Baptism at the church in Shiraz

 While John the Baptist’s use of a deep river for his baptism suggests immersion, “The fact that he chose a permanent and deep river suggests that more than a token quantity of water was needed, and both the preposition ‘in’ (the Jordan) and the basic meaning of the verb ‘baptize’ probably indicate immersion. In v. 16, Matthew will speak of Jesus ‘coming up out of the water’. The traditional depiction in Christian art of John the Baptist pouring water over Jesus’ head may therefore be based on later Christian practice.”