40. Comp. the long illustrations in the Midr. on Song i. 15; Sanh. 95 a; Ber. R. 39; Yalkut
on Ps. 1v. 7. and other passages.
The lengthened details, which have been necessary for the exposure of the mythical
theory, will not have been without use, if they carry to the mind the conviction that this
history had no basis in existing Jewish belief. Its origin cannot, therefore, be rationally
accounted for, except by the answer which Jesus, when He came to Jordan, gave to that
grand fundamental question: 'The Baptism of John, whence was it? From Heaven, or of
men?'41
41. St. Matt. xxi. 25.
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The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah
by Alfred Edersheim
Philologos Edition: 2.0
"... freely ye have received, freely give." (Mat 10:8)