§ 23. THE FORERUNNER'S PICTURE OF THE MESSIAH BEFORE SEEING HIM
| Mark 1:7-8 | Matt. 3:11-12 | Luke 3:15-18 |
| 7 And he preached, saying, There cometh after me he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not 2worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8 I baptized you 1with water; but he shall baptize you 1with the 3Holy Ghost. |
11 I indeed baptize you 1with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not 2worthy to bear: he shall baptize you 1with the 3Holy Ghost and with fire: 12 whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly cleanse his threshing- floor; and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. |
15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether haply he were the Christ; 16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but there cometh he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not 2worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you 1with the 3Holy Ghost and with fire: 17 whose fan is in his hand, throughly to cleanse his threshing-floor, and to gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. 18 With many other exhortations therefore preached he 4good tidings unto the people.a |
1 Or, in.
2 Gr. sufficient.
3 Or, Holy Spirit.
4 Or, the gospel.
a One can easily put together all that we are told of John the Baptist in John 1:6-15 and in Sections 4, 6, 8, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 49, 57, 71, 86, 132. See also Acts 1:5, 22; 10:37; 13:24; 18:25; 19:1-7. For a full discussion of the Baptist see my John the Loyal. These months of John's ministry prepared the way for the Messiah.
PART VI
THE BEGINNING OF CHRIST'S PUBLIC MINISTRY
Probably Part of A.D. 26 and 27
In all parts of the Holy Land (the first Perean Ministry, the first Galilean Ministry, the first Judean Ministry, the first Samaritan Ministry). §§ 24-36. This early ministry includes the baptism, the temptation, John's witness to Jesus, the first disciples, the first miracle and work in Galilee, the first work in Judea, the arrest of John, the work in Samaria, and the return to Galilee.
a The precise duration of this early ministry cannot be determined. Our Lord's baptism must have been at least two months before the Passover, and may have been some weeks or months earlier. Then the highly successful ministry in Judea after the Passover must have lasted several months (John 3:22; 4:1-3). If the "yet four months" in John 4:35 be understood to be not a common saying as to the usual interval between seedtime and harvest, but a statement that it was then just four months before harvest, that would make the Judean ministry extend eight months after the Passover. But this interpretation is upon the whole improbable, and we can only say that the opening ministry lasted several months. The time occupied makes very little difference for our understanding the events and discourses. All of the incidents during this period after the temptation are given in John's Gospel. But for the Fourth Gospel we should not know that Jesus did not plunge at once into the great Galilean Ministry.
§ 24. JESUS BAPTIZED BY JOHN IN THE JORDAN
| Mark 1:9-11 | Matt. 3:13-17 | Luke 3:21-23 |
| 9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John 4in the Jordan. 10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens rent asunder, and the Spirit as a dove descending upon him: 11 and a voice came out of the heavens, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased [see Ps. 2:7; Isa. 42:1]. |
13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.a 14 But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15 But Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer 1it now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all right- eousness. Then he suffereth him. 16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened 2unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; 17 and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, 3This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. |
21 Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that, Jesus also having been baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon himb [see John 1:32-34], and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.c 23 And Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years of age. |
1 Or, me.
2 Some ancient authorities omit unto him.
3 Or, This is my son; my beloved in whom I am well pleased.
4 Gr. into.
a The Gospel of the Hebrews (one of the apocryphal gospels) is quoted by Jerome (adv. Pelag. iii, 2) as having the following: "Behold, the Lord's mother and His brethren were saying to Him, John the Baptist baptizes unto the remission of sins; let us go and be baptized by him. But he said unto them, What sin have I done, that I should go and be baptized by him? unless perchance this very thing which I have said is an ignorance."
b The Gospel of John does not describe the baptism of Jesus, but refers to the event in a way that shows knowledge of the Synoptic Gospels.
c Codex Bezae (D) reads in Luke: "Thou art my beloved son, to-day have I begotten thee." The Gospel of the Ebionites has: "Thou art my beloved son, in thee I am well pleased, to-day I have begotten thee."
See § 85 for similar language at the Transfiguration.
§ 25. THE THREE TEMPTATIONSa OF JESUS
| Mark 1:12-13 | Matt. 4:1-11 | Luke 4:1-13 |
| 12 And straightway the Spirit driveth him forth into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. |
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. 3 And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become 1bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written [see Deut. 8:3], Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him into the holy city; and he set him on the 2pinnacle of the temple, 6 and saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written [see Ps. 91:11-12], He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: And on their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, Again it is written [see Deut. 6:16], Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 and he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written [see Deut. 6:13], Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him; and behold angels came and ministered unto him. |
1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led 3by the Spirit 2 in the wilderness during forty days, being tempted of the devil [see Heb. 4:15]. And he did eat nothing in those days: and when they were completed, he hungered. 3 And the devil said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command this stone that it become 4bread. 4 And Jesus answered unto him, It is written [see Deut. 8:3], Man shall not live by bread alone. 5 And he led him up, and shewed him all the kingdoms of 5the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship before me, it shall all be thine. 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, It is written [see Deut. 6:13], Thou shalt wor- ship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9 And he led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the 2pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10 for it is written [see Ps. 91:11-12], He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to guard thee: 11 And on their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said [Deut. 6:16], Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13 And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him 6for a season. |
1 Gr. loaves.
2 Gr. wing.
3 Or, in.
4 Or, a loaf.
5 Gr. the inhabited earth.
6 Or, until.
a Mark gives only a summary account while the Logia (the oldest known record) tells the temptations in detail. This early document reveals the Messianic consciousness of Jesus as distinctly as it appears in the Gospel of John. The record of the baptism in § 24 and of the temptation in § 25 goes back to the two oldest strata of the Gospel sources (Mark or the Memoirs of Peter and the Logia of Matthew) and shows that Jesus enters upon his Messianic work knowing that he had his Father's approval and the power of the Holy Spirit upon him.
§ 26. THE TESTIMONY OF THE BAPTIST TO THE COMMITTEE OF THE SANHEDRIN
John 1:19-28
19 And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No. 22 They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet [see Isa. 40:3]. 24 1And they had been sent from the Pharisees.a 25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet? 26 John answered them, saying, I baptize 2with water: in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not, 27 even he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. 28 These things were done in 3Bethany beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
1 Or, And certain had been sent from among the Pharisees.
2 Or, in.
3 Many ancient authorities read Bethabarah, some Betharabah.
a In 1:19 the priests and Levites are Sadducees. The idea seems to be that the Pharisees had the Sadducees sent on this embassy (cf. § 22). Later Jesus will say that John was Elijah that was to come; some will even take Jesus to be Elijah.
§ 27. JOHN'S IDENTIFICATION OF JESUS AS THE MESSIAH
John 1:29-34
29 On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, which 1taketh away the sin of the world [see Isa. 53:7]! 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is become before me: for he was 2before me. 31 And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing 3with water. 32 And John bare witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize 3with water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth 3with the Holy Spirit. 34 And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the son of God.a
1 Or, beareth the sin.
2 Gr. first in regard of me.
3 Or, in.
a Put together the Baptist's testimonies to Jesus in sections 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 33, 57. Add John 1:6-15. Note also the four testimonies of Jesus to John, sections 49, 57, 86, 132. Observe the four successive days here in John 1:19, 29, 35, 43, and the third day from the last in John 2:1, making a week that is covered in detail (cf. the Passion Week at the close). We have other glimpses of special days in the ministry, as the Busy Day of the blasphemous accusation and the parables (Matt. 12 and 13). In John 1:39 the very hour is preserved, probably Roman time (ten in the morning), as John writes long after the destruction of Jerusalem and outside of Palestine and uses the Roman reckoning (midnight to midnight) in John 20:19. But see note 11 at end of Harmony for Ramsay's objections to this view.
§ 28. JESUS MAKES HIS FIRSTa DISCIPLES
John 1:35-51
35 Again on the morrow John was standing, and two of his disciples; 36 and he looked upon Jesus as he walked, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God [see Isa. 53:7]! 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? And they said unto him, Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, 1Master), where abidest thou? 39 He saith unto them, Come, and ye shall see. They came therefore and saw where he abode; and they abode with him that day: it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two that heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He findeth first his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah (which is, being interpreted, 2Christ). 42 He brought him unto Jesus. Jesus looked upon him, and said, thou art Simon the son of 3John: thou shalt be called Cephas (which is by interpretation, 4Peter).
43 On the morrow he was minded to go forth into Galilee, and he findeth Philip: and Jesus saith unto him, Follow me. 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, thou art the son of God; thou art King of Israelb [see 2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 2:7]. 50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee underneath the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of manc [see Gen. 28:12].
1 Or, Teacher.
2 That is, Anointed.
3 Gr. Joanes: called in Matt. 16:17, Jonah.
4 That is, Rock or Stone.
a Notice here a series of First Things; first testimony of John, first disciples, first miracle, first residence at Capernaum, first passover during his ministry, first extended discourse.
b Notice that these first disciples at once believed that Jesus was the Messiah (ver. 41, 45, 49). Compare the confession of Jesus (§ 35) to the Woman at Jacob's well and the confessions of Peter in Matt. 14:33; John 6:69; Matt. 16:16 (§§ 74, 76, 82).
c Cf. the close of the temptation in the wilderness and the experience in the Garden of Gethsemane.
§ 29. JESUS WORKS HIS FIRST MIRACLE
John 2:1-11
1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: 2 and Jesus also was bidden, and his disciples, to the marriage. 3 And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. 4 And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. 5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. 6 Now there were six waterpots of stone set there after the Jews' manner of purifying, containing two or three firkins apiece. 7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the 1ruler of the feast. And they bare it. 9 And when the ruler of the feast tasted the water 2now become wine, and knew not whence it was (but the servants which had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast calleth the bridegroom, 10 and saith unto him, Every man setteth on first the good wine; and when men have drunk freely, then that which is worse: thou hast kept the good wine until now. 11 This beginning of his signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
1 Or, steward.
2 Or, that it had become.
§ 30. JESUS MAKES A FIRST SOJOURN AT CAPERNAUM, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS KINDRED AND HIS EARLY DISCIPLES
John 2:12
12 After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and there they abode not many days.
§ 31. THE FIRSTa CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE AT THE PASSOVER
John 2:13-22
13 And the passoverc of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And he found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 and he made a scourge of cords, and cast all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the changers' money, and overthrew their tables; 16 and to them that sold the doves he said, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house a house of merchandise. 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house shall eat me up [see Ps. 69:9]. 18 The Jews therefore answered and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing thou doest these things? 19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this 1temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this 1temple in building, and wilt thou raise it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the 1temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he spake this; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
1 Or, sanctuary.
a Many scholars consider this the same incident as that in the Synoptic Gospels and placed by them in Passion Week (§ 129) probably on Monday. It is urged that Jesus would not have repeated such an act and hence one must follow either the order of John or of the Synoptics. But there is no inherent difficulty in the repetition of such an act when one reflects on the natural indignation of Jesus at the desecration of the temple on his visit during his ministry and considers that Jesus may have wished to make one last protest at the close of his ministry. Certainty, of course, is not possible in such an argument one way or the other.
b Observe the successive scenes of this early ministry—beside the Jordan, on the eastern side, at Cana of Galilee, at Capernaum, at Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria.
c This is the first of the passovers in John's Gospel (2:13; 6:4; 13:1). There may have been another.
§ 32. THE INTERVIEW OF NICODEMUS WITH JESUS
John 2:23 to 3:21
23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, during the feast, many believed on his name, beholding his signs which he did. 24 But Jesus did not trust himself unto them, 25 for that he knew all men, and because he needed not that any one should bear witness concerning 1man; for he himself knew what was in man.
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus,a a ruler of the Jews: 2 the same came unto him by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these signs that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born 2anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born 2anew. 8 3The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things? 11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and bear witness of that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12 If I told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, 4which is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness [see Num. 21:8-9], even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 that whosoever 5believeth may in him have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him. 18 He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not has been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. 20 For every one that 6doeth ill hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be 7reproved. 21 But he that doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, 8that they have been wrought in God.
1 Or, a man; for ... the man.
2 Or, from above.
3 Or, The Spirit breatheth.
4 Many ancient authorities omit which is in heaven.
5 Or, believeth in him may have.
6 Or, practiseth.
7 Or, convicted.
8 Or, because.
a Nicodemus appears as an exception to the statement of 2:24, as one whom Jesus did trust, and who amid all difficulties of temperament and station proved not unworthy of the trust.
§ 33. THE PARALLEL MINISTRY OF JESUS AND JOHN WITH JOHN'S LOYALTY TO JESUSa
22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. 23 And John also was baptizing in Ænon near to Salim, because there 1was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. 24 For John was not yet cast into prison. 25 There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John's disciples with a Jew about purifying. 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. 27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 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, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
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: 2he that cometh from heaven is above all. 32 What he hath seen and heard, of that he beareth witness; and no man receiveth his witness. 33 He that hath received his witness hath set his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for he giveth not the Spirit by measure. 35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 36 He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that 3obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
1 Gr. were many waters.
2 Some ancient authorities read he that cometh from heaven beareth witness of what he hath seen and heard.
3 Or, believeth not.
a Jesus gained his first disciples from John at Bethany beyond Jordan and many in Jerusalem. Now he is surpassing John. On John's loyalty to Jesus see my John the Loyal.