John Chrysostom, On John

He did this, it is worthwhile to learn that, so that their wickedness might become quite clear and manifest to all. Many times John testified to the Jews concerning Christ, and when he was baptizing them, he continually mentioned him to those present, and said: I indeed baptize you with water; but he who is coming after me is mightier than I; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Therefore they suffered some human passion towards him. For being swayed by the glory of the world, and looking at outward appearances, they thought it unworthy for him to be subordinate to Christ. For there were many things that showed John to be illustrious; and first, his lineage was notable and distinguished; for he was the son of a high priest; then his way of life and his austerity, his contempt for all human things; for having disdained clothing, and table, and house, and food itself, he spent the former time in the desert. But in the case of Christ, everything was the opposite; for his lineage was humble; which they also often brought up, saying, Is not this the carpenter's son? 59.103 Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James and Joses? And the place thought to be his homeland was so disreputable that even Nathanael said, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? And his way of life was common, and his garments had nothing more than those of the many, For he did not wear a leather belt, nor was his garment of hair, nor did he eat honey and locusts; but he lived like all others, and attended banquets of wicked men, and tax collectors, so as to draw them to himself. Which the Jews not understanding, reproached him for these things, as he himself also says, The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' Since, therefore, John continually sent them from himself to him who seemed to them to be more humble, being ashamed and displeased, and wishing rather to have this man as their teacher, they did not dare to say this openly, but they send to him expecting through flattery to draw him to confess that he himself is the Christ. Therefore, they do not send some contemptible people as they did to Christ; for wishing to seize him, they sent officers, and again Herodians and some such people; but here priests, and Levites; and not just any priests, but those from Jerusalem, that is, the more honored ones (for the Evangelist did not note these things for no reason); and they send, so that they might ask, Who are you? And yet his whole birth was well-known, so that all were saying, What then will this child be? and this saying went out into all the hill country. And when he came again to the Jordan, all the cities were stirred up, and from Jerusalem and from all of Judea they went to be baptized by him. These men, therefore, ask now, not as if they were ignorant (for how could they be, of one who had been made known in so many ways?), but wishing to lead him into that which I said. 2. Hear, then, how this blessed man answered not to the question itself, but to the thought with which they asked. For when they said, Who are you? he did not say immediately what it was straightforward to say, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness; but what? He denied that which they suspected. For having been asked, it says, Who are you? he confessed, and did not deny; and he confessed, I am not the Christ. And see the wisdom of the evangelist. He says the same thing a third time, both showing the virtue of the Baptist, and their wickedness and folly. And Luke also says that when the crowds suspected him of being the Christ, he again denied the suspicion. This is the mark of a faithful servant, not only not to seize his master's glory, but also to reject it when offered by the many. But the crowds came to this suspicion out of simplicity and ignorance; but these men, from a wicked mind, and from that which I said, asked him, expecting, as I have said, by flattery to draw him to what they were eager for. For if they had not expected this, they would not have immediately

τοῦτο ἐποίει, ἐκεῖνο μαθεῖν ἄξιον, ὥστε πᾶσιν αὐτῶν κατάδηλον τὴν κακουργίαν γενέσθαι καὶ φανεράν· Πολλάκις πρὸς Ἰουδαίους ἐμαρτύρησεν ὁ Ἰωάννης τῷ Χριστῷ, καὶ ὅτε ἐβάπτιζεν αὐτοὺς, συνεχῶς αὐτοῦ πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας ἐμέμνητο, καὶ ἔλεγεν· Ἐγὼ μὲν ὑμᾶς βαπτίζω ἐν ὕδατι· ὁ δὲ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος, ἰσχυρότερός μου ἐστίν· αὐτὸς ὑμᾶς βαπτίσει ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί. Ἔπαθον οὖν τι πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀνθρώπινον πάθος. Εἰς γὰρ τὴν τοῦ κόσμου δόξαν ἐπτοημένοι, καὶ τὰ κατὰ πρόσωπον βλέποντες, ἀνάξιον εἶναι ἐνόμιζον ὑποτάσσεσθαι αὐτὸν τῷ Χριστῷ. Τὸν μὲν γὰρ Ἰωάννην πολλὰ τὰ δεικνύντα λαμπρὸν ἦν· καὶ πρῶτον, τὸ γένος ἐπίσημον καὶ περιφανές· ἀρχιερέως γὰρ ἦν υἱός· ἔπειτα ἡ δίαιτα καὶ ἡ σκληραγωγία, ἡ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ὑπεροψία πάντων· καὶ γὰρ ἐσθῆτος, καὶ τραπέζης, καὶ οἰκίας, καὶ τροφῆς δὲ αὐτῆς ὑπεριδὼν, κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον τὸν ἔμπροσθεν διέτριβε χρόνον. Ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πᾶν τοὐναντίον ἦν· τό τε γὰρ γένος εὐτελές· ὃ καὶ πολλάκις αὐτὸ προὔφερον λέγοντες· Οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός; 59.103 οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται Μαριὰμ, καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰωσῆς; Καὶ ἡ δοκοῦσα δὲ αὐτῷ πατρὶς εἶναι τοσοῦτον ἐπονείδιστος ἦν, ὡς καὶ τὸν Ναθαναὴλ λέγειν· Ἐκ Ναζαρὲτ δύναταί τι ἀγαθὸν εἶναι; Καὶ ἡ δίαιτα δὲ κοινὴ, καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια δὲ οὐδὲν πλέον τῶν πολλῶν ἔχοντα, Οὐ γὰρ περιέκειτο ζώνην δερματίνην, οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τριχῶν τὸ ἔνδυμα εἶχεν, οὐδὲ μέλι καὶ ἀκρίδας ἤσθιεν· ἀλλὰ πᾶσιν ὁμοίως διῃτᾶτο, καὶ συμποσίοις παρεγίνετο πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ τελωνῶν, ὥστε αὐτοὺς ἐπισπᾶσθαι. Ὅπερ οὐ συνιέντες οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα αὐτῷ ὠνείδιζον, καθὼς καὶ αὐτός φησιν· Ἦλθεν ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων, καὶ λέγουσιν· Ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπος φάγος καὶ οἰνοπότης, τελωνῶν φίλος καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν συνεχῶς ὁ Ἰωάννης ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον αὐτοὺς παρέπεμπε τὸν δοκοῦντα παρ' αὐτοῖς εὐτελέστερον εἶναι, αἰσχυνόμενοι καὶ δυσχεραίνοντες, καὶ βουλόμενοι τοῦτον μᾶλλον ἔχειν διδάσκαλον, φανερῶς μὲν τοῦτο οὐκ ἐτόλμησαν εἰπεῖν, πέμπουσι δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν προσδοκῶντες διὰ τῆς κολακείας αὐτὸν ἐπισπάσασθαι εἰς τὸ ἑαυτὸν ὁμολογῆσαι Χριστόν. Οὐ τοίνυν τινὰς εὐκαταφρονήτους πέμπουσιν ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ· ἐκεῖνον μὲν γὰρ βουλόμενοι κατασχεῖν, ὑπηρέτας ἀπέστειλαν, καὶ Ἡρωδιανοὺς πάλιν καὶ τοιούτους τινάς· ἐνταῦθα δὲ ἱερεῖς, καὶ Λευΐτας· καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἱερεῖς, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐξ Ἱεροσολύμων, τουτέστι, τοὺς ἐντιμοτέρους (οὐδὲ γὰρ ἁπλῶς ταῦτα ἐπεσημήνατο ὁ Εὐαγγελιστής)· καὶ πέμπουσιν, ἵνα ἐρωτήσωσι, Σὺ τίς εἶ; Καὶ μὴν ἡ γέννησις αὐτοῦ πᾶσα κατάδηλος ἦν, ὡς καὶ λέγειν ἅπαντας· Τί ἄρα τὸ παιδίον τοῦτο ἔσται; καὶ εἰς ὅλην τὴν ὀρεινὴν ὁ λόγος ἐξῆλθεν οὗτος. Καὶ ὅτε παρεγένετο πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰορδάνην, πᾶσαι αἱ πόλεις ἀνεπτερώθησαν, καὶ ἐξ Ἱεροσολύμων καὶ ἐκ πάσης τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἐπορεύοντο βαπτισθῆναι πρὸς αὐτόν. Οὗτοι τοιγαροῦν ἐρωτῶσι νῦν, οὐχ ὡς ἀγνοοῦντες (πῶς γὰρ, τὸν τοσούτοις τρόποις γενόμενον δῆλον;), ἀλλὰ βουλόμενοι εἰς τοῦτο, ὅπερ εἶπον, αὐτὸν ἐναγαγεῖν. βʹ. Ἄκουσον γοῦν πῶς καὶ ὁ μακάριος οὗτος πρὸς τὴν διάνοιαν μεθ' ἧς ἠρώτων, οὐ πρὸς τὴν ἐρώτησιν αὐτὴν ἀπεκρίνατο. Εἰπόντων γὰρ, Σὺ τίς εἶ; οὐκ εἶπεν εὐθέως ὅπερ ἐξ εὐθείας ἦν εἰπεῖν· Ἐγὼ φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ· ἀλλὰ τί; Ὅπερ ὑπώπτευον ἐκεῖνοι, τοῦτο ἀνεῖλεν. Ἐρωτηθεὶς γὰρ, φησὶ, Τίς εἶ; ὡμολόγησε, καὶ οὐκ ἠρνήσατο· καὶ ὡμολόγησεν, ὅτι Ἐγὼ οὐκ εἰμὶ ὁ Χριστός. Καὶ ὅρα σοφίαν εὐαγγελιστοῦ. Τρίτον τὸ αὐτὸ λέγει, καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν τοῦ Βαπτιστοῦ δηλῶν, καὶ τὴν πονηρίαν καὶ τὴν ἄνοιαν τὴν ἐκείνων. Καὶ ὁ Λουκᾶς δέ φησιν, ὅτι τῶν ὄχλων ὑποπτευόντων αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸν Χριστὸν, πάλιν ἀναιρεῖ τὴν ὑπόνοιαν. Τοῦτο οἰκέτου εὐγνώμονος, μὴ μόνον μὴ ἁρπάζειν δόξαν δεσποτικὴν, ἀλλὰ καὶ διακρούεσθαι διδομένην παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν. Ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν ὄχλοι ἐξ ἀφελείας καὶ ἀγνοίας ἐπὶ ταύτην ἦλθον τὴν ὑποψίαν· οὗτοι δὲ ἀπὸ πονηρᾶς γνώμης, καὶ ἧς εἶπον, ἠρώτων αὐτὸν, προσδοκῶντες, ὅπερ ἔφην, ἀπὸ τῆς κολακείας αὐτὸν ἐπισπᾶσθαι εἰς ὅπερ ἐσπούδαζον. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ τοῦτο προσεδόκων, οὐκ ἂν εὐθέως