John Chrysostom, On John

he had need of baptism, and that the work of the descent of the Spirit was only to make him known. For it was not in John's power to give the Spirit; and those who were baptized by him make this plain, saying: But we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. Christ therefore did not need baptism, not that one, nor any other; but rather baptism had need of the power of Christ. For this which was lacking was the sum of all good things, for the one baptized to be counted worthy of the Spirit. He therefore, by his coming, added this supply of the Spirit. And John bore witness, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove, and it remained on him. And I did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize in water, he said to me: Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, this is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God. But he continually puts, I did not know him, not simply or without reason, but because he was his kinsman according to the flesh. For behold, it says, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son. Therefore, lest he seem to be showing favor because of their kinship, he continually says, I did not know him. And this happened reasonably. For all the time he was living in the wilderness, being away from his father's house. How then, if he did not know him before the descent of the Spirit, and if he first recognized him then, did he forbid him before the baptism, saying, I have need to be baptized by you? For this was proof that he knew him very well. But not before and not a long time before, and reasonably so. For the wonders that occurred when he was a child, such as those concerning the Magi, and all other such things, had happened a long time before, when John himself was also very much a child; and in the long time that passed in between, it was reasonable that he happened to be unknown to all. For if he had been known, he would not have said, That he might be made manifest to Israel, for this reason I came baptizing. 3. From this it is then clear to us that those signs which they say are of Christ's childhood are false and fabrications introduced by certain people. For if he had worked miracles from his earliest years, neither would John have been ignorant of him, nor would the rest of the multitude have needed a teacher to reveal him. But as it is, he himself says that he came for this reason, that he might be made manifest to Israel; and for this reason he said again, I have need to be baptized by you. But later, having learned more clearly, he proclaimed him to the crowds, saying: This was he of whom I said: After me comes a man who was before me, because also, He who sent me to baptize 59.111 in water, and sent me for this reason, that he might be made manifest to Israel, he himself revealed him to him even before the descent of the Spirit. Therefore, even before he came, he said: After me comes one who was before me. He did not, therefore, know him before coming to the Jordan and baptizing everyone, but when he was about to be baptized, then he knew him; and this, because the Father revealed him to the Prophet, and the Spirit showed him being baptized to the Jews, for whose sake the descent of the Spirit also occurred. For so that John's testimony would not be despised when he said that He was before me, and that He baptizes in the Spirit, and that He will judge the world, the Father also sends forth a voice proclaiming the Son, and the Spirit comes, drawing the voice to the head of Christ. For since one was baptizing and the other was being baptized, lest any of those present think what was said was spoken about John, the Spirit comes to correct such a suspicion. So when he says, I did not know him, he means the time before, not the time near the baptism. Since how could he have prevented him, saying, I have need to be baptized by you? And how could he have said such things about him? How then did the Jews not believe, he says? For not only John saw the Spirit in the form of a dove. Because even if they saw, such things require not only the eyes of the body, but before these, the sight of the mind, so that the matter not be an idle fancy

ἐδεῖτο βαπτίσματος, καὶ ὅτι ἔργον τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος καθόδου γέγονε, τὸ δῆλον αὐτὸν ποιῆσαι μόνον. Οὐ γὰρ ἦν τῆς τοῦ Ἰωάννου δυνάμεως Πνεῦμα διδόναι· καὶ δηλοῦσι τοῦτο οἱ βαπτιζόμενοι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ λέγοντες· Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ εἰ Πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἔστιν ἠκούσαμεν. Οὐκ ἄρα τοῦ βαπτίσματος ἐδεῖτο ὁ Χριστὸς, οὐκ ἐκείνου, οὐχ ἑτέρου τινός· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον τὸ βάπτισμα ἔχρῃζε τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Τὸ γὰρ ἐλλεῖπον τοῦτο ἦν τὸ κεφάλαιον πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν, τὸ Πνεύματος ἀξιωθῆναι τὸν βαπτιζόμενον. Ταύτην οὖν τὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος χορηγίαν προσέθηκε παραγενόμενος. Καὶ ἐμαρτύρησεν ὁ Ἰωάννης, λέγων, ὅτι Τεθέαμαι τὸ Πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον ὡσεὶ περιστερὰν, καὶ μένον ἐπ' αὐτόν. Κἀγὼ οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν· ἀλλ' ὁ πέμψας με βαπτίζειν ἐν ὕδατι, ἐκεῖνός μοι εἶπεν· Ἐφ' ὃν ἂν ἴδῃς τὸ Πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον, καὶ μένον ἐπ' αὐτὸν, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ βαπτίζων ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ. Κἀγὼ ἑώρακα καὶ μεμαρτύρηκα ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ. Συνεχῶς δὲ τὸ, Οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτὸν, τίθησιν, οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὐδὲ εἰκῆ, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ συγγενὴς αὐτοῦ ἦν κατὰ σάρκα. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ, φησὶν, Ἐλισάβετ ἡ συγγενής σου καὶ αὐτὴ συνειληφυῖα υἱόν. Ἵν' οὖν μὴ δόξῃ χαρίζεσθαι διὰ τὴν συγγένειαν, συνεχῶς φησι τὸ, Οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν. Καὶ κατὰ λόγον δὲ τοῦτο συνέβαινε. Καὶ γὰρ τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον ἐπὶ τῆς ἐρήμου διέτριβεν, ὢν τῆς πατρῴας οἰκίας ἐκτός. Πῶς οὖν, εἰ οὐκ ᾔδει αὐτὸν πρὸ τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος καθόδου, καὶ εἰ τότε πρῶτον αὐτὸν ἐγνώρισε, πρὸ τοῦ βαπτίσματος διεκώλυεν αὐτὸν λέγων, Ἐγὼ χρείαν ἔχω ὑπὸ σοῦ βαπτισθῆναι; Τοῦτο γὰρ τεκμήριον τοῦ σφόδρα αὐτὸν εἰδέναι ἦν. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔμπροσθεν καὶ πρὸ πολλοῦ τοῦ χρόνου, καὶ εἰκότως. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ θαύματα, ὅσαπερ παιδὸς ὄντος ἐγένετο, οἷον τὰ περὶ τοὺς Μάγους, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα τοιαῦτα, πρὸ πολλοῦ συμβεβήκει τοῦ χρόνου, τοῦ Ἰωάννου σφόδρα καὶ αὐτοῦ παιδὸς ὄντος· ἐν δὲ τῷ μεταξὺ πολλοῦ γενομένου τοῦ χρόνου, εἰκότως πᾶσιν ἄγνωστος ἐτύγχανεν. Ἐπεὶ εἰ γνώριμος ἦν, οὐκ ἂν εἶπεν, Ἵνα φανερωθῇ τῷ Ἰσραὴλ, διὰ τοῦτο ἦλθον βαπτίζων. γʹ. Ἐντεῦθεν ἡμῖν λοιπὸν δῆλον, ὅτι καὶ τὰ σημεῖα ἐκεῖνα, ἃ παιδικὰ εἶναί φασι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ψευδῆ καὶ πλάσματά τινων ἐπεισαγόντων ἐστίν. Εἰ γὰρ ἐκ πρώτης ἀρξάμενος ἡλικίας ἐθαυματούργει, οὐκ ἂν οὔτε Ἰωάννης αὐτὸν ἠγνόησεν, οὐδὲ τὸ λοιπὸν πλῆθος ἐδεήθη ἂν διδασκάλου τοῦ φανερώσοντος αὐτόν. Νῦν δὲ αὐτός φησι, διὰ τοῦτο παραγεγονέναι, Ἵνα φανερωθῇ τῷ Ἰσραήλ· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἔλεγε πάλιν, Ἐγὼ χρείαν ἔχω ὑπὸ σοῦ βαπτισθῆναι. Ὕστερον δὲ ἅτε σαφέστερον μαθὼν, τοῖς ὄχλοις αὐτὸν ἐκήρυττε λέγων· Οὗτος ἦν ὃν εἶπον· Ὀπίσω μου ἔρχεται ἀνὴρ, ὃς ἔμπροσθέν μου γέγονεν, ὅτι καὶ, Ὁ πέμψας με βαπτίζειν 59.111 ἐν ὕδατι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πέμψας, Ἵνα φανερωθῇ τῷ Ἰσραὴλ, αὐτὸς αὐτῷ καὶ πρὸ τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος καθόδου αὐτὸν ἀπεκάλυψε. ∆ιὸ καὶ πρὶν ἢ παραγενέσθαι, ἔλεγεν· Ὀπίσω μου ἔρχεται, ὃς ἔμπροσθέν μου γέγονεν. Οὐ τοίνυν ᾔδει αὐτὸν πρὸ τοῦ ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰορδάνην καὶ πάντας βαπτίζειν, ἀλλ' ὅτε ἔμελλε βαπτίζεσθαι, τότε αὐτὸν ἔγνω· καὶ ταῦτα τοῦ Πατρὸς αὐτὸν ἀποκαλύψαντος τῷ Προφήτῃ, καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος δείξαντος βαπτιζόμενον Ἰουδαίοις, δι' οὓς καὶ ἡ κάθοδος τοῦ Πνεύματος γέγονεν. Ἵνα γὰρ ἡ Ἰωάννου μὴ καταφρονηθῇ μαρτυρία λέγοντος, ὅτι Πρῶτός μου ἦν, καὶ ὅτι Ἐν Πνεύματι βαπτίζει, καὶ ὅτι Κρινεῖ τὴν οἰκουμένην, καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ φωνὴν ἀφίησιν ἀνακηρύττων τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα ἔπεισι, τὴν φωνὴν ἕλκον ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ μὲν ἐβάπτιζεν, ὁ δὲ ἐβαπτίζετο, ἵνα μή τις τῶν παρόντων περὶ Ἰωάννου νομίσῃ λέγεσθαι τὸ εἰρημένον, ἔρχεται τὸ Πνεῦμα διορθούμενον τὴν τοιαύτην ὑπόνοιαν. Ὥστε ὅταν λέγῃ, Οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτὸν, τὸν ἔμπροσθεν λέγει χρόνον, οὐ τὸν ἐγγὺς τοῦ βαπτίσματος. Ἐπεὶ πῶς αὐτὸν ἐκώλυε λέγων, Ἐγὼ χρείαν ἔχω ὑπὸ σοῦ βαπτισθῆναι; πῶς δὲ καὶ τοιαῦτα περὶ αὐτοῦ ἔλεγε; Πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν Ἰουδαῖοι, φησίν; οὐδὲ γὰρ μόνος Ἰωάννης εἶδε τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐν εἴδει περιστερᾶς. Ὅτι εἰ καὶ εἶδον, ἀλλὰ τὰ τοιαῦτα οὐχὶ τῶν τοῦ σώματος ὀφθαλμῶν δεῖται μόνον, ἀλλὰ πρὸ τούτων τῆς κατὰ διάνοιαν ὄψεως, ὥστε μὴ φαντασίαν περιττὴν τὸ πρᾶγμα