It is quite inconceivable that anyone could have been baptized by John himself without, right then, hearing about the Holy Spirit from the Spirit-filled and Spirit-witnessing John himself. However, the ‘Spirit-less’ rite referred to in Acts 19:3b — was quite devoid of the Spirit.
Consequently, it could not have been Johannine. Indeed, that Spirit-less water-rite — previously received, if at all, by the Spirit-less men who now met Paul in Ephesus — could itself have started probably only after John’s own death.
Paul explained baptism to the unbaptized unitarians
This is why Paul now explained,92 to those ignorant unitarians at Ephesus, the nature of the true Christian baptism which John himself had indeed administered. “Then Paul said: ‘John truly baptized with the baptism of repentance, while saying to the people that they should believe in Him Who would come after him’ — that is, in Christ Jesus” the Spirit-anointed One.
