Church Fathers Commentary John 1:24-28

"And they had been sent from the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize in water: in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not, [even] he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing." — John 1:24-28 (ASV)

Origen of Alexandria: After the questions of the priests and Levites were answered, another mission comes from the Pharisees: And they that were sent were of the Pharisees. Based on the discourse itself, I would conjecture that this was the third time John gave his testimony. Observe the mildness of the first question, which was so fitting for the priestly and Levitical character: Who are you? There is nothing arrogant or disrespectful, but only what is proper for true ministers of God.

The Pharisees, however, being a sectarian body, as their name implies, address the Baptist in an insistent and insulting way. They said, Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? They were not seeking information, but only wanted to stop him from baptizing. Yet the very next thing they did was come to John’s baptism. The explanation for this is that they did not come in faith, but hypocritically, because they feared the people.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, those same priests and Levites were Pharisees, and after failing to undermine him with flattery, they began accusing him, having compelled him to state what he was not. They asked him, saying, Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? This was as if baptizing were an act of audacity for him, since he was neither the Christ, nor His forerunner, nor His herald—that is, the Prophet.

St. Gregory the Great: A saint, even when questioned with ill intent, is never diverted from the pursuit of goodness. Thus, John counters their envious words with words of life. John answered them, saying, I baptize with water.

Origen of Alexandria: For how else could the question, Why then do you baptize?, be answered, other than by explaining the physical nature of his own baptism?

St. Gregory the Great: John does not baptize with the Spirit, but with water. Since he is not able to remit sins, he washes the bodies of the baptized with water, but not their souls with pardon. Why then does he baptize, when he does not remit sins by baptism? He does so to maintain his role as a forerunner. Just as his birth preceded our Lord’s, so his baptism precedes our Lord’s baptism. He who was the forerunner of Christ in His preaching is also the forerunner in His baptism, which was an imitation of that Sacrament. At the same time, he announces the mystery of our redemption, saying that He, the Redeemer, is standing in the midst of men, and they do not know it: There stands one among you, whom you do not know. For our Lord, when He appeared in the flesh, was visible in body but invisible in majesty.

St. John Chrysostom: One among you. It was fitting that Christ should mix with the people and be one of the many, showing His humility everywhere. Whom you do not know—that is, not in the most absolute and certain sense; not knowing who He is or from where He comes.

St. Augustine of Hippo: In His humble state He was not seen, and therefore the candle was lit.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or, it was that our Lord was in the midst of the Pharisees, and they did not know Him. They thought they knew the Scriptures, and since our Lord was pointed out there, He was in their midst—that is, in their hearts. But they did not know Him, because they did not understand the Scriptures. Or, take another interpretation: He was in their midst as the mediator between God and man, wishing to bring them, the Pharisees, to God. But they did not know Him.

Origen of Alexandria: Or, another way to understand this is as follows. Having said, I baptize with water, in answer to the question, Why then do you baptize?—he then replies to the question, If you are not the Christ? by declaring the preexistent substance of Christ. He explains that Christ's substance was of such power that, though His Godhead was invisible, He was present to everyone and pervaded the whole world, as is conveyed in the words, There stands one among you.

For it is He who has diffused Himself through the whole system of nature, so much so that everything that is created was created by Him: All things were made by Him. From this it is evident that even those who asked John, Why then do you baptize?, had Him among them.

Alternatively, the words, There stands one among you, can be understood as referring to mankind generally. Because we are rational beings, it follows that the Word exists in our center, just as the heart, the source of motion within us, is situated in the center of the body. Those who carry the Word within them but are ignorant of its nature, its source, its beginning, and the way it resides in them—these people, hearing the Word within them, do not know it. But John recognized Him and reproached the Pharisees, saying, Whom you do not know.

For although the Pharisees were expecting Christ’s coming, they had formed no lofty conception of Him, but supposed He would be only a holy man. Therefore, John briefly refutes their ignorance and their false ideas about His excellence. He said "stands" because just as the Father "stands"—that is, exists without variation or change—so the Word stands forever in the work of salvation, even though He assumes flesh, is in the midst of men, and stands invisible.

However, so that no one would think that the invisible One who comes to all people and to the entire world is different from Him who was made man and appeared on the earth, John adds, He who comes after me, meaning, "who will appear after me." Here, "after" does not have the same meaning as when Christ calls us to come "after" Him, for in that case we are told to follow Him, so that by treading in His steps we may attain to the Father. Instead, the word is used here to indicate what would follow John’s teaching. For John came so that all might believe, having been gradually prepared by his ministry through lesser things for the reception of the perfect Word. Therefore, he said, It is He who comes after me.

St. John Chrysostom: It is as if he said, "Do not think that everything is contained in my baptism, for if my baptism were perfect, another would not come after me with another baptism." This baptism of mine is merely an introduction to the other and will soon pass away, like a shadow or an image. There is One coming after me to establish the truth, and therefore this is not a perfect baptism; if it were, there would be no room for a second. For this reason he adds, Who is made before me—that is, who is more honorable, more lofty.

St. Gregory the Great: Made before me means "preferred before me." He comes after me—that is, He is born after me. He is made before me—that is, He is preferred to me.

St. John Chrysostom: But so that you would not think this is a matter of simple comparison, he immediately shows it to be a superiority beyond all comparison: whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie. It is as if he said, "He is so far superior to me that I am unworthy to be numbered even among the lowest of His attendants," since untying a sandal was the most menial kind of service.

St. Augustine of Hippo: If he had pronounced himself worthy even of untying His sandal strap, he would have been thinking too highly of himself.

St. Gregory the Great: Or, consider this: It was a law in the old covenant that if a man refused to take the woman who by right was to be his wife, the next kinsman in line to be the husband should untie his sandal. In what role did Christ appear in the world, if not as the Spouse of the Holy Church? John, then, very properly pronounced himself unworthy to untie this sandal strap, as if to say, "I cannot uncover the feet of the Redeemer, for I do not claim the title of spouse, to which I have no right."

The passage may also be explained in another way. We know that shoes are made from the skins of dead animals. Our Lord, then, when He came in the flesh, put on shoes, as it were, because in His Divinity He took on the flesh of our corruption, in which we had perished on our own. The sandal strap is the seal upon the mystery. John is not able to untie the sandal strap; that is, even he cannot penetrate the mystery of the Incarnation. So he seems to say: "What wonder is it that He is preferred before me? I contemplate Him who was born after me, yet I cannot comprehend the mystery of His birth."

Origen of Alexandria: A certain person has understood the passage quite well in this way: "I am not so important that for my sake He should descend from His high dwelling and take flesh upon Himself, as if it were a shoe."

St. John Chrysostom: Since John had preached about Christ publicly and with fitting boldness, the Evangelist mentions the place of his preaching: These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. For John did not preach Christ in a house or a corner, but beyond the Jordan, in the midst of a multitude, and in the presence of all whom he had baptized. Some copies read more correctly "Bethabara," for Bethany was not beyond the Jordan or in the desert, but near Jerusalem.

Glossa Ordinaria: Or, we must suppose there were two Bethanies: one across the Jordan, and the other on this side, not far from Jerusalem—the Bethany where Lazarus was raised from the dead.

St. John Chrysostom: He also mentions this for another reason: since he was relating events that had only recently happened, he could, by referring to the place, appeal to the testimony of those who were present and saw them.

Alcuin of York: The meaning of Bethany is "house of obedience," which suggests to us that all must approach baptism through the obedience of faith.

Origen of Alexandria: Bethabara means "house of preparation," which is fitting for the baptism of the one who was making ready a people prepared for the Lord. Jordan, in turn, means "their descent."

What is this river but our Savior, through whom all who come into this world must be cleansed, in that He came down not for His own sake, but for theirs? This is the river that separates the inheritance given by Moses from that given by Jesus; its streams make glad the city of God.

Just as the serpent lies hidden in the Egyptian river, so God lies hidden in this one, for the Father is in the Son. Therefore, whoever goes there to be washed lays aside the reproach of Egypt, is made fit to receive the inheritance, is cleansed from leprosy, is made capable of a double portion of grace, and is ready to receive the Holy Spirit. Nor does the spiritual dove land upon any other river.

John, then, baptizes beyond the Jordan as the forerunner of Him who came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.