The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 170

oli~ of the following verse shows that we water, ■eel.n.g that there atandeth I in the hllve still to do with 1he Mme deputation. midst of you• one (whom you Im.ow not) The Phnria<"PB were accustomed to luetml who ii ooming after me, whose ■hoe's latohet rites, but hnd l<'glll points to make 1111 to the I am not worthy to loose. Thie standing in authority of any man who de.red to impose the very crowd beforo him of the Mightier them upon th<" sarred nation, and especially thRn John, now being searched out 11.11 it on their own section. whioh mllde its special were by the gln.nces of tho D11ptiet, nnd bOA11t of C'.eremoniRl e:rm<'titude and purit'I'. reoognized by him 1\8 One over whom tho They might justify llD old prophet, or tlie hoavens hlld opened, gave ample support to Elijah of J\fala<'hi. and still more the Christ the Baptist in hie baptismnl functions. The himself, should he call men to baptismal One coming after John, i.e. "o.fter," becnnse cleansing Hut the dim mysterious "voice of John's chronological precedence in show- in the wilderness," even if John could prove ing himself to Israel, is yet of such lofty rank his words, hlld no such prcscripti'l'e claim. n.nd migMy power that John is not flt in The Pharisaic priests and Levites would his own opinion to be his humblest slave. to.ke strong views on the baptismal question, This solemn assurance justifies to the San- llnd even exalt it into a more eminent pince hedrin the prepRratory rite. This closes the in their thoughts than the fundamental first great testimony. Before proceeding to question," Art thou the very Christ?" The the second, the evangelist supplies a geogra- same confusion of essential and a.ccidental phical hint, which up to the present day elements of religious truth and .life was not ho.s not been satisfactorily interpreted. confined to old Phlll'isees. Ver. 28.-These things were done in Beth- Ver. 25.-And they asked him (put the any beyond the J"ordan, where John was question), a.nd said to him, Why baptizest baptizing.• The fact that John tho Baptist, thou, theu, if thou be not I the Christ, not Elijah, not the prophet ! It wonld seem 1 ~"11"" is rend by Tregelles, Tischendorf that. judging from such expressions as (8th edit.), Westcott and Hort, with B, L, T; Ezek. xxi::vi. 25, 26 and Zech. xiii 1, the in ple.ee of EtT'M11C<v, with Lachmann, T.R., Jews e:i::pected some renewal of ceremonial and margin of Tregelles, and B1l.le Revisers, purifice.tion on a grand scale at the Messianic on the authority of A, C, X, r, and other appearance, o.nd John's repudiation of every uncials. 'Etrrl,1e<1 is the reading of I:(, G. personal rank, which could, e.ccording to their • T.R. and Lachmann:introduce lµ:,rpotr9lv view, justify him oe.lled for some explana- µ.011 i,.-yov,v after lpx&µ.evos, with A, C', X, tion. r, etc.r; but Tregelles, Tischendorf, Alford, Vers. 26, 27.-The an..-wer is not very and Westcott and Hort omit it, with N, B, explicit. .Tohn a.n.ewered them a.nd said, I c•, L, T, etc. The omission of 5, after µ.fros, baptise with water; not o.s Messiah, or Elijah, on the authority of N, A, C*, L, numerous oraresuecita.ted prophet, not as making prose- cursives and versions, by modern editors, lytes to the faith of Abraham's sons, not as renders the omission of the {µ.1rpotr9b, µ.ov an Eeeene admitting the children or the "Yfro11E11 more comprehensible, and lea.vee a kingdom to a close epiritWLl corporation, but good meaning to the verse; but the omis- because the M:eBBiah has come. Some have sion of the clause creates an unnecessary la.id great emphasis on the limitation which difficulty again in ver. 30, where John ap- John assigns to his be.ptiem. It is said he pears to refer back to this utterance with thus anticipated the contra.et afterwards ex- additional explanation. pressed between it and the Spirit-baptism • Little doubt now remains that Iv B119a.vl~ of Jeeue. This is. however, reserved for a was the original reading of the text. It ie later utterance. The baptism with water found in N•, A, B, C*, E, F, G, H, X, and inaugurated the Meesi.e.nic kingdom, pre- other uncials, both Syriac Versions, Old pared the people to receive the Lard. If, Latin, M:emphitic, Armenian, including then, Messiah were reasonably expected several cursives. The reading B719a.~a.p~ was thus to create a fellowship or those, who, found apparently by Origen in some copies, substituted this simple lustmtion for a though he knew of the reading B118a.11lir-, and cmnbroue cycle of ceremoniel purifications, distinctly referred to it, discarding the latter John, as the "voice,n the "herald,'' the on geographical grounds. He knew that • crier " in the wildemees, was justified in Bethany wo.s fifteen stadia from Jerusalem, administering the rite. I bapti.ze with wae not on the other side of Jordan, o.nd, not being able to find any pla.ce of that name, he 1 The T.B. reads o~•, o~• on email adopted the reading " Bethabe.ra." He prob- authority, but ob5.-, oii5, are found in ably is the author of the :reading "Beth- tt, A, B, C, L, I, 33, 124, and in eix quota- aba.ra," which crept into secondary uncials tions from Origen, and adopted by Tre- and cursives, and was &dopted by 'l'.R. The gelles, Tiachendorf (81.h edit.), Westcott and latter name, however, occurs in Beveral dif- Hort, B.T., 8'c., aod yield better aet11e, ferent for11111: B118a~ap4, BI found in O*, K, OR, I, I-51.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. 29