John 4 John 4 John 4 is the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The Pharisees learn that Jesus is baptizing more people than John the Baptist. notes that "... in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples", although clearly suggests that Jesus himself was baptizing - "that man who was with you (John the Baptist) on the other side of the Jordan". Jesus learns this, leaves Judea, and sets off to return to Galilee. records that in order to reach Galilee it was necessary to pass through Samaria, although
Historicity of Jesus the early Christian Church would have never wanted to invent. Based on this criterion, given that John baptised for the remission of sins, and Jesus was viewed as without sin, the invention of this story would have served no purpose, and would have been an embarrassment given that it positioned John above Jesus. Amy-Jill Levine has summarized the situation by stating that "there is a consensus of sorts on the basic outline of Jesus' life" in that most scholars agree that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and over a period of one to three years debated Jewish authorities