikvaot have been found in nearly every place where Jews lived. Visitors to the Bible lands may observe them in Roman-period sites such as Magdala, Chorazin, and Gamla. The Jewish religious sect at Qumran, by the Dead Sea, had multiple pools to satisfy its elevated demand for ritual purity. In Jerusalem, visitors may identify mikvaot of various sizes around the southern and southwestern ends of the Temple Mount. The apostle Paul was immersed in one of these in Acts 21:26. The text states that Paul “purified himself… and went into the Temple.”
Christian Baptism
With this understanding, first-century people needed no explanation of how baptism worked with John. They already knew baptism involved immersion in water. Observant Jews were immersed in mikvaot hundreds or more times in their lives. When Peter told listeners to be immersed “in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38), everyone understood his instruction and knew where it could be done. The occasion in Acts 2, however, had a key difference: God redefined the purpose of the immersion and supercharged it with the power of Jesus’s blood. Biblical immersion in the name of Jesus washed away sin once and for all time. With the first Christian baptisms in the name of Jesus, the ritual mikveh immersion became obsolete.
Conclusion
Today, we are separated from the common first-century understanding of baptism by some 2,000 years. Archaeology reinforces the understanding that baptism was an immersion in water, practiced in virtually every place where Jews lived during the time of Christ. Gospel baptism evokes the ancient mikveh immersion ritual, but with the tremendous and lasting effect of forgiveness. The next time we consider a modern baptistry, we can recognize its ancient nature and appreciate its long connection with biblical patterns and events.
- Truth Magazine, January 2026