Why pharisees came to see john?

Answer 1

JOHN was the one sent by God before Jesus

[John was indeed the one prophecied to come before the LORD (Isaiah 40 & Malachi 3).

"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. " Matthew 3:1-3

Furthermore, the people who came to John repented of their sins and then they were baptized; therefore, it is said John's was the baptism of repentance:

"Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." Acts 19:4

However, the Gospel account recorded in John, gives some insight into "baptism" and the Jews:

"And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias?

And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

He said, I [am] the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?" John 1:19-25

Clearly, the Pharisees were not surprised that John was baptizing; they were surprised he was baptizing if he were not Christ, Elias, or "that prophet" (Deut 18). Yeshua (Jesus) was Messiah (Christ) and "that prophet" prophecied in Deut 18.

The Old Testament does not refer to baptism, but the Jews had (and still have) a ritual cleansing called a Mikveh. The Mikveh was a ritual purification in which the person is fully immersed in water. Mikvehs were not done in the temple, but in rivers, pools, or even homes. This practice correlates very well with the baptism of John.

Of course, the baptism later became the way followers of Messiah professed their faith in the one true God (the sinful man symbolically dying, and the spiritual man symbolically born; it is also a type and a shadow of the ressurection to come when Messiah returns).]

And all the people that heard [him], and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him." So I believe the answer to the question is that that Pharisees and Sadducees came to John to find what was going on and who the madman was. John exclaimed to them in Matthew 3:8, 'Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:' , which indicates that they, the all powerful religious leaders of the Jews needed to repent and start living a more righteous life with goodly works and loving hearts before being considered for baptism in the Kingdom of God. Getting back to the new phenomena - Baptism - that had arrived in Israel, one could argue that the reason the Jews, especially the Pharisees and Sadducees, were not at all surprised by the act of baptism was because John the Baptist had preached this doctrine or in other word, preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the area for many days, weeks or months and that the people had become accustomed to it. I doubt this also. It is in my opinion that repentance and the remission of sins through Baptism began when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. Prior to this they knew not what was good or evil and they were not ashamed to walk naked in the Garden. When they ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil they knew, and were ashamed of their nakedness. They fell from the presence of God and from that time forth they and their sons and daughters had the freedom to choose, whether it be good or evil. To be consistent with the order and purpose of baptism, the Gospel of Jesus Christ would have been preach and baptism for the remission of sins preformed. I will leave all you good people with a verse from Jeremiah 52:20 concerning the Brazen Sea that was in Solomon's temple, "The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brazen bulls that [were] under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD:…" I believe the Brazen Sea, to be a font for Baptisms>

Answer 2

The Pharisees came to him for baptism. (Matthew 3:7,8)