Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 3:14

"But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" — Matthew 3:14 (ASV)

John forbad him—or better, sought to hinder Him. Here again we have a question we cannot fully answer. Did John forbid Him in this way because he knew Him to be the Christ? If so, how did that knowledge come? Had they known each other before, in their youth or manhood? Or did a special inspiration reveal the character of the one who now approached? The narrative in Matthew seems to imply such knowledge.

On the other hand, the Baptist’s words in John 1:33 not only imply but assert that he did not know Him until after the wonders of the Baptism.

Therefore, the sequence of events was probably this: The Lord Jesus came to be baptized as others did, though it seems not with others. He confessed no sins. His look, tone, words, and silence all spoke of a sinless and stainless life—a life that, even in approximate examples, impresses us with a kind of awe in the presence of holiness's majesty.

Recognizing that holiness, the Baptist spoke as he did: “I have need to be baptized by you, to sit at your feet and learn lessons of purity and a change of heart from you.”