And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
- BSB “Into what, then, were you baptized?” Paul asked. “The baptism of John,” they replied.
- NKJV And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
- NASB And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
- NLT “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked. And they replied, “The baptism of John.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul asked into what they had been baptized, and they answered, into John's baptism.
Overview
Their baptism was John's baptism of repentance, which pointed forward to the coming Messiah but did not itself convey the new-covenant gift of the Spirit. This explained their incomplete understanding. The exchange shows Paul carefully diagnosing where their faith stood before leading them to the fullness of the gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Acts 18:25This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
- Matt 28:19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
- 1 Cor 12:13For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
- Luke 3:1–38Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
- Matt 3:1–17In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
- Acts 8:16(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 19:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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