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The Jews had so many purifyings, some legal, instituted by God, ordained by Moses as God’s minister; some traditional, brought in by the Pharisees, as their washings before meat, Mat_15:1-20 Mar_7:1-23; that seemeth a hard thing to determine what the question was between John’s disciples and the Jews, about what purifying; and the boldest determiners in this case are no better than guessers. Some would have baptism to be meant here by
purifying. It would much conduce to the resolution of the question if we knew what these Jews were with whom John’s disciples argued. If they were of the Pharisees, it is probable the question was about John’s baptism, considering the frequent washings and purifyings that they had in use amongst them. If they were other Jews, the question might be about the virtue and efficacy of the ceremonial washings, ordained by the law of God, whether they were mere types, and now to cease? Whether in themselves they conduced any thing to the washing and cleansing of a soul? If these Jews were (as some think, but I know not how it can be proved) disciples of Christ, the question might be about John’s and Christ’s baptism. This notion seemeth to be favoured by what went before; where the evangelist had been speaking of baptism, as administered by Christ’s disciples, and by John; as also from what followeth, viz. John’s disciples coming to him and complaining, that Christ by his disciples baptized more than their master. But there seemeth to be this great prejudice against the notion of those learned men that have embraced that notion, viz. That the question is said to have risen between John’s disciples and the Jews; now we want an instance in Scripture, where the disciples of John are put in opposition to the disciples of Christ, and under notion of the Jews; the term Jews generally signifying that part of the people who adhered to the Judaical rites and religion; especially where (as here) it is used in opposition either to the disciples of John or of Christ. It is most probable therefore the question was, either about the washings ordained by the law of Moses, or about the traditional washings observed by the Pharisees.