Matthew 3:4-6

In his dress and in his food, as well as in his habitat and in his message, John associated himself with the poor and the prophets, particularly Elijah (cf. 2 Kings 1:8; Zechariah 13:4; Malachi 4:5).

"In view of the considerable Jewish interest in the eschatological role of Elijah (see on Matthew 11:14 and Matthew 17:10-11) it is likely that John’s clothing was deliberately adopted to promote this image." [Note: France, The Gospel . . ., p. 106.]

Likewise, John may have selected his venue for ministry because of its associations with Elijah. Poor people ate locusts (Leviticus 11:22), and such a diet was compatible with that of a Nazirite. John called the people to get right with God because the appearing of their Messiah was imminent. Elijah had called the Israelites back to God at the time of their most serious apostasy. John called them back to God on the eve of their greatest opportunity. He was the first prophet from God in approximately 400 years.

Many people responded to John because they perceived that he was a genuine prophet with a message from God (Matthew 3:5).

Baptism represented purification to the Jews. Ceremonial washings were part of the Mosaic system of worship (Exodus 19; Leviticus 15; Numbers 19). When a Gentile became a proselyte to Judaism, he or she underwent baptism. But John baptized Jews. John’s baptism carried these connotations of cleansing with it, but it was different. In the other types of ceremonial cleansing, the person washed himself or herself. John, on the other hand, baptized other people. He probably received the name "John the Baptist" or "Baptizer" for this reason. [Note: Ethelbert Stauffer, New Testament Theology, p. 22.]

John’s baptism did not make a person a member of the church, the body of Christ, since the church had not yet come into existence (Matthew 16:18). It simply gave public testimony to that Jewish person’s repentance and commitment to live a holy life. Lenski, a Lutheran commentator, believed that John baptized by effusion (pouring) rather than by immersion. [Note: Lenski, p. 101.] It is impossible to identify the method of baptism John used from what the Gospels tell us. However extrabiblical sources indicate that Jewish proselyte baptism took place in large tanks (Heb. mikvah) in which the person undergoing baptism stood. [Note: See Edersheim, 2:745-49; A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, s.v. "Baptism," by Marcus Dodds.] The issue boils down to whether one takes the word "baptism" in its primary sense of submersion or in its secondary sense of initiation. [Note: Walvoord, Matthew: . . ., p. 31.] Likewise it is unclear whether the confession involved public or private acts.