Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 3:4

"Now John himself had his raiment of camel`s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey." — Matthew 3:4 (ASV)

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Having said that he is the voice of one crying in the desert, the Evangelist rightly adds, John had his clothing of camel's hair, thus showing what his life was. For while he testified of Christ, his life testified of himself. No one is fit to be another's witness until he has first been his own.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: For the preaching of John, no place was more suitable, no clothing more useful, no food more fitting.

St. Jerome: His clothing was of camel's hair, not of wool—the one a mark of austerity in dress, the other of delicate luxury.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: It is fitting for the servants of God to use clothing not for an elegant appearance or for comforting the body, but for covering their nakedness. Thus, John wears a garment that is not soft and delicate, but hairy, heavy, and rough, wounding the skin rather than comforting it, so that the very clothing of his body revealed the virtue of his mind. It was the custom of the Jews to wear girdles of wool; so, desiring something less indulgent, he wore one of skin.

St. Jerome: His food, moreover, was suited to a dweller in the desert—not choice foods, but only what satisfied the necessities of the body.

Rabanus Maurus: He was content with simple fare: namely, small insects and honey gathered from the trunks of trees. In the sayings of Arnulphusⁱ, a bishop of Gaul, we find that there was a very small kind of locust in the deserts of Judea, with bodies about the thickness and length of a finger. They are easily caught among the grass and, when cooked in oil, provide a humble kind of food.

He also relates that in the same desert there is a kind of tree with a large, round leaf, the color of milk and the taste of honey, so brittle that it can be rubbed into a powder in the hand; this is what is meant by wild honey.

Remigius of Auxerre: In this clothing and this humble food, he shows that he grieves for the sins of the whole human race.

Rabanus Maurus: His dress and diet express the quality of his spiritual character. His garment was of an austere quality because he rebuked the sinner's life.

St. Jerome: His girdle of skin, which Elijah also wore, is the mark of mortification.

Rabanus Maurus: He ate locusts and honey because his preaching was sweet to the multitude but was short-lived; honey has sweetness, while locusts have a swift flight but soon fall to the ground.

Remigius of Auxerre: John (whose name is interpreted "the grace of God") symbolizes Christ, who brought grace into the world. In turn, his clothing symbolizes the Gentile Church.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: The preacher of Christ is clothed in the skins of unclean animals, to which the Gentiles are compared, and so by the prophet's dress, whatever in them was useless or unclean is sanctified.

The girdle is a thing of great power for every good work, so that we may be prepared for every ministry of Christ.

For his food, locusts are chosen. They flee from the face of humanity and escape every approach, signifying how we ourselves were turned away from every good word or teaching by our own impulses. We were weak in will, barren in works, complaining in our speech, and strangers in our own land. Now, however, we have become the food of the saints, chosen to satisfy the prophet's desire, providing our sweetest food not from the hives of the Law, but from the trunks of wild trees.