Thomas Aquinas Commentary John 3:27-32

"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. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is of the earth, and of the earth he speaketh: he that cometh from heaven is above all. What he hath seen and heard, of that he beareth witness; and no man receiveth his witness." — John 3:27-32 (ASV)

1. Here we have John’s answer to the question his disciples presented to him. Their question contained two points: a complaint about the office Christ took on, and so they said, behold he baptizes (John 3:26); and a complaint about Christ’s increasing fame and reputation among the people, for which they said, and all men come to him (John 3:26). Accordingly, John directs his answer to these two complaints.

   First, he answers the complaint about the office Christ took on.

   Second, he answers the complaint about Christ’s increasing reputation, with the words, he must increase, but I must decrease.

   Regarding the first complaint, he does three things.

   First, he shows the source of Christ’s office and of his own.

   Second, he shows their difference, beginning with, you yourselves bear witness to me.

   Third, he shows how Christ and he are related to these offices, with the words, he who has the bride is the bridegroom.

2. Regarding the first point, note that although John’s disciples raise their question maliciously and so deserve to be rebuked, John nevertheless does not sharply rebuke them, and this is because of their imperfection. For he feared that they might be provoked by a rebuke, leave him, and, joining forces with the Pharisees, publicly harass Christ. In acting this way, he was putting into practice what is said of the Lord: the bruised reed he will not break (Isaiah 42:3).

   Again, we should also note that he begins his answer not by telling them what is great and wonderful about Christ, but what is common and obvious; he did this because of their envy. For since the excellence of a person provokes others to envy, if John had stressed Christ’s excellence at once, he would have fed the fire of their envy.

3. Thus he states something unpretentious, saying, a man cannot receive anything, unless it is given to him from heaven. He said this to them in order to inspire them with reverence. It is as if to say: If all men are going to him, it is God’s doing, because a man cannot receive anything in the order of perfection and goodness unless it is given to him from heaven. Therefore, if you oppose him, you oppose God. If this plan or work is from men, it will fail (Acts 5:38). This is the way Chrysostom explains it, applying these words to Christ.

   Augustine, on the other hand, does much better when he refers them to John. A man cannot receive anything, unless it is given to him from heaven; as if to say: You are zealous on my behalf and you want me to be greater than Christ, but that has not been given to me, and I do not wish to usurp it: no one takes this honor on himself (Hebrews 5:4). This is the origin of their offices.

4. Then the difference between their offices follows, when he says, you yourselves bear witness to me. It is as if to say: From the testimony I gave about him, you can know the office committed to me by Christ. For you yourselves bear witness to me—that is, you can testify to the fact—that I said: I am not the Christ, as he declared openly and did not deny (John 1:20). But this I said: that I am sent before him, as a herald before a judge. And so from my own testimony you can know my office, which is to go before Christ and prepare the way for him: there was a man sent from God, whose name was John (John 1:6). But the office of Christ is to judge and to preside.

   If we look at this closely, we can see that John, like a skillful debater, answers them with their own arguments: I judge you out of your own mouth (Luke 19:22).

5. He shows how John is related to his own office when he says: he who has the bride is the bridegroom.

   First, he gives a simile.

   Second, he applies it to his own situation, with the words, therefore, my joy is fulfilled.

   With respect to the first, he does two things.

   First, he gives a simile that applies to Christ.

   Second, one that applies to himself, with the words, but the friend of the bridegroom.

6. As to the first, we should note that on a human level, it is the bridegroom who regulates, governs, and possesses the bride. Hence he says, he who has the bride is the bridegroom. Now, the groom is Christ: like a bridegroom coming out of his bridal chamber (Psalms 19:5). His bride is the Church, which is joined to him by faith: I will espouse you to myself in faith (Hosea 2:20). In keeping with this figure, Zipporah said to Moses: you are a spouse of blood to me (Exodus 4:25). We read of the marriage: the marriage of the Lamb has come (Revelation 19:7). So, because Christ is the groom, he has the bride, that is, the Church; but my part is only to rejoice in the fact that he has the bride.

7. Consequently he says, but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices with joy. Although John had said earlier that he was not worthy to untie the strap of Jesus’ sandal, he here calls himself the friend of Jesus in order to show the faithfulness of his love for Christ. For a servant does not act in a spirit of love regarding the things that pertain to his master, but in a spirit of servitude. A friend, however, seeks his friend’s interests out of love and faithfulness. Hence a faithful servant is like a friend to his master: if you have a faithful servant, treat him like yourself . Indeed, it is proof of a servant’s faithfulness when he rejoices in the prosperity of his master and when he obtains not his own good, but his master’s. And so because John did not keep the bride entrusted to his care for himself, but for the bridegroom, we can see that he was a faithful servant and a friend of the bridegroom. It is to suggest this that he calls himself the bridegroom’s friend.

   Those who are friends of the truth should act in the same way, not turning the bride entrusted to their care to their own advantage and glory, but treating her honorably for the honor and glory of the groom; otherwise they would not be friends of the groom but adulterers. This is why Gregory says that a servant who is sent by the groom with gifts for the bride is guilty of adulterous thoughts if he himself desires to please the bride. This is not what the Apostle did: I espoused you to one husband in order to present you to Christ as a chaste virgin (2 Corinthians 11:2). And John did the same, because he did not keep the bride, that is, the faithful, for himself, but brought them to the groom, that is, to Christ.

8. And so by saying, the bridegroom’s friend, he suggests the faithfulness of his love.

   Further, he suggests his constancy when he says, stands, firm in friendship and faithfulness, not exalting himself above what he really is: I will stand my watch (Habakkuk 2:1); Be steadfast and unchanging (1 Corinthians 15:58); a faithful friend, if he is constant, is like another self .

   He suggests his attention when he says, and hears him, that is, attentively considers the way in which the groom is united to the bride. For according to Chrysostom, these words explain the manner of this marriage, for it is accomplished through faith, and faith comes through hearing (Romans 10:17). Or, he hears him, that is, reverently obeys him, by caring for the bride according to the commands of the groom: I will listen to him as my master (Isaiah 50:4). This is in opposition to those evil prelates who do not follow Christ’s command in governing the Church.

   Likewise, he hints at his spiritual joy when he says, rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice. And he says, rejoices with joy, to show the truth and perfection of his joy. For one whose rejoicing is not over what is good does not rejoice with true joy. And so, if it made me sad that Christ, who is the true groom, preaches to the bride, that is, the Church, I would not be a friend of the groom; but I am not sad.

9. Hence, therefore, my joy is fulfilled, namely, in seeing what I have desired for so long: the groom speaking clearly to his bride. Or, therefore, my joy is fulfilled, that is, brought to its perfect and due measure, when the bride is united to the groom, because I now have my grace and I have completed my work: I will rejoice in the Lord, and I will take joy in God, my Jesus (Habakkuk 3:18).

10. Then when he says, he must increase, but I must decrease, he answers their complaint about the increasing esteem given to Christ.

    First, he notes that such an increase is fitting.

    Second, he gives the reason for it, with the words, he who came from above is above all.

11. So he says: You say that all the people are flocking to him, that is, to Christ, and therefore that he is growing in honor and esteem among the people. But I say that this is not unfitting, because he must increase, not in himself, but in relation to others, in the sense that his power becomes more and more known. And I must decrease in the reverence and esteem of the people, for esteem and reverence are not due to me as if I were the principal figure, but they are due to Christ. Therefore, since he has come, the signs of honor cease for me but increase for Christ, just as with the coming of the prince, the office of the ambassador ceases: when the perfect comes, what is imperfect will pass away (1 Corinthians 13:10).

    And just as in the heavens the morning star appears and gives light before the sun, but when the sun comes its light ceases, so John went before Christ and is compared to the morning star: can you bring out the morning star? (Job 38:32).

    This is also signified in John’s birth and in his death. In his birth, because John was born when the days were beginning to grow shorter, while Christ was born when the days were beginning to grow longer, on the twenty-fifth of December. Regarding his death, it is signified because John died cut short by beheading, but Christ died lifted up on the cross.

12. In the moral sense, this should take place in each one of us. He, that is, Christ, must increase in you; that is, you should grow in the knowledge and love of Christ, because the more you are able to grasp him by knowledge and love, the more Christ increases in you, just as the more one improves in seeing the same light, the more that light seems to increase.

    From this, it is necessary that as people advance, their self-esteem decreases. For the more one knows of the divine greatness, the less one thinks of human smallness, which is why it is said: the revelation spoken by the man close to God (Proverbs 30:1); and then follows: I am the most foolish of men, and the wisdom of men is not in me. I have heard you, but now I see you, and so I reprove myself, and do penance in dust and ashes (Job 42:5).

13. Then when he says, he who came from above is above all, he gives the reason for what he has just said. He does this in two ways.

    First, on the basis of Christ’s origin.

    Second, by considering Christ’s teaching, with the words, he who is of the earth is earthly, and he speaks of the earth.

14. Regarding the first, we should note that for something to be perfect, it must reach the goal set for it by its origin; for example, if one is born from a king, he should continue to progress until he becomes a king. Now Christ has an origin that is most excellent and eternal; therefore he must increase by the manifestation of his power, in relation to others, until it is recognized that he is above all things. Thus he says, he who came from above, that is, Christ, according to his divinity. No man has ascended into heaven, except he who descended from heaven (John 3:13); you are from below, and I am from above (John 8:23).

15. Or, he came from above regarding his human nature, that is, from the highest condition of human nature, by assuming it according to what was predominant in it in each of its states.

    For it is considered according to three states. First is the state of human nature before sin; from this state he took his purity by assuming a flesh unmarked by the stain of original sin: a lamb without blemish (Exodus 12:5). The second state is after sin; from this he took his capacity to suffer and die by assuming the likeness of sinful flesh regarding its punishment, though it was not sinful regarding guilt: God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3). The third state is that of resurrection and glory; and from this he took the impossibility of sinning and the joy of soul.

16. Here we must be on guard against the error of those who say that something was left in Adam materially unmarked by the original stain, and that this was passed on to his descendants—for example, to the Blessed Virgin—and that Christ’s body was formed from this. This is heretical, because whatever existed in Adam in a material way was marked by the stain of original sin. Furthermore, the matter from which the body of Christ was formed was purified by the power of the Holy Spirit when he sanctified the Blessed Virgin.

17. He, who, as was said, came from above according to his divinity as well as his human nature, is above all, both by the eminence of His rank—the Lord is high above all nations (Psalms 113:4)—and by his authority and power: he has made him the head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22).

18. Now he gives the reason with regard to the teaching of Christ.

    First, he describes the doctrine of Christ and its grandeur.

    Second, he describes the difference in those who receive or reject this doctrine, with the words, and no man receives his testimony.

    He does two things with respect to the first point.

    First, he describes John’s doctrine.

    Second, he describes the doctrine of Christ, with the words, he who came from above is above all.

19. As to the first, we should note that a person is known mainly by what he says: your accent gives you away (Matthew 26:73); out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). This is why the quality of a teaching or doctrine is considered according to the quality of its origin.

    Accordingly, in order to understand the quality of John’s doctrine, we should first consider his origin. So he says, he who is of the earth, that is John, not only regarding the matter from which he was made, but also in his efficient cause, because the body of John was formed by a created power: they dwell in houses of clay, and have a foundation of earth (Job 4:19).

    Second, we should consider the quality of John himself, which is earthly; and so he says, is of the earth.

    Third, his teaching is described: he speaks of the earth. You shall speak out of the earth, and your speech shall be heard out of the ground (Isaiah 29:4).

20. But since John was full of the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb, how can he be said to speak of earthly things?

    I answer that, according to Chrysostom, John says he speaks of earthly things by comparison with the teaching of Christ. It is as if to say: The things I speak of are slight and inferior, as befits one of an earthly nature, in comparison to him in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3); as the heavens are high above the earth, so my ways are high above your ways (Isaiah 55:9).

    Or we could say according to Augustine, and this is a better explanation, that we can consider what any person has of himself and what he has received from another. Now John and every mere human is, of himself, from the earth. Therefore, from this standpoint, he has nothing to speak of except earthly things. And if he does speak of divine things, it is because of a divine enlightenment: your heart has visions, but unless they come from the Almighty, ignore them . So the Apostle says, it is not I, but the grace of God which is with me (1 Corinthians 15:10); for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit who is speaking through you (Matthew 10:20). Accordingly, as regards John, he is earthly and speaks of the earth. And if there was anything divine in him, it did not come from him, as he was the recipient, but from the one enlightening him.

21. Now he describes the doctrine of Christ. And he does three things.

    First, he shows its origin, which is heavenly; hence he says, he who came from above is above all. For although the body of Christ was of the earth regarding the matter of which it was made, yet it came from heaven regarding its efficient cause, since his body was formed by divine power. It also came from heaven because the eternal and uncreated person of the Son came from heaven by assuming a body. And no man has ascended into heaven, except he who descended from heaven, the Son of man, who is in heaven (John 3:13).

    Second, he shows the dignity of Christ, which is very great; so he says, is above all. This was explained above.

    Third, he infers the dignity of Christ’s doctrine, which is completely certain, because he testifies to what he sees and to what he hears. For Christ, as God, is truth itself; but as man, he is its witness: for this I was born, and for this I came into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth (John 18:37). Therefore, he gives testimony to himself: you give testimony about yourself (John 8:13). And he testifies to what is certain, because his testimony is about what he has heard with the Father: the things that I have heard from him are the same that I speak to the world (John 8:26); what we have seen and heard (1 John 1:3).

22. Note that knowledge of a thing is acquired in one way through sight and in another way through hearing. By sight, knowledge is acquired by the thing itself being seen. By hearing, however, a thing is not known by its own voice being heard, but through the understanding of the one speaking. And so, because the Lord has knowledge that He has received from the Father, He says what he has seen, insofar as He proceeds from the essence of the Father, and what He has heard, insofar as He proceeds as the Word of the Father’s intellect.

    Now, because among intellectual beings their act of being is different from their act of understanding, their knowledge through sight is different from their knowledge through hearing. But in God the Father, the act of being and the act of understanding are the same. Thus, in the Son, to see and to hear are the same.

    Moreover, since even in one who sees there is not the essence of the thing seen in itself but only its likeness (just as in the hearer there is not the actual thought of the speaker but only an indication of it), the one who sees is not the essence of the thing itself, nor is the listener the very word expressed. In the Son, however, the very essence of the Father is received by generation, and He Himself is the Word. Therefore, in Him, to see and to hear are the same.

    And so John concludes that since Christ’s doctrine has more grandeur and is more certain than his, one must listen to Christ rather than to him.