John 3:22, The Judea Baptisms

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 

After spending the Passover in the more densely populated city of Jerusalem, where he was rejected by the Jewish leadership, Jesus heads out to the countryside accompanied by his disciples. He returned to the area where he met his first disciples, the area where John the baptizer had baptized him. 

John the baptizer had done the preparatory work. He had preached and offered an invitation to people to be cleansed from their sins, and now Jesus continued this work, calling people to himself while John’s ministry pointed people to Jesus. 

It makes sense that Jesus’ ministry would offer the invitation to baptism, as we learn from John. “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Water baptism conveyed the sign of the new birth and the promised cleansing by God, as Jesus explained to Nicodemus. Baptism fulfilled the great prophecy of Ezekiel 36:25-27.  

Jesus’ disciples were most likely doing the baptizing and not Jesus himself, as John explains later in 4:2. This verse gives us insight into the early days of Jesus’ ministry. His disciples were not simply standing around and watching. As people came to understand their need to repent and respond to Jesus, the disciples participated in Jesus’ ministry. This was not a one-man show but a true movement of people gathered by Jesus to serve in ministry together. 

Consider what ministry you do for Jesus. Are you helping to lead people to him and minister to them? Whatever your answer, spend time talking with Jesus about this topic.