Why did John the Baptist baptize Jews?

Answer 1

John performed a ritual called the Mikvah to the Jews. It was not Baptism. He did it differently from Jewish law though.

Baptism, from Greek βαπτίζω (baptízô), is a religious act of purification by water usually associated with admission to membership or fullness of membership of Christianity. Because of the word's association with Christianity and its periodically repeated character, the Jewish purification rite of mikvah is not normally spoken of as baptism.

Mikvah (or mikveh) (Hebrew: מִקְוָה, Standard MiqvaTiberian Miqwāh; plural: mikva'ot or mikves) is a specific type of bath designed for the purpose of ritual washing in Judaism. The word "mikvah", as used in the Hebrew Bible, literally means a "collection" - generally, a collection of water.

Several biblical regulations specify that full immersion in water is required to regain ritual purity after ritually impure incidents have occurred. Most forms of impurity can be nullified through immersion in any natural collection of water. Some, such as a Zav, however require "living water," such as springs or groundwater wells. Living water has the further advantage of being able to purify even while flowing as opposed to rainwater which must be stationary in order to purify.

The mikvah is designed to simplify this requirement, by providing a bathing facility that remains in ritual contact with a natural source of water. Its main uses nowadays are:

• by Jewish women to achieve ritual purity after menstruation or childbirth
• by Jewish men to achieve ritual purity (see details below)
• as part of a traditional procedure for conversion to Judaism
• for utensils used for food

John's baptism was an adaptation of the mikvah, or ritual immersion bath, that had been part of Jewish life for generations and symbolized a spiritual cleansing. It was used to consecrate a new beginning. Jewish men took a mikvah each Sabbath. Women took a mikvah after each monthly period.

On Yom Kippur the High Priest took 7 mikvot (plural of mikvah) during the ceremonies. Jesus came to John for a mikvah at the beginning of His ministry. The reason John had people take a mikvah was to show that they had changed their minds (repented) about their need for a Savior and were taking a new direction regarding their salvation. No longer would they focus on keeping the Law but would look instead to the coming redeemer whose arrival John was announcing. Once Jesus came, John's baptism of repentance was no longer needed, so it became a symbol of the believer's death and re-birth.

In Islam it's called; Wudu (Arabic: الوضوء al-wuḍū', Persian:آبدست ābdast, Turkish: abdest) is the Islamic act of washing parts of the body using water. Muslims are required to perform wudu in preparation for ritual prayers and for handling and reading the Qur'an. Wudu is often translated as "partial ablution", and Ghusl (غسل) is an Arabic term referring to the full ablution (ritual washing) required in Islam. In order to enter a state of purity before salat, a Muslim usually performs the partial ablution, or wudu. In some cases, it is mustahab (recommended) to perform ghusl. These cases include:

1. Friday prayer
2. Entering ehram for hajj
3. Being unconscious
4. Burying a mushrik
5. Before going out for the Eid prayer
6. After a new Muslim takes shahada for the first time
7. Before performing Namaz-e-tawbah (Shia Muslims).

In other cases a ghusl is obligatory. These cases are:

1. After having sexual intercourse or any discharge of semen or sexual fluids.
2. After a woman completes her menstrual cycle.
3. Death away from the battlefield.

Answer 2

Jesus was baptised to set an example for everyone else.