The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 265

oorrect its prejudices. If 11, Cew expressions, We are expressly told, both here 1mrl in eh. auoh as "the only begotten Bon," "this is iv. 3, that it was in Jndllla, not Samaria, the ooademaa.tion, that," "he that doeth that Jesus there tarried with them, and was the truth," aro found in writings which are baptizing. The words imply a longthened abode, and a method of ministry which, from John's undoubted composition, the circum- tho.t time, he la.id nside. The statement staaco may be oxplo.ined tha.t he borrowed tho.t ho administered the rite personally is them from Jesus. This is quite as rational in eh. iv. 2 explicitly corrected. 'l'he bap- (not to sa.y legitimate and reverential) as to tism by the disciples wag done, however, suppose, beca.use of them, tho.t John in- with the sanction and under the direction of Jesus. As the trial ministry of the twelve vented thc,m, nnd bctrnyed their ol'igin by apostles (mentioned in Matt. x.), occurring placing them in the lips of Jesus. during our Lord's earthly life, corresponded We do not suppose that John has me- with tbe fust preaching of John rather than chn.nicully recited the whole of the words with that which followed the glorificn.tion that were spoken on either side, but pre- of Jesus and the Pentecostal effusion, so this ordinance closely resembled the water- served those heads of discourse which rise baptism of John; it was a prepn.rntory symbol, likQ mountain-peaks a.hove the oceans of an e<lucational rite, one that allied this early th1mght between them, and are linked to- ministry to that of his great forerunner. gether by the glo1·y which they severally The water-baptism of Jesus corresponded reflect frolll the sublime personality of the in significance with the water-baptism of John. They were one and the same ordi- Son of mnn. no.nce, predictive, symbolic, anticipatory of the baptism of the Spirit. "Jesus adopted Vera. 22-36,-6. The sioanlike song of the John's baptism ere its waters for ever ceased Baptist. . . . . to flow, and thus he blessed and consecrated Vere. 22-26.-(1) Th6 rninistry and bap- them. He took np the work of his fore- tism of JesUB in Judrea.. runner o.nd completed it" (Ederilieim, L Ver. 22.-With this verse o. new departure 393). Weiss (with consent c,f Rena.a) ad- is taken, and circumstances a.re described mits that these reminiscences revenl their which indirectly, rather than explicitly, in- own historicity, and none more so than the dicate the manner of our Lord's ministry return of J eBllS for a time to the scenes of for the larger part of·"' year; and they the activity of the Baptist. Apparently such furnish opportunity for recording the last an act conflicts with the exalted ideas the great public utterance of John the Baptist, author of the Fourth Gospel entertains with with 1111 its special difficulties of chronology reference to his Master. Thoma thinks he and doctrine. . After these things, related sees in Pauline writings indication of Christ's in, the prevjous paragraphs; after, that is, bapti.smcl ministry, and suggests that the the scene .in ,the temple, o.nd the demand for "J ohannist" therefore finds a place for such o. sign, and the typical discour;e of the Lord "o. washing in water by the Word" in the with II ruler of the Jews, from rco.sous not active word of Jesus I When our Lord, difficult to deduce from the narro.tivc, Jasus after his resurrection, referred to the bap- (came) a.nd his disciples [came] into the land tism with the Spirit, he contI'!lsted it with (-yilv; not xwpav, as in Mark i. 5) of Judme. the baptism of John, and made no reference Surroundei 01· accompanied by some of his to his own temporary adoption of the same disciples (John being one of them), Jesus rite. All water-baptism is thus placed in left the metropolis and betook himself to the its true rel:J.tion to the baptism of the Spirit country-side. His Messianio claims were -not as the necessary preliminary of the not accepted by the authorities. He did latter, nor its indispensable seal or guarantee, not entrust himself to the h.'llf-believers. but as the impressive symbol of the need of He . altered or devinted from the course heavenly cleansing, o.nd of the direct impact hitherto adopted, and addressed himself to upon the soul of the power of the eternal the !€,as-prejudiced inho.bitants of the country Spirit. The length of our Lorcl's residence places in the province of J udroa. His hour in J udrea. cannot be positively determined.; wns not yet come. Jerusalem and Judah hut one hint may be gathered from eh. iv. 35. were thus compared or contro.sted in Ezra The "four months before the h(Ll'vest" indi- ii. 1 ; vii. 1i ; 2 Ohron. xx. 18. The precise oote the arrirnl of the month of Decomber, locality is not stated, though it is probnble and therefore the lapse of some eight months it was not for from the new scene chosen by between the cleansing of the temple and John- for the continuance of his ministry. the return to Galilee. This lust event, in 'fhe i,lentification of the site of lEnon, near Matthew's Gospel (iv. 12-17 with pa.rnllels), Baleim, does not finally determine the scene is nssoci11ted with the imprisonment of J oho. ~r our Lord's a.bode ..or ooptisuml ministry. The Fourth Go,pel, hy obvtous rdcrcnc-0 to  128 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO S1'. JOHN. [on. m. 1-36.