Thomas Aquinas Commentary John 1:29-34

"On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is become before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing in water. And John bare witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize in water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth in the Holy Spirit. And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." — John 1:29-34 (ASV)

1. Previously, John had testified about Christ when he was questioned. Here, he gives a voluntary testimony.

   This section is divided into parts. First, the testimony is given; second, it is confirmed, starting with the words, and John gave testimony.

   Regarding the first part:

   • First, the circumstances of the testimony are given.
   • Second, the testimony itself is given, in the words, Behold the Lamb of God.
   • Third, suspicion is removed from the witness, with the words, and I did not know him.

2. The circumstances are first described in terms of time. Therefore, he says, the next day. This credits John for his steadfastness, because he bore witness to Christ not just for one day or on one occasion, but on many days and frequently: every day I will bless you (Psalms 144:2). His progress is also noted, because one day should not be just like the day before; the following day should be different, that is, better: they will go from strength to strength (Psalms 83:8).

   Another circumstance mentioned is his manner of testifying, because John saw Jesus. This shows his certainty, for testimony based on sight is most certain.

   The last circumstance he mentions is about the one to whom he bore witness. Therefore, he says that he saw Jesus coming to him, that is, from Galilee, as it says, Jesus came from Galilee (Matthew 3:13). We should not understand this as referring to the time when He came to be baptized, of which Matthew is speaking, but of another time. This was when He came to John after He had already been baptized and was staying near the Jordan. Otherwise, John would not have said, he upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining upon him, it is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen. Therefore, he had already seen Him and the Spirit descending like a dove upon Him.

3. One reason Christ now came to John was to confirm John's testimony. For John had spoken of Christ as the same is he who will come after me (John 1:27). But since Christ was now present, some might not understand who it was that was to come. So Christ came to John to be pointed out by him, with John saying, Behold the Lamb of God (John 1:36).

   Another reason Christ came was to correct an error. For some might believe that the first time Christ came—that is, to be baptized—He came to John to be cleansed from His sins. So, to prevent this, Christ came to him even after His baptism. Consequently, John clearly says, behold him who takes away. He committed no sin, but came to take away sin. He also came to give us an example of humility, because as it is said, the greater you are the more humble you should be in all matters .

   Note that after the conception of Christ, when His mother, the Virgin, went in haste to the hill country to visit John’s mother, Elizabeth, John, still in his mother’s womb and unable to speak, leaped in her womb as though performing a religious dance out of reverence for Christ. And just as then, so even now; for when Christ comes to John out of humility, John offers his testimony and reverence and exclaims, Behold the Lamb of God.

4. With these words, John gives his testimony, showing the power of Christ. Then Christ’s dignity is shown, with the words, this is he, of whom I said.

   He shows the power of Christ in two ways:

   • First, through a symbol.
   • Second, by explaining it, with the words, behold him who takes away the sins of the world.

5. Regarding the first, we should note, as Origen says, that it was customary in the Old Law for five animals to be offered in the temple: three from the earth, namely, the heifer, goat, and sheep (though the sheep might be a ram, a ewe, or a lamb); and two birds, namely, the turtledove and the dove. All of these were prefigurements of the true sacrifice, which is Christ, who gave himself for us as an offering to God (Ephesians 5:2).

   Why then did the Baptist, when testifying to Christ, specifically call Him a Lamb? The reason is that, although there were other sacrifices in the temple at other times, yet each day a lamb was offered every morning, and another was offered in the evening (Numbers 28:3). This never varied but was regarded as the principal offering, and the other offerings were additions. And so the lamb, which was the principal sacrifice, signified Christ, who is the principal sacrifice. For although all the saints who suffered for the faith of Christ contribute something to the salvation of the faithful, they do this only inasmuch as they are immolated upon the oblation of the Lamb, being, as it were, an oblation added to the principal sacrifice. The lamb is offered in the morning and in the evening because it is through Christ that the way is opened to the contemplation and enjoyment of the intelligible realities of God, which pertains to morning knowledge; and we are instructed how to use earthly things without staining ourselves, which pertains to the evening. And so he says, Behold the Lamb of God, that is, the one signified by the lamb.

   He says, of God, because there are two natures in Christ, a human nature and a divine nature. It is due to the power of the divinity that this sacrifice has the power to cleanse and sanctify us from our sins, inasmuch as God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19).

   Alternatively, He is called the Lamb of God because He was offered by God—that is, by Christ Himself, who is God—just as we call what a man offers the offering of the man. Or, He is called the Lamb of God, that is, of the Father, because the Father provided humanity with an oblation to offer that satisfied for sins, which humanity could not have provided for itself. So when Isaac asked Abraham, where is the victim for the holocaust? he answered, God himself will provide a victim for the holocaust (Genesis 22:7); God did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for all of us (Romans 8:32).

6. Christ is called a lamb for several reasons:

   1. First, because of His purity: your lamb will be without blemish (Exodus 12:5); you were not redeemed by perishable gold or silver (1 Peter 1:18).
   2. Second, because of His gentleness: like a lamb before the shearer, he will not open his mouth (Isaiah 53:7).
   3. Third, because of His fruitfulness, both with respect to what we wear: lambs will be your clothing (Proverbs 27:26), put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14); and with respect to food: my flesh for the life of the world (John 6:52). And it is said: send forth, O Lord, the lamb, the ruler of the earth (Isaiah 16:1).

7. Then when he says, who takes away the sins of the world, he explains the symbol he used. In the Law, sin could not be taken away either by a lamb or by any other sacrifice, because as it is said, it is impossible that sins be taken away by the blood of bulls and goats (Hebrews 10:4).

   This blood takes away, that is, removes, the sins of the world; take away all iniquity (Hosea 14:3). Or, takes away, meaning He takes upon Himself the sins of the whole world, as is said, he bore our sins in his own body (1 Peter 2:24); it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured (Isaiah 53:4).

   However, according to a Gloss, he says sin, and not sins, to show in a universal way that He has taken away every kind of sin: he is the offering for our sins (1 John 2:2). Or it is because He died for one sin, that is, original sin: sin entered into this world through one man (Romans 5:12).

8. Previously, the Baptist bore witness to the power of Christ; now he bears witness to His dignity, comparing Christ to himself in three respects.

   First, with respect to their office and order of preaching. So he says, this is he—that is, the Lamb, pointing Him out with his finger—of whom I said, that is, in His absence, after me there comes a man, to preach and baptize, who in birth came after me. Christ is called a man because of His perfect age, for when He began to teach after His baptism, He had already reached a mature age: Jesus was now about thirty years of age (Luke 3:23). He is also called a man because of the perfection of all the virtues that were in Him: seven women, that is, the virtues, will take hold of one man, the perfect Christ (Isaiah 4:1); look, a man! His name is the Orient (Zechariah 6:12), because He is the origin of all the virtues found in others. He is also called a man because of His espousal, since He is the spouse of the Church: you will call me ‘my husband’ (Hosea 2:16); I espoused you to one husband (2 Corinthians 11:2).

9. Second, he compares himself to Christ with respect to dignity when he says, who ranks ahead of me. As if to say: Although He comes to preach after me, yet He ranks ahead of me in dignity. See, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills (Song of Solomon 2:8). One such hill was John the Baptist, who was surpassed by Christ, as is said, he must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30).

10. Third, he compares himself to Christ regarding duration, saying, because he existed before me. As if to say: It is not surprising that He ranks ahead of me in dignity, because although He is after me in time, He is before me in eternity, because he existed before me.

    This statement refutes a two-part error. First, that of Arius, for John does not say that He was made before me, as though He were a creature, but he existed before me, from eternity, before every creature: the Lord brought me forth before all the hills (Proverbs 8:25). The second error refuted is that of Paul of Samosata, for John said, he existed before me, to show that He did not take His beginning from Mary. For if He had taken the beginning of His existence from the Virgin, He would not have existed before His forerunner, who, in the order of human generation, preceded Christ by six months.

11. Next, he prevents a mistaken assumption from his testimony, saying, and I did not know him.

    For someone might say that John bore witness to Christ because of the affection of a special friendship he had for Him. And so, excluding this, John says, and I did not know him, for John had lived in the desert from his youth. And although many miracles happened during the birth of Christ, such as the Magi and the star, they were not known to John, both because he was an infant at the time and because, after withdrawing to the desert, he had no contact with Christ. In the time between His birth and baptism, Christ did not perform any miracles but led a life similar to any other person, and His power remained unknown to all.

12. It is clear that He worked no miracles in the interim until He was thirty years old from what is said: Jesus did this beginning of miracles in Cana of Galilee (John 2:11). This shows the error of the book, The Infancy of the Savior. The reason He performed no miracles during this period was that if His life had not been like that of other infants, the mystery of the circumcision and incarnation might have been regarded as mere fantasy. Accordingly, He postponed showing His knowledge and power to another time, corresponding to the age when other men reach the fullness of their knowledge and power. About this we read, and Jesus increased in grace and wisdom (Luke 2:52). This does not mean that He acquired a power and wisdom that He previously lacked, for in this respect He was perfect from the instant of His conception, but that His power and wisdom were becoming known to men: indeed, you are a hidden God (Isaiah 45:15).

13. The reason John did not know Him was that he had not yet seen any signs, and no one else had known Christ through signs. Hence he adds: but that he may be made manifest in Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water. As if to say: My entire ministry is for revelation: he was not the light, but that he might bear witness to the light (John 1:8).

14. He says, I came baptizing with water, to distinguish his baptism from that of Christ. For Christ baptized not just in water but in the Spirit, conferring grace; and so the baptism of John was merely a sign, and not causative of grace.

    John’s baptism made Christ known in three ways. First, by the preaching of John. For although John could have prepared the way for the Lord and led the people to Christ without baptizing, yet because of the novelty of the ministry, many more came to him than would have come if his preaching were done without baptism. Second, John’s baptism was useful because of Christ’s humility, which He showed by being willing to be baptized by John: Christ came to John, to be baptized by him (Matthew 3:13). The example of humility He gives us here is that no one, however great, should disdain to receive the sacraments from any person ordained for this purpose. Third, it was during Christ’s baptism by John that the power of the Father was present in the voice, and the Holy Spirit was present in the dove, by which the power and dignity of Christ were all the more shown: and the voice of the Father was heard: this is my beloved Son (Luke 3:22).

15. Then when he says, and John gave testimony, he confirms by the authority of God the great things he testified about Christ: that Christ alone would take away the sins of the whole world.

    In this regard, he does three things:

    1. He presents a vision.
    2. He tells us the meaning of the vision, with the words, and I did not know him.
    3. He shows what he learned from this vision, with the words, and I have seen, and I have given testimony.

16. He presents the vision when he says, I saw the Spirit coming down, as a dove from heaven. John the Evangelist does not tell us when this actually happened, but Matthew and Luke say that it took place when Christ was being baptized by John.

    And it was indeed fitting for the Holy Spirit to be present at this baptism and to the person being baptized. It was appropriate for the one baptized, for as the Son, existing from the Father, manifests the Father—Father, I have manifested your name (John 17:6)—so the Holy Spirit, existing from the Son, manifests the Son: he will glorify me, because he will receive from what is mine (John 16:14). It was appropriate for this baptism because the baptism of Christ begins and consecrates our baptism. Now our baptism is consecrated by invoking the whole Trinity: baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Thus, the ones we invoke in our baptism were present at the baptism of Christ: the Father in the voice, the Holy Spirit in the dove, and the Son in His human nature.

17. He says, coming down, because descent, since it has two endpoints—the start, which is from above, and the end, which is below—suits baptism in both respects.

    For there is a twofold spirit: one of the world and the other of God. The spirit of the world is the love of the world, which is not from above; rather, it comes up to man from below and makes him descend. But the Spirit of God, that is, the love of God, comes down to man from above and makes him ascend: we have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:12). And so, because that Spirit is from above, he says, coming down.

    Similarly, because it is impossible for a creature to receive God’s goodness in the fullness in which it is present in God, the communication of this goodness to us is, in a way, a certain coming down: every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (James 1:17).

18. Because the Holy Spirit cannot be seen in His own nature, as is said, the wind blows where it wills, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes (John 3:8), and because a spirit does not come down but goes up, the spirit lifted me up (Ezekiel 8:3), the Evangelist, in describing the manner of the vision and of the coming down, says that the Holy Spirit did not appear in spirit, that is, in His nature, but in the form of a dove, saying that He came as a dove.

    It was appropriate that the Son of God, who was made visible through flesh, should be made known by the Holy Spirit in the visible form of a dove. However, the Holy Spirit did not assume the dove into a unity of person, as the Son of God assumed human nature. The reason for this is that the Son did not appear as a manifester but as a savior. And so, according to Pope Leo, it was appropriate that He be God and man: God, to provide a remedy; and man, to offer an example. But the Holy Spirit appeared only to make known, and for this it was sufficient merely to assume a visible form which was suitable for this purpose.

19. As to whether this dove was a real animal and whether it existed prior to its appearance, it is reasonable to say that it was a real dove. For the Holy Spirit came to manifest Christ, who, being the truth, ought to have been manifested only by the truth.

    As to the other part of the question, it would seem that the dove did not exist prior to its appearance but was formed at that time by divine power, without any mating, just as the body of Christ was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and not from a man’s seed. Yet it was a real dove, for as Augustine says in his work, The Christian Combat: "It was not difficult for the omnipotent God, who produced the entire universe of creatures from nothing, to form a real body for the dove without the aid of other doves, just as it was not difficult to form the true body of Christ in the womb of the Blessed Virgin without natural semen." Cyprian, in his The Unity of the Church, says: "It is said that the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove because the dove is a simple, harmless animal, not bitter with gall, not savage with its bites, not fierce with rending talons; it loves the dwellings of men, is able to live together in one nest, raises its young together, they remain together when they fly, spend their life in mutual association, signify the concord of peace with the kiss of their bill, and fulfill the law of harmony in all things."

20. Many reasons are given why the Holy Spirit appeared as a dove rather than in some other form.

    1. First, because of its simplicity, for the dove is simple: be wise as serpents, and simple as doves (Matthew 10:16). And the Holy Spirit, because He inclines souls to gaze on one thing, that is, God, makes them simple; and so He appeared in the form of a dove. Further, according to Augustine, the Holy Spirit also appeared in the form of fire over the heads of the assembled apostles. This was done because some are simple but lukewarm, while others are fervent but guileful. And so that those sanctified by the Spirit may have no guile, the Spirit is shown in the form of a dove; and so that their simplicity may not grow lukewarm, the Spirit is shown in fire.
    2. Second, a dove was used because of the unity of charity, for the dove is much aglow with love: one is my dove (Song of Solomon 6:9). So, to show the unity of the Church, the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove. Nor should it disturb you that when the Holy Spirit rested on each of the disciples, there appeared separate tongues of fire; for although the Spirit appears to be different according to the different functions of His gifts, He nevertheless unites us through charity. And so, because of the first, He appeared in separate tongues of fire, as is said, there are different kinds of gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4); but He appears in the form of a dove because of the second.
    3. Third, a dove was used because of its groaning, for the dove has a groaning chant; so also the Holy Spirit pleads for us with indescribable groanings (Romans 8:26); her maidens, groaning like doves (Nahum 2:7).
    4. Fourth, because of the dove's fertility, for the dove is a very prolific animal. And so to signify the fecundity of spiritual grace in the Church, the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove. This is why the Lord commanded an offering of two doves (Leviticus 5:7).
    5. Fifth, a dove was used because of its cautiousness. For it rests upon watery brooks, and gazing into them can see the hawk flying overhead and so save itself: his eyes are like doves beside brooks of water (Song of Solomon 5:12). And so, because our refuge and defense is found in baptism, the Holy Spirit appropriately appeared in the form of a dove.

    The dove also corresponds to a figure in the Old Testament. For as the dove bearing the green olive branch was a sign of God’s mercy to those who survived the waters of the flood, so too in baptism, the Holy Spirit, coming in the form of a dove, is a sign of the divine mercy which takes away the sins of those baptized and confers grace.

21. He says that the Holy Spirit was remaining upon him.

    If the Holy Spirit does not rest on someone, it is due to two causes. One is sin. For all men except Christ are either suffering from the wound of mortal sin, which banishes the Holy Spirit, or are darkened with the stain of venial sin, which hinders some of the works of the Holy Spirit. But in Christ there was neither mortal nor venial sin; so, the Holy Spirit in Him was never disquieted, but was remaining upon him.

    p>The other reason concerns charismatic graces, for the other saints do not always possess their power. For example, the power to work miracles is not always present in the saints, nor is the spirit of prophecy always in the prophets. But Christ always possessed the power to accomplish any work of the virtues and the graces. So to indicate this, he says, remaining upon him.

    Hence this was the characteristic sign for recognizing Christ, as the Gloss says. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him (Isaiah 11:2), which we should understand of Christ as man, according to which He is less than the Father and the Holy Spirit.

22. Then when he says, I did not know him, he teaches us how this vision should be understood.

    For certain heretics, like the Ebionites, said that Christ was neither the Christ nor the Son of God from the time He was born, but only began to be the Son of God and the Christ when He was anointed with the Holy Spirit at His baptism. But this is false, because at the very hour of His birth the angel said to the shepherds: this day a savior has been born for you in the city of David, Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11). Therefore, so that we do not believe that the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ in His baptism as though Christ needed to receive the Spirit anew for His sanctification, the Baptist gives the reason for the Spirit’s coming down. He says that the Spirit descended not for the benefit of Christ, but for our benefit, that is, so that the grace of Christ might be made known to us. And so he says, and I did not know him, but that he may be made manifest in Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.

23. There is a problem here. For he says, he who sent me to baptize. If he is saying that the Father sent him, it is true. Also, if he is saying that the Son sent him, it is even more clear, since it is said that both the Father and the Son sent him, because John is not one of those referred to when it says, I did not send the prophets, yet they ran (Jeremiah 23:21). But if the Son did send him, how can he then say, I did not know him?

    If it is said that although he knew Christ according to His divinity, he did not know Him according to His humanity until after he saw the Spirit descending upon Him, one might counter that the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ when He was being baptized, and John had already known Christ before He was baptized; otherwise he would not have said: I ought to be baptized by you, and you come to me? (Matthew 3:14).

    So we must say that this problem can be resolved in three ways. One way, according to Chrysostom, is that the meaning is to know someone personally; the sense being, I did not know him, that is, I was not familiar with Him. And if the objection is raised that John says, I ought to be baptized by you (Matthew 3:14), it can be answered that two different times are being discussed. The phrase I did not know him refers to a time long before the baptism, when he was not yet familiar with Christ; but when he says, I ought to be baptized by you, he is referring to the time when Christ was being baptized, when he was now familiar with Christ because of His frequent visits. Another way, according to Jerome, is that John did in fact know that Christ was the Son of God and the savior of the world, but he did not know through the baptism that He was the savior of the world. And so to remedy this ignorance he adds, it is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. But it is better to say with Augustine that John knew certain things and was ignorant of others. Explaining what he did not know, he adds that the power of baptizing, which Christ could have shared with His faithful followers, would be reserved for Himself alone. And this is what he says: he who sent me to baptize with water . . . it is he, exclusively and solely, who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, that is, He and no one else, because this power He reserved for Himself alone.

24. We should note that a threefold power of Christ is found in baptism. One is the power of efficiency, by which He interiorly cleanses the soul from the stain of sin. Christ has this power as God, but not as man, and it cannot be communicated to any other.

    Another is the power of ministry, which He does share with the faithful: baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Therefore priests have the power to baptize as ministers. Christ too, as man, is called a minister, as the Apostle says. But He is also the head of all the ministers of the Church.

    Because of this, He alone has the power of excellence in the sacraments. This excellence shows itself in four things.

    1. First, in the institution of the sacraments, because no mere man or even the entire Church could institute, change, or dispense with the sacraments. For by their institution the sacraments give invisible grace, which only God can give. Therefore, only one who is true God can institute sacraments.
    2. Second is the efficacy of Christ’s merits, for the sacraments have their power from the merit of Christ’s passion: all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus, have been baptized into his death (Romans 6:3).
    3. Third, Christ can confer the effect of baptism without the sacrament, and this is peculiar to Christ.
    4. Fourth, at one time baptism was conferred in the name of Christ, although this is no longer done.

    Now He did not communicate these four things to anyone, although He could have communicated some of them—for example, that baptism be conferred in the name of Peter or of someone else, and perhaps one of the remaining three. But this was not done, so that schisms would not arise in the Church by men putting their trust in those in whose name they were baptized.

    And so John, in stating that the Holy Spirit came down upon Christ, teaches that it is Christ alone who baptizes interiorly by His own power.

25. One might also say that when John said, I ought to be baptized by you (Matthew 3:14), he recognized Christ through an interior revelation, but that when he saw the Holy Spirit descending upon Him, he knew Him through an exterior sign. And so he mentions both of these ways of knowing. The first is when he says, he who sent me to baptize with water, said to me, that is, revealed something in an interior way. The second is when he adds, he upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending . . . it is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

26. Then he shows what the Baptist understood from this vision: that Christ is the Son of God. And this is what he says, And I have seen the Spirit coming down on Him, and I have given testimony that this, that is, Christ, is the Son of God—the true and natural Son.

    For there were adopted sons of the Father who had a likeness to the natural Son of God: conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29). So He who baptizes in the Holy Spirit, through whom we are adopted as sons, ought to fashion sons of God. You did not receive the spirit of slavery ... but the spirit of adoption (Romans 8:15). Therefore, because Christ is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit, the Baptist correctly concludes that He is the true and pure Son of God: that we may be in his true Son (1 John 5:20).

27. But if there were others who saw the Holy Spirit descending upon Christ, why did they not also believe?

    I answer that they had not been prepared for this. Or perhaps, this vision was seen only by the Baptist.