John 3:27Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

What then does John do? Fearing that they might separate even from him and do something still worse, he does not rebuke them sharply.

What does he say? "A man can receive nothing for himself unless it has been given him from heaven."

If here he does not yet speak very loftily about Christ, do not marvel. He could not suddenly, and at the first attempt, teach everything to disciples possessed by such feelings.

He first wishes to strike them with fear and show that in warring against Him they are warring not against someone else, but against God Himself.

Thus, what Gamaliel also said, "You cannot overthrow it. Take care lest you even be found fighting against God," Acts 5:39, John here expresses in a veiled manner.

John, wishing to frighten them and show that by hindering Christ and turning Him away from glory they were warring against God, says, "A man can receive nothing of himself."

He then continues: if it had not been given from heaven, the One whom you envy would not be increasing.

Therefore you sin twice at once. First, you oppose the decree of God. Second, you undertake what is impossible.

At the same time, he also calms them somewhat by saying that the One overcoming them is not man, but God.

And we too, he says, had what we had not from ourselves, but from heaven. If Christ's works are more glorious, there is no need to marvel, for this is pleasing to God.

No, he says, there is nothing good among men that has not been given by God. For "what do you have that you did not receive?" 1 Cor 4:7. This is what creation must hear.

Therefore, I think, one must be content with the measure of good apportioned to each. One must take comfort in the honors appointed from heaven.

One must by no means stretch beyond the appointed limits, nor dishonor the decree from above by an ungrateful striving always for more. Nor should one arm oneself against the judgments of the Lord out of shame at seeming to receive a less perfect good.

Whatever God has been pleased to honor us with, this must be valued above all. Therefore let my disciple not grieve, he says, if I do not go beyond the measure given to me.

Let him not grieve if I do not think of something greater, but confine myself to the glory proper to man.

Of whom do you think John said this? Of himself: "As a man," he says, "I received my gift from heaven.

Therefore you know how I bore witness concerning Him. Am I now going to say that He was not what I called Him?

If I received something from heaven in order to be something, do you want me to become empty and speak against the truth?"

Of whom, do you think, did John say this? Of himself. As a man, he says, I received from heaven. Attend, beloved.

A man cannot receive anything heavenly or divine of himself, but many men often receive what is earthly or human of themselves.

By saying this, John secretly indicated that Jesus Christ is not simply man, but also God. At the same time, he showed very clearly that Christ had received from God the fact that He was glorified and drew all to Himself.

Then, because the disciples had pointed to his testimony in order to belittle Jesus Christ, he shows still more clearly that Jesus Christ is far above him. He says...

On one occasion John's disciples were engaged in some dispute with the Jews concerning the importance of their baptism. The latter probably refuted it by saying that the baptism of Jesus gained Him incomparably more disciples than their baptism gained for John.

For John's disciples, who showed great respect for their teacher, this report was exceedingly painful. They considered Jesus Himself indebted for His glory to John's testimony.

Having nothing to answer against the Jews' reproach, they resolved to appeal to their teacher. They wished to show him how his honor might suffer from Jesus, and to urge him to take some measures against this.

In answer to this vain jealousy of his disciples for the glory of their teacher, the Baptist first expresses the general thought that in the Kingdom of God everything is accomplished by the will and ordering from above.

Applied to the occasion on which these words were spoken, they mean this. John would have had no success in his work if, not being the prophet and Forerunner of the Messiah, he had arbitrarily taken this high title upon himself.

So too Jesus would have had no success in His work if He had arbitrarily declared Himself the God-sent Messiah without being such in reality.

But if, on the contrary, as John's disciples said, all are going to Him, then His superiority over John is the work of God.

When Jesus entered upon His public ministry, many went directly to Him and no longer found it necessary first to go to His Forerunner.

John himself, of course, noticed this, yet he continued preaching in Aenon near Salim. This place is now difficult to identify.

But it may be supposed with certainty that John went to baptize where he had not yet preached, and where Christ had not yet come.

Having received from God the command to baptize, John could not consider this commission completed without a special command from God concerning it. Therefore he continued to baptize.

The disciples' complaint called forth from John a new testimony concerning Jesus. He impressed on them that everything on earth is accomplished by the will of God.

John used this occasion to pronounce his final testimony concerning Christ. It is remarkable both for the clarity with which it sets forth the Gospel truth and for the depth of humility and self-denial.

Having reminded them that he had always set forth Christ's superiority over himself, he explained that this is precisely the law of the divine economy: "He must increase, but I must decrease."

John submits to this law with full awareness of his sacred duty. He not only finds no source of sorrow and despondency for himself in this position.

On the contrary, just as "the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice," so the Forerunner now rejoices when he hears the voice of Christ the Messiah.

"This joy of mine is now fulfilled," he concluded.

John answered: he does not enter into their feelings, but directly begins to reveal Christ's greatness compared with himself.

"A man can receive nothing," and so forth. This is a general religious truth concerning the Kingdom of God on earth.

Everything here on earth is done according to the will of God. Every gift, every position of a man in this Kingdom of God, and every success rests upon the free will and decree of God.

From this it follows that one must submit to this will. In a spirit of humility one must bow before this will and before the instruments through which it is manifested.

In this one must find the highest spiritual rest, and not nourish, for example, jealousy and envy toward the gifts and successes of others.

John the Baptist again and decisively confessed Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Son of God, sent into the world for the salvation of men.

Comparing Jesus Christ to a bridegroom and himself to the bridegroom's friend, who serves the bridegroom's interests and rejoices in his joys, John said, "He must increase, but I must decrease," v. 30.

The Old Testament prophets often depicted God's love for men under the image of the relations of bridegroom and bride. In Solomon's Song of Songs, with special poetry and prophetic inspiration, the future Messiah Christ, the Son of God, is depicted as the Bridegroom.

The Forerunner instructs his restless disciples with all meekness, fearing that severity might drive them away both from himself and from the truth.

First of all he sets before them a general thought: one cannot take upon oneself anything extraordinary without the special good pleasure of God.

ου δυναται, "cannot," means cannot without wounding the conscience, the same as sins, Acts 4:20; Acts 6:29. λαμβανειν means to appropriate something to oneself, Heb 5:4.

Εκ του ουρανου, "from heaven," is the same as from God, Mt 21:25; Lk 15:28. It is sinful to take anything upon oneself if it has not been given by God.

The consequences of this thought are clear. The Forerunner cannot place himself above Jesus when he has not been appointed to this at all.

John answers the question and the treacherous hints of the Pharisees with God-inspired words. First, in verse 27, he establishes in the minds of his hearers the eternal law.

Where grace is manifested, there the power is not human, but the Lord's power, the creative power.

After this, the treacherously posed question calls forth a new testimony from John concerning the Lord Jesus. This also becomes a new testimony against the Jews, who rejected the Lord and handed Him over to crucifixion.

In verse 28 John openly acknowledges before all the people that the Lord Jesus is the Christ, and he calls himself the one sent before Him, cf. Jn 1:23 and Is 40:3.