Church Fathers Commentary John 3:27-30

"John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom`s voice: this my joy therefore is made full. He must increase, but I must decrease." — John 3:27-30 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: When this question was raised, John did not rebuke his disciples for fear they might separate and turn to some other school, but replied gently, saying, “A man can receive nothing, except it is given to him from heaven.” It is as if he said, “It is no wonder that Christ does such excellent works and that all people come to Him, when the One who does it all is God.” Human efforts are easily seen through; they are feeble and short-lived. These works are not like that; therefore, they are not of human but of divine origin. He seems, however, to speak somewhat humbly of Christ, which will not surprise us when we consider that it was not fitting to tell the whole truth to minds preoccupied with a passion like envy. For the present, he only tries to alarm them by showing that they are attempting impossible things and fighting against God.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or perhaps John is speaking here of himself: “I am a mere man and have received all from heaven; therefore, do not think that because it has been given to me to be something, I am so foolish as to speak against the truth.”

St. John Chrysostom: And see, the very argument by which they thought to have overthrown Christ—the one to whom you bore witness—he turns against them. “You yourselves bear me witness that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but that I am sent before him.” It is as if he said, “If you think my testimony is true, you must acknowledge Him as more worthy of honor than myself.” He adds, “but that I am sent before him,” which is to say, “I am a servant and perform the commission of the Father who sent me. My testimony is not from favoritism or partiality; I say what was given to me to say.”

The Venerable Bede: “Who are you then, since you are not the Christ, and who is He to whom you bear witness?” John replies, “He is the Bridegroom; I am the friend of the Bridegroom, sent to prepare the Bride for His approach. He that has the bride is the bridegroom.” By the Bride, he means the Church, gathered from among all nations: a virgin in purity of heart, in perfection of love, in the bond of peace, in chastity of mind and body, and in the unity of the Catholic faith. For she is a virgin in body in vain who does not remain a virgin in mind. Christ has joined this Bride to Himself in marriage and redeemed her with the price of His own blood.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Christ is the spouse of every soul. The wedlock in which they are joined is baptism; the place of that wedlock is the Church; the pledge of it is the remission of sins and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit; the consummation is eternal life, which those who are worthy shall receive. Christ alone is the Bridegroom; all other teachers are but the friends of the Bridegroom, as was the forerunner. The Lord is the giver of good; the rest are the dispensers of His gifts.

The Venerable Bede: Therefore, our Lord committed His Bride to His friend—that is, the order of preachers, who should be jealous for her, not for themselves, but for Christ. “The friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is as if he said, “She is not my spouse.” But do you therefore not rejoice in the marriage? “Yes, I rejoice,” he said, “because I am the friend of the Bridegroom.”

St. John Chrysostom: But how does he who said above, “Whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose,” call himself a friend? He does so not as an expression of equality, but of excessive joy (for the friend of the bridegroom is always more joyful than the servant), and also as a condescension to the weakness of his disciples, who thought he was pained by Christ’s rising influence. For he hereby assures them that, far from being pained, he was truly glad that the Bride recognized her Spouse.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But why does he stand? Because he does not fail, by reason of his humility. This is a sure ground to stand upon: “Whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.” Again, he stands and hears Him. So then, if he fails, he does not hear Him. Therefore, the friend of the Bridegroom ought to stand and hear—that is, to abide in the grace which he has received and to hear the voice in which he rejoices. “I do not rejoice,” he said, “because of my own voice, but because of the Bridegroom’s voice. I rejoice; I in hearing, He in speaking. I am the ear; He is the Word.”

For he who guards the bride or wife of his friend takes care that she loves no one else. If he wishes to be loved himself instead of his friend and to enjoy her who was entrusted to him, how detestable he appears to the whole world! Yet I see many adulterers who would gladly possess the spouse who was bought at so great a price, and who aim by their words to be loved themselves instead of the Bridegroom.

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, the expression “which stands” is not without meaning; it indicates that his part is now over and that for the future he must stand and listen. This is a transition from the parable to the real subject. For having introduced the figure of a bride and bridegroom, he shows how the marriage is consummated, namely, by word and doctrine. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” And since the things he had hoped for had come to pass, he adds, “This my joy therefore is fulfilled.” This means, “The work I had to do is finished, and there is nothing more left for me to do.”

Theophylact of Ohrid: For this reason, I rejoice now that all men follow Him. For if the bride—that is, the people—had not come out to meet the Bridegroom, then I, as the friend of the Bridegroom, would have grieved.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Alternatively, “This my joy is fulfilled” means my joy at hearing the Bridegroom’s voice. I have my gift; I claim no more, lest I lose what I have received. He who would rejoice in himself has sorrow, but he who would rejoice in the Lord will rejoice forever, because God is everlasting.

The Venerable Bede: He who knows that he should not rejoice in his own wisdom, but in the wisdom that God gives him, rejoices at hearing the Bridegroom’s voice. Whoever in his good works does not seek his own glory, praise, or earthly gain, but has his affections set on heavenly things—this man is the friend of the Bridegroom.

St. John Chrysostom: He next dismisses the impulse of envy, not only regarding the present but also the future, saying, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” It is as if he said, “My office has ceased and is ended, but His advances.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: What does this mean, “He must increase”? God neither increases nor decreases. John and Jesus, according to the flesh, were of the same age, for the six-month difference between them is of no consequence. This is a great mystery. Before our Lord came, men gloried in themselves. He came in humility as a man, so that the glory of man might be diminished and the glory of God exalted. For He came to forgive sins upon man’s confession; a man’s confession and a man’s humility are met by God’s mercy and God’s exaltation. This truth Christ and John proved, even by their modes of suffering: John was beheaded; Christ was lifted up on the cross.

Christ was born when the days begin to lengthen; John, when they begin to shorten. Let God’s glory, then, increase in us, and our own decrease, so that our glory may also increase in God. But it is because you understand God more and more that He seems to increase in you, for in His own nature He does not increase but is ever perfect. It is just as for a man cured of blindness, who begins to see a little and daily sees more: the light seems to increase, whereas in reality it is always at its fullness, whether he sees it or not.

In the same way, the inner man makes advancement in God, and it seems as if God were increasing in him; but it is the man himself who decreases, falling from the height of his own glory and rising in the glory of God.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Alternatively, just as when the sun rises, the light of the other heavenly bodies seems to be extinguished—though in reality it is only obscured by the greater light—so the forerunner is said to decrease, as if he were a star hidden by the sun. Christ increases in proportion as He gradually discloses Himself by miracles. This is not in the sense of an increase or advancement in virtue (the opinion of Nestorius), but only with regard to the manifestation of His divinity.