Matthew 3:11 Comentariu

At the start of this chapter, concerning the baptism of John, begins the gospel (Mar 1:1); what went before is but preface or introduction; this is "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ." And Peter observes the same date, Act 1:22, beginning from the baptism of John, for then Christ began first to appear in him, and then to appear to him, and by him to the world. Here is, I. The glorious rising of the morning-star - John the Baptist (Mat 3:1). 1. The doctrine he preached (Mat 3:2). 2. The fulfilling of the scripture in him (Mat 3:3). 3. His manner of life (Mat 3:4). 4. The resort of multitudes to him, and their submission to his baptism (Mat 3:5, Mat 3:6). 5. His sermon that he preached to the Pharisees and Sadducees, wherein he endeavours to bring them to repentance (Mat 3:7-10), and so to bring them to Christ (Mat 3:11, Mat 3:12). II. The more glorious shining forth of the Sun of righteousness, immediately after: where we have, 1. The honour done by him to the baptism of John (Mat 3:13-15). 2. The honour done to him by the descent of the Spirit upon him, and a voice from heaven (Mat 3:16, Mat 3:17).

In those days came John the Baptist,.... The Evangelist having given an account of the genealogy and birth of Christ; of the coming of the wise men from the east to him; of his preservation from Herod's bloody design against him, when all the infants at Bethlehem were slain; of the flight of Joseph with Mary and Jesus into Egypt, and of their return from thence, and settlement in Nazareth, where Christ continued till near the time of his baptism, and entrance on his public ministry; proceeds to give a brief relation of John, the harbinger and forerunner of Christ, and the administrator of baptism to him: and he describes him by his name John, in Hebrew "Jochanan", which signifies "gracious", or "the grace of the Lord", or "the Lord has given grace"; which agrees with him, both as a good man, on whom the Lord had bestowed much grace, and as a preacher, whose business it was to publish the grace of God in Christ, Luk 16:16. This name was given him by an angel before his conception, and by his parents at his birth, contrary to the mind of their relations and neighbours, Luk 1:13. He is called by some of the Jewish writers (m), John the "high priest"; his father Zacharias was a priest of the course of Abia, and he might succeed him therein, and be the head of that course, and for that reason be called a "high" or "chief priest"; as we find such were called, who were the principal among the priests, as were those who were chosen into the sanhedrim, or were the heads of these courses; and therefore we read of many chief priests, Mat 2:4. From his being the first administrator of the ordinance of baptism, he is called John the Baptist; and this was a well known title and character of him. Josephus (n) calls him "John", who is surnamed , "the Baptist"; and Ben Gorion having spoken of him, says (o), this is that John who , "made", instituted, or practised "baptism"; and which, by the way, shows that this was not in use among the Jews before, but that John was the first practiser this way. He is described by his work and office as a preacher, he "came" or "was preaching" the doctrines of repentance and baptism; he published and declared that the kingdom of the Messiah was at hand, that he would quickly be revealed; and exhorted the people to believe on him, which should come after him. The place where he preached is mentioned, in the wilderness of Judea; not that he preached to trees and to the wild beasts of the desert; for the wilderness of Judea was an habitable place, and had in it many cities, towns, and villages, in which we must suppose John came preaching, at least to persons which came out from thence. There were in Joshua's time six cities in this wilderness, namely Betharabah, Middin, and Secacah, and Nibshan, and the city of Salt, and Engedi, Jos 15:61. Mention is made in the Talmud (p) of this wilderness of Judea, as distinct from the land of Israel, when the doctors say, that "they do not bring up small cattle in the land of Israel, but they bring them up , "in the wilderness which is in Judea".'' The Jews have an observation (q) of many things coming from the wilderness; "the law, they say, came from the wilderness; the tabernacle from the wilderness; the sanhedrim from the wilderness; the priesthood from the wilderness; the office of the Levites from the wilderness; the kingdom from the wilderness; and all the good gifts which God gave to Israel were from the wilderness.'' So John came preaching here, and Christ was tempted here. The time of his appearance and preaching was in those days: not when Christ was newly born; or when the wise men paid their adoration to him; or when Herod slew the infants; or when he was just dead, and Archelaus reigned in his room; or when Christ first went to Nazareth; though it was whilst he dwelt there as a private person; but when John was about thirty years of age, and Christ was near unto it, Luk 3:23 an age in which ecclesiastical persons entered into service, Num 4:3. It was indeed, as Luke says, Luk 3:1 in the "fifteenth" year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar; Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea; and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee; and his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea; and of the region of Trachonitis; and Lysanias, the tetrarch of Abilene; Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests. (m) Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 25. 2. Chronicon Regum, fol. 54. 4. (n) Antiq. l. 18. c. 7. (o) L. 5. c. 45. (p) T. Bab. Bava Kama, fol, 79. 9. 2. (q) Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 13. 3.

I indeed baptize you with water,.... These words, at first view, look as if they were a continuation of John's discourse with the Pharisees and Sadducees, and as though he had baptized them; whereas by comparing them with what the other Evangelists relate, see Mar 1:5 they are spoken to the people, who, confessing their sins, had been baptized by him; to whom he gives an account of the ordinance of water baptism, of which he was the administrator, in what manner, and on what account he performed it: I indeed baptize you; or, as Mark says, "I have baptized you"; I have authority from God so to do; my commission reaches thus far, and no farther; I can administer, and have administered the outward ordinance to you; but the inward grace and increase of it, together with the ordinary and extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, I cannot confer. I can, and do baptize, upon a profession of repentance, and I can threaten impenitent sinners with divine vengeance; but I cannot bestow the grace of repentance on any, nor punish for impenitence, either here or hereafter; these things are out of my power, and belong to another person hereafter named: all that I do, and pretend to do, is to baptize with water, or rather in water, as should be rendered. Our version seems to be calculated in favour of pouring, or sprinkling water upon, or application of it to the person baptized, in opposition to immersion in it; whereas the "preposition" is not instrumental, but local, and denotes the place, the river Jordan, and the element of water there, in which John was baptizing: and this he did unto repentance, or "at", or upon "repentance": for so may be rendered, as it is in Mat 12:41 for the meaning is not that John baptized them, in order to bring them to repentance; since he required repentance and fruits meet for it, previous to baptism; but that he had baptized them upon the foot of their repentance; and so the learned Grotius observes, that the phrase may be very aptly explained thus: "I baptize you upon the `profession' of repentance which ye make." John gives a hint of the person whose forerunner he was, and of his superior excellency to him: he indeed first speaks of him as one behind him, not in nature or dignity, but in order of time as man; but he that comes after me. John was born before Jesus, and began his ministry before he did; he was his harbinger; Jesus was now coming after him to Jordan from Galilee, to be baptized by him, and then enter on his public ministry: but though he came after him in this sense, he was not beneath, but above him in character; which he freely declares, saying, is mightier than I; not only as he is the mighty God, and so infinitely mightier than he; but in his office and ministry, which was exercised with greater power and authority, and attended with mighty works and miracles, and was followed with the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit. Not to mention the mighty work of redemption performed by him; the resurrection of his own body from the dead; and his exaltation in human nature, above all power, might, and dominion. The Baptist was so sensible of the inequality between them, and of his unworthiness to be mentioned with him, that he seems at a loss almost to express his distance from him; and therefore signifies it by his being unfit to perform one of the most servile offices to him, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; or as the other Evangelists relate it, "whose shoelatchet I am not worthy to unloose"; which amounts to the same sense, since shoes are unloosed in order to be taken from, or carried before, or after a person; which to do was the work of servants among the Jews. In the Talmud (e) it is asked, "What is the manner of possessing of servants? or what is their service? He buckles his (master's) shoes; he "unlooses his shoes", and "carries them before him to the bath."'' Or, as is elsewhere (f) said, "he unlooses his shoes, or carries after him his vessels (whatever he wants) to the bath; he unclothes him, he washes him, he anoints him, he rubs him, he clothes him, he buckles his shoes, and lifts him up.'' This was such a servile work, that it was thought too mean for a scholar or a disciple to do; for it is (g) said, "all services which a servant does for his master, a disciple does for his master, , "except unloosing his shoes".'' The gloss on it says, "he that sees it, will say, he is a "Canaanitish servant":'' for only a Canaanitish, not an Hebrew servant (h), might be employed in, or obliged to such work; for it was reckoned not only, mean and servile, but even base and reproachful. It is one of their (i) canons; "if thy brother is become poor, and is sold unto thee, thou shalt not make him do the work of a servant; that is, , any reproachful work; such as to buckle his shoes, or unloose them, or carry his instruments (or necessaries) after him to the bath.'' Now John thought himself unworthy; it was too great an honour for him to do that for Christ, which was thought too mean for a disciple to do for a wise man, and too scandalous for an Hebrew servant to do for his master, to whom he was sold; which shows the great humility of John, and the high opinion he had of Christ. It has been controverted whether Christ wore shoes or not; Jerom affirmed that he did not: but it seems from hence that he did; nor were the Jews used to walk barefoot, but on certain occasions. The Baptist points at the peculiar work of this great person, in which he greatly exceeds anything done by him; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire; referring, either to the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, to be bestowed on the disciples on the day of Pentecost, of which the cloven tongues, like as of fire, which appeared unto them, and sat upon them, were the symbols; which was an instance of the great power and grace of Christ, and of his exaltation at the Father's right hand. Or rather, this phrase is expressive of the awful judgments which should be inflicted by him on the Jewish nation; when he by his Spirit should "reprove" them for the sin of rejecting him; and when he should appear as a "refiner's fire", and as "fuller's soap"; when "the day of the Lord" should "burn as an oven"; when he should "purge the blood of Jerusalem", his own blood, and the blood of the Apostles and Prophets shed in it, "from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning"; the same with "the Holy Ghost and fire" here, or the fire of the Holy Ghost, or the holy Spirit of fire; and is the same with "the wrath to come", and with what is threatened in the context: the unfruitful trees shall be cut down, and cast into the fire", and the "chaff" shall be burnt with unquenchable fire". And as this sense best agrees with the context, it may the rather be thought to be genuine; since John is speaking not to the disciples of Christ, who were not yet called, and who only on the day of Pentecost were baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire, in the other sense of this phrase; but to the people of the Jews, some of whom had been baptized by him; and others were asking him questions, others gazing upon him, and wondering what manner of person he was; and multitudes of them continued obdurate and impenitent under his ministry, whom he threatens severely in the context. Add to all this, that the phrase of dipping or baptizing in fire seems to be used in this sense by the Jewish writers. In the Talmud (k) one puts the question, In what does he (God,) dip? You will say in water, as it is written, "who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?" Another replies, , "he dips in fire"; as it is written, "for behold the Lord will come with fire". What is the meaning of , "baptism in fire?" He answers, according to the mind of Rabbah, the root of "dipping in the fire", is what is written; "all that abideth not the fire, ye shall make go" through the water. Dipping in the fire of the law, is a phrase used by the Jews (l). The phrases of "dipping, and washing in fire", are also used by Greek (m) authors. (e) T. Hieros. Kiddushin, fol. 59. 4. Maimon. & T. Bartenora in Misu. Kiddushin, c. 1. sect. 3. (f) T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 22. 2. Maimon. Hilch. Mechirah, c. 2. sect. 2. (g) T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 96. 1. Maimon. Talmud Torn, c. 5. sect. 8. (h) Maimon. Hilch. Abadim, c. 1. sect. 7. (i) Moses Kotzensis Mitzvot Torah, precept. neg. 176. (k) T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 39. 1. (l) Tzeror Hammor. fol. 104. 4. & 142. 3. & 170. 1. (m) Moschi Idyll. 1. Philostrat, Vit. Apollon, l. 3. c. 5.

That, then, was no celestial thing which furnished no celestial (endowments): whereas the very thing which was celestial in John-the Spirit of prophecy-so completely failed, after the transfer of the whole Spirit to the Lord, that he presently sent to inquire whether He whom he had himself preached, whom he had pointed out when coming to him, were "HE.

John himself professes that the celestial things are not his, but Christ's, by saying, "He who is from the earth speaketh concerning the earth; He who comes from the realms above is above all; " and again, by saying that he "baptized in repentance only, but that One would shortly come who would baptize in the Spirit and fire; " -of course because true and stable faith is baptized with water, unto salvation; pretended and weak faith is baptized with fire, unto judgment.

Leaving to the Apostles the glory of bearing about the Gospel, to whose beautiful feet was due the carrying the tidings of God's peace. He marks the time of our salvation and judgment in the Lord; those who are baptized in the Holy Ghost it remains that they be consummated by the fire of judgment. The wheat, i. e. the full and perfect fruit of the believer, he declares, shall be laid up in heavenly barns; by the chaff he means the emptiness of the unfruitful.

The work of the law is now ineffectual for salvation. John appeared as a messenger of repentance to those about to be baptized. It was the task of the prophets to call people away from their sins, but it was proper to Christ to save those who believe. Thus John said that he was baptizing them for repentance. He also said that a mightier one would come whose sandals he was not worthy to untie. And he left to the apostles the glory of spreading God’s word. It would be their duty to go about with their trusty feet and proclaim God’s peace. He therefore points ahead to the time of our salvation and judgment in the Lord, saying, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

The words “behind me” are used in the sense of “after me.” “He who is coming” is said rather than “he who shall be revealed.” The souls of the saints, in order to receive the mystery of revelation, are said to be baptized purely “in fire.” This is because the Spirit first came down upon the disciples in tongues of fire, by which they were baptized and their souls made perfect. Or because, in the age to come, all will be baptized with fire, for “everyone will be salted with fire,” so that “the fire may test everyone’s work, of what sort it is.” Fire is appointed for the material element, which in itself is neither wicked nor evil but powerful and able to purify from evil. For the power of fire is deemed to be beneficial and strong, destructive of evil things and preservative of what is better. This is why fire is associated with wisdom by the prophets. For this reason also, when God is called “a consuming fire,” this is to be understood as a term and symbol not for evil but for power. As fire is the strongest of the elements and conquers everything else, in the same way God is all-powerful and almighty, able to conquer, to create, to make, to nourish, to multiply, to save, possessing authority over both body and soul. Just as fire outperforms all the elements, so too all gods, powers and rulers are no match for the Almighty.Fire has a twofold potency. On the one hand, it is suitable for the formation and ripening of fruits and for the birth and sustenance of animals. The sun is the primary image of this power. On the other hand, fire is fit for destroying and consuming, as is the case with earthly fire. When God therefore is called a “consuming fire,” able to destroy, he is being called a mighty and irresistible power. To God nothing is impossible. Concerning such a power the Savior also says, “I came to cast fire upon the earth.” This is a power that purifies the saints, causes material things to disappear and, we might say, educates. Fire induces fear. Its light spreads outward.

For (let me add) on account of this,-lest they should say, "Thou art alarming and pressing, and constraining us, applying an axe, and threatening us with being cut down, yet requiring produce in time of punishment,"-he hath added, to signify the ease of bearing that fruit, "I indeed baptize you with water, but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose; He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:" implying hereby that consideration only is needed and faith, not labors and toils; and as it is easy to be baptized, so is it easy to be converted, and to become better men. So having stirred their mind by the fear of God's judgment, and the expectation of His punishment, and by the mention of the axe, and by the loss of their ancestors, and by the bringing in of those other children, and by the double vengeance of cutting off and burning, and having by all means softened their hardness, and brought them to desire deliverance from so great evils; then he brings in what he hath to say touching Christ; and not simply, but with a declaration of His great superiority. Then in setting forth the difference between himself and Him, lest he should seem to say this out of favor, he establishes the fact by comparison of the gifts bestowed by each of them. For he did not at once say, "I am not worthy to unloose the lachet of His shoe;" but when he had first set forth the little value of his own baptism, and had shown that it hath nothing more than to lead them to repentance (for he did not say with water of remission, but of repentance), he sets forth Christ's also, which is full of the unspeakable gift. Thus he seems to say, "Lest, on being told that He cometh after me, thou shouldest despise Him as having come later; learn thou the virtue of His gift, and thou wilt clearly know that I uttered nothing worthy nor great, when I said, 'I am not worthy to unloose the latchet of His shoe.' So too when thou art told, 'He is mightier than I,' do not think I said this in the way of making a comparison. For I am not worthy to be ranked so much as among His servants, no, not even the lowest of His servants, nor to receive the least honored portion of His ministry." Therefore He did not merely say, "His shoes," but not even "the latchet," which kind of office was the very lowest. Then again, lest any one should deem what he had said to be an expression of humility, he adds also the proof from the facts: "For He shall baptize you," saith he, "with the Holy Ghost and with fire."

Seest thou how great is the wisdom of the Baptist? how, when He Himself is preaching, He saith everything to alarm, and fill them with anxiety; but when He is sending men to Him, whatever was mild and apt to recover them: not bringing forward the axe, nor the tree that is cut down and burnt, and cast into the fire, nor the wrath to come, but remission of sins, and removing of punishment, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, and adoption, and brotherhood, and a partaking of the inheritance, and an abundant supply of the Holy Ghost. For all these things he obscurely denoted, when he said, "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost;" at once, by the very figure of speech, declaring the abundance of the grace (for he said not, "He will give you the Holy Ghost," but "He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost"); and by the specification of fire on the other hand indicating the vehement and uncontrollable quality of His grace. Imagine only what sort of men it was meet for the hearers to become, when they considered that they were at once to be like the prophets, and like those great ones. For it was on this account, you see, that he made mention at all of fire; that he might lead them to reflect on the memory of those men. Because, of all the visions that appeared unto them, I had almost said, the more part appeared in fire; thus God discoursed with Moses in the bush, thus with all the people in the mount Sinai, thus with Ezekiel on the cherubim.

And mark again how he rouses the hearer, by putting that first which was to take place after all. For the Lamb was to be slain, and sin to be blotted out, and the enmity to be destroyed, and the burial to take place, and the resurrection, and then the Spirit to come. But none of these things doth he mention as yet, but that first which was last, and for the sake of which all the former were done, and which was fittest to proclaim His dignity; so that when the hearer should be told that he was to receive so great a Spirit he might search with himself, how and in what manner this shall be, while sin so prevails; that finding him full of thought and prepared for that lesson, he might thereupon introduce what he had to say touching the Passion, no man being any more offended, under the expectation of such a gift.

In the other Gospels it is, whose shoe latchet I am not worthy to loose. Here his humility, there his ministry is intended; Christ is the Bridegroom, and John is not worthy to loose the Bridegroom's shoe, that his house be not called according to the Law of Moses and the example of Ruth, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed. (Deut. 25:10.) Either the Holy Ghost Himself is a fire, as we learn from the Acts, when there sat as it were fire on the tongues of the believers; and thus the word of the Lord was fulfilled who said, I am come to send fire on the earth, I will that it burn. (Luke 12:49.) Or, we are baptized now with the Spirit, hereafter with fire; as the Apostle speaks, Fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it ise. (1 Cor. 3:13.)

(Verse 10, 11.) For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I. The preaching of the Gospel word, which is sharp on both sides, is called an axe, according to the prophet Jeremiah, who compares the word of the Lord to an axe cutting through a rock (Jeremiah 46). Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. In another Gospel: Whose, he said, I am not worthy to untie the strap of his shoe: here humility is shown, there mystery is demonstrated, that Christ is the bridegroom, and John does not deserve to untie the bridegroom's shoe, lest his house be called according to the law of Moses, and the example of Ruth, the house of the barefoot (Deut. XXV, and Ruth. IV).

(in Joann. Tract. v. 5.) Or, he baptizes, because it behoved Christ to be baptized. But if indeed John was sent only to baptize Christ, why was not He alone baptized by John? Because had the Lord alone been baptized by John, there would not have lacked who should insist that John's baptism was greater than Christ's, inasmuch as Christ alone had the merit to be baptized by it. (de Cons. Ev. ii. 12.) If any asks which were the actual words spoken by John, whether those reported by Matthew, or by Luke, or by Mark, it may be shown, that there is no difficulty here to him who rightly understands that the sense is essential to our knowledge of the truth, but the words indifferent. And it is clear we ought not to deem any testimony false, because the same fact is related by several persons who were present in different words and different ways. Whoever thinks that the Evangelists might have been so inspired by the Holy Ghost that they should have differed among themselves neither in the choice, nor the number, nor the order of their words, he does not see that by how much the authority of the Evangelists is preeminent, so much the more is to be by them established the veracity of other men in the same circumstances. But the discrepancy may seem to be in the thing, and not only in words, between, I am not worthy to bear His shoes, and, to loose His shoe-latchet. Which of these two expressions did John use? He who has reported the very words will seem to have spoken truth; he who has given other words, though he have not hid, or been forgetful, yet has he said one thing for another. But the Evangelists should be clear of every kind of falseness, not only that of lying, but also that of forgetfulness. If then this discrepancy be important, we may suppose John to have used both expressions, either at different times, or both at the same time. But if he only meant to express the Lord's greatness and his own humility, whether he used one or the other the sense is preserved, though any one should in his own words repeat the same profession of humility using the figure of the shoes; their will and intention does not differ. This then is a useful rule and one to be remembered, that it is no lie, when one fairly represents his meaning whose speech one is recounting, though one uses other words; if only one shows our meaning to be the same with his. Thus understood it is a wholesome direction, that we are to enquire only after the meaning of the speaker.

The blessed Baptist added to the word spirit the active and meaningful phrase “and with fire.” This was not to imply that through Christ we shall all be baptized with fire but to indicate through the designation fire that the life-giving energy of the Spirit is given.

Now we must focus on what is meant by these sandals from the spiritual standpoint. We know that Moses said long ago: “Put off your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” We read that Joshua the son of Nun likewise said, “Remove the latchet from your sandal.” But as to why they are ordered by the Lord to remove their sandals, we must understand this to be the type of a future truth. According to the law, if a man is unwilling to accept the wife of his brother after his brother’s death, he should take off his shoes, so that another may marry her and succeed by right of law. As to the commandment prefigured in law, we find it fulfilled in Christ, who is the true bridegroom of the church. Therefore, because neither Moses the lawgiver nor Joshua the leader of the people could be the bridegroom of the church, not without good reason was it said to them that they should remove the sandals from their feet, because the true future bridegroom of the church, Christ, was to be expected. John says concerning him: “He who has the bride is the bridegroom.” To bear or loosen his sandals, John professed himself to be unworthy. The Lord himself through David revealed that these sandals signify the footsteps of gospel preaching when he says, “Upon Edom I cast my shoe”; through his apostles he will take the steps of gospel teaching everywhere.

Or, John was sent to baptize, that to such as came to his baptism he might announce the presence among them of the Lord in the flesh, as himself testifies in another place, That He might be manifested to Israel, therefore am I come to baptise with water. (John 1:31.) Because then he baptized on account of Christ, therefore to them who came to him for baptism he preached that Christ should come, signifying the eminence of His power in the words, He who cometh after me is mightier than I. Or, by the feet of Christ we may understand Christians, especially the Apostles, and other preachers, among whom was John Baptist; and the shoes are the infirmities with which he loads the preachers. These shoes all Christ's preachers wear; and John also wore them; but declares himself unworthy, that he might show the grace of Christ, and be greater than his deserts. But since no one can give a benefit more worthy than he himself is, nor to make another what himself is not, he adds, He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. John who is carnal cannot give spiritual baptism; he baptizes with water, which is matter; so that he baptizes matter with matter. Christ is Spirit, because He is God; the Holy Ghost is Spirit, the soul is spirit; so that Spirit with Spirit baptizes our spirit. The baptism of the Spirit profits as the Spirit enters and embraces the mind, and surrounds it as it were with an impregnable wall, not suffering fleshly lusts to prevail against it. It does not indeed prevail that the flesh should not lust, but holds the will that it should not consent with it. And as Christ is Judge, He baptizes in fire, i. e. temptation; mere man cannot baptize in fire. He alone is free to tempt, who is strong to reward. This baptism of tribulation burns up the flesh that it does not generate lust, for the flesh does not fear spiritual punishment, but only such as is carnal. The Lord therefore sends carnal tribulation on his servants, that the flesh fearing its own pains, may not lust after evil. See then how the Spirit drives away lust, and suffers it not to prevail, and the fire burns up its very roots. It is plain then that the baptismg of Christ does not undo the baptism of John, but includes it in itself; he who is baptized in Christ's name hath both baptisms, that of water and that of the Spirit. For Christ is Spirit, and hath taken to Him the body that He might give both bodily and spiritual baptism. John's baptism does not include in it the baptism of Christ, because the less cannot include the greater. Thus the Apostle having found certain Ephesians baptized with John's baptism, baptized them again in the name of Christ, because they had not been baptized in the Spirit: thus Christ baptized a second time those who had been baptized by John, as John himself declared he should, I baptize you with water; but He shall baptize you with the Spirit. And yet they were not baptized twice but once; for as the baptism of Christ was more than that of John, it was a new one given, not the same repeated. The floor, is the Church, the barn, is the kingdom of heaven, the field, is the world. The Lord sends forth His Apostles and other teachers, as reapers to reap all nations of the earth, and gather them into the floor of the Church. Here we must be threshed and winnowed, for all men are delighted in carnal things as grain delights in the husk. But whoever is faithful and has the marrow of a good heart, as soon as he has a light tribulation, neglecting carnal things runs to the Lord; but if his faith be feeble, hardly with heavy sorrow; and he who is altogether void of faith, however he may be troubled, passes not over to God. The wheat when first thrashed lies in one heap with chaff and straw, and is after winnowed to separate it; so the faithful are mixed up in one Church with the unfaithful; but persecution comes as a wind, that, tossed by Christ's fan, they whose hearts were separate before, may be also now separated in place. He shall not merely cleanse, but throughly cleanse; therefore the Church must needs be tried in many ways till this be accomplished. And first the Jews winnowed it, then the Gentiles, now the heretics, and after a time shall Antichrist throughly winnow it. For as when the blast is gentle, only the lighter chaff is carried off, but the heavier remains; so a slight wind of temptation carries off the worst characters only; but should a greater storm arise, even those who seem stedfast will depart. There is need then of heavier persecution that the Church should be cleansed.

There are five points in which Christ comes after John, His birth, preaching, baptism, death, and descent into hell. A beautiful expression is that, mightier than I, because he is mere man, the other is God and man. This His floor, to wit, the Church, the Lord cleanses in this life, both when by the sentence of the Priests the bad are put out of the Church, and when they are cut off by death. The unquenchable fire is the punishment of eternal damnation; either because it never totally destroys or consumes those it has once seized on, but torments them eternally; or to distinguish it from purgatorial fire which is kindled for a time and again extinguished.

Therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire, because he who here neglects to bring forth the fruit of good works finds a fire in hell prepared for him. (Hom. in Ev. vii. 3.) John baptizes not with the Spirit but with water, because he had no power to forgive sins; he washes the body with water, but not at the same time the soul with pardon of sin. (ubi sup.) Why then does he baptize who could not remit sin, but that he may preserve in all things the office of forerunner? As his birth had preceded Christ's birth, so his baptism should precede the Lord's baptism. (Mor. xxxiv. 5.) After the threshing is finished in this life, in which the grain now groans under the burden of the chaff, the fan of the last judgment shall so separate between them, that neither shall any chaff pass into the granary, nor shall the grain fall into the fire which consumes the chaff.

"I baptize in water; but there has stood in your midst one whom you do not know." John baptizes not with the Spirit, but with water, because, not being able to forgive sins, he washes the bodies of the baptized through water, but nevertheless does not wash the mind through pardon. Why then does he baptize who does not remit sins through baptism, unless, preserving the order of his role as precursor, he who had preceded by being born the one who was to be born, might also precede by baptizing the Lord who was to baptize; and he who by preaching became the precursor of Christ, might also become his precursor in baptizing through imitation of the sacrament?

Or, by this sign of baptism he separates the penitent from the impenitent, and directs them to the baptism of Christ. As though he had said, I indeed am mighty to invite to repentance, He to forgive sins; I to preach the kingdom of heaven, He to bestow it; I to baptize with water, He with the Spirit. By the fan is signified the separation of a just trial; that it is in the Lord's hand, means, 'in His power,' as it is written, The Father hath committed all judgment to the Son. The cleansing of the floor will then be finally accomplished, when the Son of Man shall send His Angels, and shall gather all offences out of His kingdom. There is this difference between the chaff and the tares, that the chaff is produced of the same seed as the wheat, but the tares from one of another kind. The chaff therefore are those who enjoy the sacraments of the faith, but are not solid; the tares are those who in profession as well as in works are separated from the lot of the good.

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but He that cometh after me is mightier than I. He had told them to bring forth fruit; now he shows them what fruit to bring forth: to believe in Him that is coming after John. After him came Christ. For just as Christ came after John in birth, by only six months, so it was also in His public manifestation. First the Forerunner was made manifest, and then came Christ, after the testimony of the Forerunner. Whose sandals I am not worthy to bear. I am not even the least of His servants, he says, who carries His sandals. By "sandals" understand the Lord's two descents, the one from heaven to earth, and the other from earth to hades. For the sandals, being leather, represent flesh and mortification. The Forerunner, then, is not able to carry these two descents, that is, not able to understand how they occurred. He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit. That is, He shall flood you with the gifts and the grace of the Holy Spirit. For my baptism, John says, provides neither spiritual grace nor forgiveness of sins, but He will forgive you and give you the Spirit in abundance.

(non occ.) As in the preceding words John had explained more at length what he had shortly preached in the words, Repent ye, so now follows a more full enlargement of the words, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

"I baptize you with water." Above, John exhorted them to do penance, now he intends to do what he had frequently said, namely, to announce the kingdom of heaven. In regard to this he does two things: first, he mentions preparation for the kingdom; secondly, he foretells the kingdom. That kingdom is Christ, of whom Luke says: "The kingdom of heaven is within you" (17:21). The preparation, of course, is baptism; hence "I, indeed, (and this is a marvel to you) baptize in water only," i.e., because I am only a man. Hence, he could merely wash the body and could not give the Holy Spirit, since the payment for sinning had not yet been paid: "Without the shedding of blood there is not forgiveness of sin" (Heb 9:22). Furthermore, the Holy Spirit had not yet descended, nor had Christ sanctified the water by its contact with his flesh. Why then was he baptizing? For three reasons: first, to anticipate Christ by baptizing: "You will go before the Lord to prepare his ways" (Lk 1:76); secondly, to have the opportunity to preach about Christ before so many people assembled: "That he might be revealed in Israel, I came baptizing in water" (Jn 1:31); Thirdly, to prepare them for the baptism of Christ. Hence, the custom in the Church that those desiring baptism be catechumens first, namely, that they be prepared and receive a sign by which they are considered worthy. That is why he says, "I baptize," in order that you might know that you who intend to be baptized in Christ are suitable. Note that in IV Sent. the Master says that those baptized by John were not baptized by Christ, unless they put their hope in John. But this is false; hence he says, "He will baptize you." Note, too, that Augustine raises the question: If they were re-baptized after John's baptism, why were they not re-baptized after baptism by heretics? The answer is that John baptized in his own person, but heretics, in the person of Christ. Hence, it must be regarded as Christ's baptism. Then he deals with the kingdom: first, he shows Christ's dignity; secondly, his office, "He will baptize you." He says, therefore, "He who is coming after me" by birth, by baptizing, by preaching, by dying, by descending into hell. But here he speaks of two only, namely, of preaching and of baptism; hence he says, "He who is coming after me" to baptize and preach: "He will go before you in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Lk 1:17). "Is mightier than I," and his baptism is mightier: "There is none holy like the Lord" (1 Sam 2:2); "If it is a matter of strength, behold him" (Jb 9:19). And so that no one suppose that there is any comparison between them, he says, "whose sandals I am not worthy to carry." As if to say: He is incomparably greater than I, as Chrysostom explains, to such an extent that I do not deserve to render him any service. But it should be noted that in the other three evangelists, it is not stated in the same way: because it says there "to loose," here "to carry." Hence Augustine says that John wished only to show his own lowliness and the dignity of Christ, and then the same thing is signified in all. Therefore, he says that it was through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that in such matters the evangelists not use the same words, in order to show proof that we are not lying, although we do not use the same words. But if he desired to signify something mystical, then there is a difference between the words of John and of the others: and two things can be signified by "the strap of a shoe," because by shoe is signified the humanity: "Upon Edom I have cast my shoe" (Ps 60:8). The strap is the union, whereby the humanity was tied to the divinity. And because he did not consider himself adequate to explain the mystery of the union, he said, "whose sandals I am not worthy to carry." Also it was a custom among the Jews (Dt 25:9) that if one was not willing to take his brother's wife, he was supposed to loose the strap of the person who accepted the wife. The spouse of Christ is the Church. At that time, therefore, John considered himself unworthy to take the spouse of Christ. Hilary gives another explanation, namely, that those who announce the humanity of Christ throughout the world carry his shoes, and this was reserved to the apostles: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who preaches salvation" (Is 52:7). Therefore, John says that he is not worthy to carry the shoes which were reserved for the apostles, for it is a greater office to preach the Gospel than to baptize: "Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel" (1 Cor 1:17). Were the apostles, therefore, greater than John? Not in merit but by their role in the New Testament. And according to this sense it is stated below (11:11): "He who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Chrysostom gives another explanation, namely, that the feet are the apostles and other servants of Christ, among whom was John. The shoe is their weakness; because, just as the elegance of the feet is not known as long as they are covered with a shoe, so the greatness of the apostles: "Gladly will I glory in my weaknesses, that the grace of Christ may dwell in me" (2 Cor 12:9). "Whose shoes I am not worthy to carry," because neither he nor the apostles regarded themselves worthy to be ministers of Christ's gospel: "Such is the trust we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to claim anything as coming from ourselves; our sufficiency is from God" (2 Cor 3:4-5). If, therefore, it signifies diverse things according to a mystery, which of these did John say? The answer, according to Augustine, is that if John's words are referred to different things, then he said both. Or that John, preaching to the crowds, sometimes said one and sometimes the other. Then he deals with Christ's office: first, with the office of baptizing; secondly, with the office of judging. He says, therefore, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Many books have "and fire." But they are speaking after the manner of the Greeks, who do not have the ablative case. And he says "with the Holy Spirit and with fire." In this we are given to understand that Christ's baptism has more than John's baptism, because it adds over the latter, because Christ baptized in water and the Spirit: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven" (Jn 3:5). But note that when he says, "He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit," he asserts that the copious gifts of the Holy Spirit must be had, the recipients of which are completely cleansed: "But you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5). He also intimates that the change will be easy. "And with fire." This is explained in a number of ways. Jerome says that the same thing is designated by the Holy Spirit and fire: "I have come to send fire on the earth, and what will I but that it be kindled?" i.e., the Holy Spirit (Lk 12:49). Therefore, he also appeared in fire: "And he appeared to them in parted tongues of fire" (Acts 2:3). According to Chrysostom by fire is signified present tribulations, which expiate for sins: "The kiln tests the potter's vessel, and the trial of tribulation the just man" (Sir 27:5). But it should be noted that he says that this baptism is necessary, because the baptism of the Holy Spirit keeps the mind from being overcome by temptations; but it does not entirely remove the consequences of the flesh. Therefore, tribulation is necessary, because the flesh, then weakened, will not sprout forth concupiscence. Hence, there is need for fire which refreshes the soul. Or by fire is understood the future cleansing in purgatory: "Fire will test what kind of work each one has done" (1 Cor 3:13). Hilary explains it of the fire of hell and says that he intends two things, when he says, "he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire," namely, the salvation he effects in the present and in the future. In the future he will cleanse through the fire of hell, in as much as it will attract the wicked; and this agrees with what follows, "the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

PREACHING AND MINISTRY OF JOHN. ( = Mar 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-18). (Mat 3:1-12) In those days--of Christ's secluded life at Nazareth, where the last chapter left Him. came John the Baptist, preaching--about six months before his Master. in the wilderness of Judea--the desert valley of the Jordan, thinly peopled and bare in pasture, a little north of Jerusalem.

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance--(See on Mat 3:6); but he that cometh after me is mightier than I--In Mark and Luke this is more emphatic--"But there cometh the Mightier than I" (Mar 1:7; Luk 3:16). whose shoes--sandals. I am not worthy to bear--The sandals were tied and untied, and borne about by the meanest servants. he shall baptize you--the emphatic "He": "He it is," to the exclusion of all others, "that shall baptize you." with the Holy Ghost--"So far from entertaining such a thought as laying claim to the honors of Messiahship, the meanest services I can render to that "Mightier than I that is coming after me" are too high an honor for me; I am but the servant, but the Master is coming; I administer but the outward symbol of purification; His it is, as His sole prerogative, to dispense the inward reality. Beautiful spirit, distinguishing this servant of Christ throughout! and with fire--To take this as a distinct baptism from that of the Spirit--a baptism of the impenitent with hell-fire--is exceedingly unnatural. Yet this was the view of ORIGEN among the Fathers; and among moderns, of NEANDER, MEYER, DE WETTE, and LANGE. Nor is it much better to refer it to the fire of the great day, by which the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Clearly, as we think, it is but the fiery character of the Spirit's operations upon the soul-searching, consuming, refining, sublimating--as nearly all good interpreters understand the words. And thus, in two successive clauses, the two most familiar emblems--water and fire--are employed to set forth the same purifying operations of the Holy Ghost upon the soul.