John 3:25Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

John's disciples were always envious of Christ's disciples, and even of Christ Himself. When they saw that they were baptizing, they began to tell those being baptized that their own baptism contained something greater than the baptism of Christ's disciples.

They took one of the baptized and tried to persuade him of this, but did not persuade him. That they themselves came to him, and not he seeking them, hear how the Evangelist hints at this.

He does not say that one Jew began to argue with them, but, "Then a dispute arose between John's disciples and the Jews about purification."

But note also the Evangelist's restraint. He does not use reproachful words. As far as possible, he softens the fault of John's disciples, saying simply, "a dispute arose."

Their one aim was to vex, and they acted contrary to their real disposition, provided only that they could bring their intention to fulfillment.

At the same time, they prove unable either to present any rational proof or to defend Christ by the Holy Scriptures. Whence could such good sense come to the ignorant?

To confirm their words, they set forth only this: very few are coming to John, while all are going to Christ in crowds.

Perhaps they very foolishly hoped to gain victory and secure triumph for the purifications under the Law. They did so by placing the baptism given through Christ to those coming to Him above the baptism by John's hand.

Indeed, they vex those to whom they speak, John's disciples. But they themselves in turn retreat and depart from them, having suffered a great defeat through their imprudent dispute.

For by forced praises, and against their will, they glorify the Lord.

What is this? What do you say? Should they not be forbidden to do this, so that they may rather come to you?"

John baptized, and Christ baptized. John's disciples were troubled over whether they should hasten to Christ or go to John.

For those who came to John he sent to Christ to be baptized. But those who had been baptized by Christ were not sent to John.

John's disciples became anxious, and, as commonly happened, they began to dispute with the Jews. You may think that the Jews said Christ is higher and that one should hasten to His Baptism.

Those disciples of John, not yet having right understanding, defended John's baptism. They went to John himself so that he might resolve the question.

Pay attention, beloved. Humility is revealed here. While men were mistaken in the very question, it became clear whether John was seeking his own glory.

He could have said, "You speak rightly. You assert correctly. My baptism is better. For, as you know, my baptism is better because I baptized the Lord Himself."

John could have said this, since he had baptized Christ. If he wished to exalt himself, what an opportunity he had for it.

But he knew better before Whom he had to humble himself. He knew that he wished to yield in recognition to the One whom he had preceded in birth.

He knew that his salvation was in Christ. He had already said before, "Of His fullness we have all received" (Jn 1:16). This is a confession that He is God.

For in what way would all men have received of His fullness (Jn 1:16), if He were not God?

If He is so much man that He is not God, then He Himself would receive from the fullness of God, and thus would not be God.

If all men receive from His fullness, then He is the fountain, and they are those who drink from it.

Those who drink from a fountain quench their thirst and drink. The fountain never thirsts. The fountain has no need of itself.

People need the fountain. With bellies tormented by thirst and throats dried up, they run to the fountain in order to be strengthened.

The fountain springs forth in order to strengthen. So also is the Lord Jesus.

"It is not in a man's power," he said, "to appropriate more to himself than has been given him from above."

That is, it is not in my power to stand above the place God Himself has appointed for me. I cannot cross the boundary allotted to me.

Likewise, Christ could not attract all hearts to Himself if God were not bringing them to Him, and if God were not revealing in Him what I cannot impart.

"But you yourselves must bear me witness that this success of Jesus agrees perfectly with what I have always told you.

I never presented myself as the Messiah, but only as the messenger before Him, who must prepare His way. My goal has been reached. The summit of my joy has been fulfilled.

I have brought the bride, the Church, to her Bridegroom, the Messiah. She belongs to Him, and in Him alone she will find complete rest.

He must increase, but I must decrease."

In these last words one sees a forefeeling that the end of his earthly course was not far off. Indeed, when he crossed to the other side of the Jordan, into Perea, where Herod Antipas reigned, he was seized there.

He was seized as the reprover of Herod's iniquity. Thus, although this incident did nothing harmful to Jesus, the continual increase of His community did not cease to torment those who watched Him with ill will.

They received the name of John's disciples. But the Baptist had not succeeded in developing their understanding to grasp this truth: his teaching was, for them in the strict sense, a preliminary and preparatory school.

Since they looked upon their teacher with boundless reverence, they considered it a certain injury to his honor when they saw the people increasingly hastening for instruction to Jesus, to whom John had borne witness.

They openly expressed this before their teacher.

Both Aenon and Salim are places not precisely determined. On the basis of the testimony of ancient ecclesiastical writers, they must have been in Samaria.

In that case, the activity of Jesus Christ at this time was near the Jordan, within the territory of the tribe of Judah.

But in Josh 15:32, cities are named in the tribe of Judah in southern Palestine: Shelihim or Selhim and Ain. These plainly sound like Salim and Aenon.

If these are the same cities, then the activity of Jesus Christ at this time was in southern Palestine.

By "the Jews" here one must understand members of the Pharisaic party. Perhaps they had deliberately come from Jerusalem in order to cause discord between John and Jesus Christ.

They entered into dispute with some of John's disciples concerning the dignity of his baptism compared with the baptism of Jesus Christ. John's disciples undoubtedly argued with irritation against Him whom they were presenting as John's rival.

They certainly tried to prove the superiority of the baptism offered by their teacher. The Jews, answering them, pointed to the multitude of people coming to Jesus. They could also appeal, and probably did appeal, to John's own testimony about Jesus, to whom he gave precedence.

Cyril of Alexandria writes on this point: "Perhaps they, the Pharisees, quite senselessly hoped to gain victory and secure triumph for the purifications under the Law. They did this by setting the baptism given through Christ to those who came to Him above the baptism performed by John's hand."

They began secretly to act against Jesus and John. According to the Evangelist, they entered into a dispute with John's disciples about purification.

That is, they disputed about the purification performed by John's baptism and by Jesus' baptism. In the eyes of the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus and John were only prophets.

Both of them baptized, though Jesus did so through His disciples. Both had disciples. Could they not set at odds, if not the prophets themselves, at least their disciples?

In this way they could undermine their influence over the people. Such, without doubt, was the reasoning of those whom the Evangelist John calls the Jews.

The Evangelist does not say how the dispute about purification ended. But from the question he records, which the disciples put to their teacher, it is clear that the Jews succeeded in turning them against Jesus.

They did so to such an extent that the disciples do not even call Him by name, but say, "He who was with you beyond the Jordan..."

As though defending John's primacy, his disciples, with undisguised envy, direct their teacher's attention to Him to whom he had borne witness.

Therefore, they imply, He had needed such testimony and was for that reason lower than their teacher. Yet He Himself baptizes, and all are going to Him.

They fear that the growing glory of Jesus will overshadow the glory of their teacher.

This jealous feeling may have brought them to the point of proving the superiority of the baptism received from their teacher; cf. Chrysostom.

The Jews who disputed with them were probably among those baptized by the Lord's disciples. They argued that this baptism had greater power and significance than John's baptism.

This circumstance gave the Baptist occasion to utter his last, most solemn testimony about Jesus as the true Messiah. It is a testimony full of the deepest insight into the mysteries of the Messiah's Kingdom and of His own Person.

This fulfilled the words of the risen Savior: "Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19).

At the same time as Christ's disciples, John the Baptist also continued to baptize. More people were going to Christ. This is how it had to be.

But John's devoted disciples were grieved that the people's attention to their teacher was weakening. The Pharisees made use of this touching attachment to John, which reached the point of extreme blindness.

They stirred up envy and ill will in them toward Jesus Christ and His disciples. Equally malicious toward Christ and toward His Forerunner, the Pharisees wished to sow discord between the disciples of both.

In this way they hoped to reduce their influence over the people to nothing. Stirred up by the Pharisees, the disciples of John the Baptist came to him with their complaint.

"Rabbi! He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have borne witness, behold, He is baptizing, and all are going to Him" (v. 26).

Many were also coming to the disciples of Jesus to be baptized, and the number wishing this was rapidly increasing (Jn 4:1-2).

The growing reverence toward Christ Jesus, and the thought that their teacher John and his disciples might soon lose the people's respect, filled the hearts of John's disciples with sorrow.

The dispute about baptism with the Jew gave them occasion to pour out their grief before their teacher. They said, "Rabbi! He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have borne witness, is baptizing, and all are going to Him."

"He to whom you have borne witness" means Him "whom you praised and made glorious" (Chrysostom). For persons "witnessed to" are the same as those approved, Acts 6:3.

In Laertius 1.24, μαρτυρει δ αυτω και Ηρακλειτος και Δημοκριτος means, "Heraclitus and Democritus also praise him."

The poor men do not understand themselves. They do not understand that, by being vexed at the growing glory of Jesus, they are thereby no longer disciples of John.

John had said aloud before them, "I am not worthy to loose the strap of His sandals." They do not understand that they are not concerned for their teacher's honor at all, but only for themselves.

Their teacher counted it an honor to be the servant of Jesus, not to be higher than He. Thus ambition and envy darkened their noetic vision of the great events and of themselves.

It is clear that these self-loving disciples were not among the best disciples of the Forerunner. The best disciples, such as Andrew, Peter, John, Philip, and Nathanael, were on the side of Christ Jesus, not against Him.

Later, Paul found such disciples of John in Ephesus. They had no idea of the grace of the Holy Spirit or of grace-filled Baptism, and did not understand John's baptism well.

Yet they were still obedient enough that, after hearing Paul's instruction, they were baptized with grace-filled Baptism (Acts 19:2-5). In other places, some of John's disciples appeared who formed a sect hostile to Christianity.

Verse 26 of this chapter also reveals a crafty desire to set one teacher against the other. In this way they wished, if possible, to create enmity between them.

The Pharisees thought that this could lead to the destruction of the influence of both teachers. Cf. Chrysostom, Homily 39 on the Gospel of John.

We insist that precisely the Pharisees played this crafty role. This is clear from verse 28, for John says, "You yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him."

But this testimony of the Baptist, according to Jn 1:19-20, was spoken to priests and Levites sent from Jerusalem by the Jews. In Jn 1 it is said, "Those sent were from the Pharisees."

Let us note that those now questioning John deliberately do not say, "whom you baptized." They do this so as not to recall John's testimony that He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

Nor do they wish to remind the people of the voice from heaven and the sign of the descent of the Holy Spirit.

They speak in indefinite words: "of whom you bore witness." Thus they bring forward the circumstance that the Lord was, as the Pharisees thought or intentionally said, John's disciple, who had become greater than his teacher.