XXV.
FIRST MINISTRY IN JUDÆA--
JOHN'S SECOND TESTIMONY.
(Judæa and Ænon.)
dJOHN III. 22-36.
d22 After these things
came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judæa [That is,
he left Jerusalem, the capital of Judæa, and went into the rural
districts thereof. We find him there again in John xi. and Luke xiii.-xviii.
He gained disciples there, but of them we know but few, such as Mary, Martha,
Lazarus, Simeon, and Judas Iscariot]; and there he tarried with
them [It is not stated how long he tarried, but it may have been from
April to December, for the passover was in April, and December was "yet
four months" before the harvest--John iv. 35], and baptized.
[This baptism was not into the three names of God (John vii. 39), into
which the apostles were afterwards directed to baptize (Matt. xxviii. 19).
It was a continuation of John's baptism, preparatory to the organization
of the church--a preparation for the kingdom. Some think that Jesus, at
this time, baptized in his own name, and afterwards gave the full baptismal
formula into the other two names--Father and Spirit. But there is no evidence
of this, and Christian baptism is a baptism into the death of Christ (Rom.
vi. 3). Christ would hardly have ordered baptism into his death before
his crucifixion. Such a proceeding would have wrought confusion.]
23 And John also was baptizing [The fact that John also was baptizing
is a further indication that the baptism administered by Jesus was [133] preparatory.
There would hardly be two kinds of baptism administered by divine consent
at one time] in Aenon [This name means "springs"] near to Salim,
because there was much water there [If one starts at Sychar, at the
foot of Mount Ebal, and follows the Damascus road northward for seven miles,
he comes upon the valley called Wady Farah. In this beautiful wady the
stream flows eastward, having Salim three miles to its south and 'Ainun
four miles to its north. For the most part the valley is narrow, and hemmed
in by rocky cliffs. But if one follows the course seven miles eastward
from the Damascus road, he comes upon a beautiful valley, about one mile
wide and three miles broad--a place every way suitable for the gathering
of multitudes to hear the preaching of John. A perennial stream, with copious
springs all along its course, furnishes, even in the longest, driest summers,
the "much water" required for baptism]: and they came, and were
baptized. ["Here, then," says Lieutenant Conder, "in the wild, desert
valley, beneath the red precipices, where the hawk and kite find nests
in 'the stairs of the rocks', or by the banks of the shingly stream, with
its beautiful oleander blossoms shining in the dusky foliage of luxuriant
shrubs, we may picture the dark figure of the Baptist, in his robe of camel's
hair, with the broad leather Bedawi belt around his loins, preaching to
the Judæan multitude of pale citizens--portly, gray-bearded rabbis,
Roman soldiers in leathern armor and shining helmets, sharp-faced publicans,
and, above all, to the great mass of oppressed peasantry, the 'beasts of
the people', uncared for, stricken with palsy, with blindness, with fever,
with leprosy, but eagerly looking forward to the appearance of that Messiah
who came to preach the gospel to the poor."]
24 For John was not yet cast into prison. [John's Gospel shows that
the ministry of Christ was well under way before that of the Baptist ceased:
a fact which the synoptists do not reveal.]
25 There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John's disciples
with a Jew about purifying. [What this questioning was we are not told.
The word "therefore" doubtless refers to [134] the
baptisms just mentioned, so that the dispute probably related to the necessity
or purifying effects of that ordinance. But whatever the dispute was about,
it brought to notice the fact that Jesus was baptizing more than John,
a fact which some of the disciples of John quickly resented.]
26 And they came unto John, and said to him, Rabbi, he that was with thee
beyond Jordan, to whom thou hast borne witness, behold, the same baptizeth,
and all men come to him [This verse shows that John's disciples looked
upon Jesus as one who owed all his position and popularity to the Baptist's
testimony, and were, therefore, surprised to find that Jesus was surpassing
John. They looked upon this conduct as a species of ingratitude on the
part of Jesus. This verse also shows us that the witness of John did not
pass unheeded. His witness was public and notorious, and men remembered
it, though they did not always profit by it. That these friends of John
felt unkindly toward Jesus is shown by their exaggerated statement that
"all men come to him."] 27 John answered
and said, A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from
heaven. [Some take this to mean that Jesus could not have had this
great success unless Heaven gave it to him; but it is more likely that
John used the words with entire reference to himself. A man can
only take what is given to him; the Son of God takes what he chooses. The
friend receives only what hospitality extends to him, but the heir takes
what he will, as the owner of the house.]
28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said [In stating that John
had borne witness (ver. 26) John's disciple had already committed themselves
to the fact that John disclaimed to be the Messiah, and that Jesus was
the Messiah; for it was concerning these two things that John had given
his testimony], I am not the Christ, but, that I am sent before
him. 29 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. [John looks upon the body of disciples as [135] the
Lord's bride, and prophetically anticipates the very title which was subsequently
applied to the church. It was the duty of "the friend of the bridegroom"
to arrange the preliminaries of the wedding, and to promote the mutual
interests of the bride and bridegroom. His duties and responsibilities
greatly exceeded those of our "best man," for it was his place to demand
the hand of the bride, and to prepare everything for the reception of the
bride and bridegroom. Joy at the sound of the bridegroom's voice is part
of the drapery of John's figure. Voices of bride and bridegroom are a Biblical
symbol of festivity and joy (Jer. vii. 34; xxv. 10; xxxiii. 11). The Song
of Solomon is the only book in the Bible which dwells upon the relationship
of bride and bridegroom, and in it the voice of the bridegroom is mentioned
with joy (Song ii. 8). If John meant anything more by the phrase than mere
drapery, he used it to express his pleasure that the Messiah was directing
his own affairs and speaking his wishes with his own voice, instead of
using his friend as a mouthpiece.]
30 He must increase, but I must decrease. [Noble words! "He must increase"--because
the divine law has ordered it, and prophecy has foretold it (Isa. lii.
13), and because the very divinity of his nature absolutely requires it.
"I must decrease"--in popularity, in power, in following. The Christian
minister finds the increase of his work the same as the increase of Christ's
kingdom; but with the Baptist the case was different. He was a Jewish prophet,
and as the power of the New Dispensation, under Christ, gained headway,
the Old Dispensation, of which he was a part, waxed old, and was ready
to vanish away.] 31 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. [Some
think that the testimony of the Baptist closes with the thirtieth verse,
and that the rest of the chapter is the comment of the apostle John, but
there is certainly no sufficient ground for such a view.]
32 What he hath seen and heard, of that he beareth witness; and no man
receiveth his witness. [In verses 31 and 32 the Baptist [136] draws
a contrast between his testimony and that of the Messiah. The Baptist's
testimony was largely of a negative character. He testified that he was
not the Christ (ver. 28), and while he pointed Jesus out as the Christ,
the worthy one, the spiritual baptizer, he nowhere undertook to elaborate
as to the character or nature of Jesus. He looked upon Jesus as being so
far above all earthly prophets that no prophet could reveal him. The task
of such revelation devolved upon Jesus himself. God must be self-revealed.
It was no heavy disappointment to John that his disciples had failed to
grasp his testimony concerning himself, and yet so few were persuaded by
the testimony of Jesus that John hyperbolically says "no man receiveth
his witness."] 33 He that hath received
his witness hath set his seal to this, that God is true. [We
have here a metaphor, taken from the sealing of a document, as an expression
of trust in or adherence to it. Compare John vi. 27; I. Cor. ix. 2. To
receive Christ's witness was to publicly confess a conviction that God
was true--true to his promise that he would send a Messiah, a Saviour (Rom.
iii. 4). To believe Christ is to believe God; to make Christ a liar is
to make the Father one also, for he speaks concerning Christ (I. John v.
10) and through Christ--John vii. 16; xvi. 24.]
34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for he giveth not
the Spirit by measure. [To give anything by measure indicates a partial,
scanty bestowal (Ezek. iv. 16). The Spirit of God, even in inspired prophets,
was but a partial and intermittent gift (I. Cor. vii. 25; xiii. 9; I. Pet.
i. 11; Heb. i. 1), but in Jesus, the Son of God, the Spirit of God dwelt
fully and uninterruptedly (Col. i. 19). The present tense, "giveth," points
to a continuous communication of the Spirit. If Christ had received the
Spirit "by measure," then his gift of the Spirit might be exhausted.]
35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
[This fact was afterwards asserted by Jesus (Matt. xxviii. 18). Jesus is
indeed King of kings--Ps. ii. 6-8; Matt. xi. 27; Acts ii. 33; x. 36; Eph.
i. 22.] [137]
36 He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life [the New Testament
represents everlasting life as a present possession obtained by belief];
but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of
God abideth on him. [In the second clause of this verse "obeyeth" stands
in contrast with "believeth" in the first clause. No mental assent, however
strong, is reckoned by the Scriptures as faith unless it results in obedience
(Jas. ii. 20; Rom. i. 5). "Wrath of God" is a strong phrase, and is not
to be lightly explained away. The unconverted sinner rests under this wrath.
His study should be not only to avert a sentence to be pronounced at some
future day, but to be freed from one already resting upon him. This verse
shows conclusively that Christ's atoning work had its divine as well as
its human side; that God had to be propitiated as truly as man had to be
reconciled. The Baptist had already repeatedly warned the Jewish people
of wrath to come if they rejected the Messiah, and in this, his last recorded
utterance, he boldly reiterates that warning.]
[FFG 133-138]
