How in those days? What days? He does not mean the days when Jesus was a child at Nazareth but thirty years later, when John came, as Luke also testifies.^[1] Why then is it said in those days? It is common in Scripture to use this rhetorical device: In speaking of something that seems to come immediately after, it also refers to something that comes to pass many years later.

The kingdom of heaven? This refers to justification by faith and sanctification by the Spirit. This is why it says elsewhere, the kingdom [of heaven] is within you.^[1]

A voice or sound is an obscure utterance, manifesting no secret of the heart but signifying this only: that the one who calls out wants to say something. A word, however, is rational speech, opening the heart’s mystery. While a voice as such is common to both animals and men, a word is fitting only to humans. Thus John was called a voice and not a word, because, through John, God demonstrated neither his mercies nor his justice nor his counsels prepared before the foundation of the world but only this: that God was planning to do something great in human history. Later through his Son he revealed the full mystery of his will. The Son was therefore called the Word. To make ready the way of the Lord meant: Repent of your sins and produce fruit worthy of repentance.

He prepared the souls of believers in whom the Lord would walk, so he might walk in purity along the purest of paths, saying, I will live in them and move among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.^[1]

Both the prophet and the Baptist state the same idea even though with different words. The prophet said that one would come: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.^[1] And when John came he himself said, Bear fruit worthy of repentance,^[2] a statement that corresponds to prepare the way of the Lord. Both by the words of the prophets and by John’s own preaching, this one thing is clear: he had arrived, making a way and preparing it beforehand. John was not bestowing the gift, which was the remission of sins, but preparing beforehand the souls of those who would receive the God of all.

Hence John prepared these ways of mercy and truth, faith and justice. Concerning them, Jeremiah also declared, Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it.^[1] Because the heavenly kingdom is found along these ways, not without good reason John adds, The kingdom of heaven is near.^[2] So do you want the kingdom of heaven to also be near for you? Prepare these ways in your heart, in your senses and in your soul. Pave within you the way of chastity, the way of faith and the way of holiness. Build roads of justice. Remove every scandal of offense from your heart. For it is written: Remove the stones from the road.^[3] And then, indeed, through the thoughts of your heart and the very movements of your soul, Christ the King will enter along certain paths.

It was fitting that the forerunner of the One who was to put away all the ancient ills, the labor, the curse, the sorrow and the sweat display symbols of the situation prior to the fall of Adam. This is why he neither tilled the land nor ploughed furrows nor ate bread by the sweat of his brow. Rather, his table was hastily supplied, and his clothing more easily furnished than his table, and his lodging even less troublesome than his clothing. For he needed neither roof, nor bed, nor table nor any other earthly comfort. He lived a kind of angel’s life in this our flesh. For this reason John’s clothing was of hair, that by his very dress he might instruct persons to separate themselves from all things human, to have nothing in common with the earth but to hasten back to their undefiled nobility, the condition in which Adam lived before he required garments or robe. Thus John’s clothing itself was symbolic of nothing less than the coming kingdom and of repentance.

First, the heavenly life and glorious humility of John are demonstrated in his way of living. He who held the world in low regard did not seek costly attire. He who had no use for worldly delights did not have any desire for succulent foods. What need was there of fancy worldly clothing for one who was dressed with the cloak of justice? What dainty food of the earth could he desire who fed on divine discourses and whose true food was the law of Christ? Such a precursor ought to be the prophet of the Lord and the apostle of Christ who gave himself completely to his heavenly God and had contempt for the things of the world.

A garment woven with camel’s hair designates the peculiar clothing of this prophetic preacher. He is covered with the skins of an unclean animal. Whatever had been useless or shabby in us becomes sanctified by the prophet’s clothes.

Indeed, when Christ’s forerunner wore a coarse camel-hair garment, what else does it signify but that the coming Christ would be vested in the garb of a human body, thick with the coarseness of sinners, and that, girded with the skins of a most unclean animal, the Gentile people, he bore their very own deformity?

He could have made use of goat’s hair, but there was no need for it. Rather, he wore a garment of camel’s hair with nothing refined about it, nothing graceful, nothing comely. By nature it was intended for hard work and heavy burdens and consigned to utter subjection. The teacher of repentance ought to be vested with such a garment, so that those who had turned away from virtue in their education and given themselves shamelessly over to sin might be subdued by the great burden of penance, might be consigned to the rigors of reparation and experience the heavy sighs of contrition. Thus refashioned and reshaped into the form of a needle, they might obtain ample remission through the narrow opening of penance. And the Lord’s words would then be fulfilled concerning a camel passing through the eye of a needle.

Camel’s hair is mentioned not merely circumstantially but in a mystery and as a type. The camel is counted neither as strictly one of the unclean beasts nor as strictly one of the clean, but it occupies a middle position and partakes of the characteristics of both. For to chew the cud, that is, to bring up again the food after it has been swallowed and direct it forward to be ground by the teeth, is proper to the clean animals.^[1] This pertains to the camel. But not to part the hoof is a feature of the unclean beasts. The camel’s foot is not divided, given that its nails meet together. Therefore, on this account, John was clothed with the hairs of this animal, demonstrating the call of the gospel. He showed that the kingdom of God, which John declared was at hand, was going to accept both those who were from Israel, the clean people, and those from the unclean Gentiles. To both of these he preached repentance without any distinction.

As for the leather belt, what else does it demonstrate but this fragile flesh of ours, trapped in the grip of vice before the coming of Christ and which, after his coming, was restrained by virtue? Before his coming this flesh was fat through dissipation. Now by abstention it is firmly held in place.

John ate locusts, suggesting that the people of God were being nourished by a word that traveled high aloft in the air and had not yet passed over the earth. In the second place John ate honey, which is not obtained by people through their own efforts. The honey produced under the law and the prophets was not accessible to those who were inquiring only superficially about the meaning of the Scriptures and not searching their deeper intention.

Locusts intended for sinners worthy of chastisement are rightly considered to be food for repentance, so that bounding from the place of sin to the place of repentance the sinner may fly to heaven on the wings of forgiveness. The prophet was aware of this when he said, I am gone, like a shadow at evening. I am shaken off like a locust. My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt . . . Save me according to your steadfast law.^[1] You have heard how John was shaken off like a locust from sin to repentance. He bent his knees that he might bear the burden of repentance. His food was mixed with honey, so that tender mercy might temper the bitterness of repentance.

See how great was the power of the coming of the prophet! He stirred up the people. He called them to consider the meaning of their own sins. It was indeed worthy of wonder to behold his remarkable human form, his great freedom of speech, the strength of his reproof of all as if they were children and the abundant grace beaming out from his countenance. The appearance of a prophet after such a great interval of time increased their amazement. The prophetic gift that had been absent for a long time was now returning. The very tone of his prophetic speech was strange and unusual. For they had heard none of those things of which the prophets were accustomed to speak: of wars and battles and victories below, of famine and pestilence, of the Babylonians and Persians, and the taking of the city, and the other things with which they were familiar; of heaven and its kingdom, of punishment in hell.

When the crowds heard of his manner of life, far surpassing normal human life, they longed to see him. For this reason, when they heard that John was nearby, they all simultaneously ran to him, as to a man sent from God.^[1] They confessed their sins in his presence so that, like a priest, he might offer up sacrifices on their behalf.

Therefore John exhorted those coming to him. He preached that the sins they had committed by transgressing the precepts of divine law could be cleansed by repentance. Thus by satisfying God with worthy repentance they might receive forgiveness from him who said through the prophet: I have no pleasure in the death of anyone . . . so turn and live.^[1] And again: Turn to me, says the Lord of Hosts, and I will turn to you.^[2] And again: I am the Lord who does not remember wickedness, provided one turn from his evil ways and all his iniquities so that he may live.^[3]

The baptism of John did not provide forgiveness of sins, but it taught people to run to the baptism^[1] that is for the sake of sins.

Confession of sins is the testimony of a conscience that fears God. Whoever fears God’s judgment will not be ashamed to confess his sins, for he who is ashamed has no fear. Indeed, perfect fear of God releases one from all feeling of shame. One’s confession is morally valueless when one does not believe in the punishment of future judgment. For do we not know that the confession of sins involves shame and that this very shamefulness is itself a severe punishment? But all the more does God order us to confess our sins so we may experience shame by way of punishment. For this very thing is a part of judgment. O mercy of God, which we have so often incited to wrath! Sufficient for it is the punishment that accompanies our shame.

They did not continue to follow John.^[1] This is what Christ meant when he later refused to disclose his own authority to the Pharisees.^[2] When they refused to receive the very One of whom John was preaching, this was hardly a convincing expression of their faith. The Pharisees imagined that they had the highest regard for the prophets and Moses. But Jesus said they had disregarded Moses because they had not received the one foretold by him: If you believed Moses, you would believe me.^[3] Then he confronted them: I also will ask you a question: now tell me, Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? They debated: If we say, from heaven, he will say, why did you not believe him?^[4] From all this it was clear that they came indeed and were baptized by John, but they did not continue faithfully in the preaching of John. John’s Gospel also points out their corruptness, reporting how they sent representatives to the Baptist asking, Are you Elijah? Are you Christ? This is why it was added: Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.^[5]

John put it clearly to the Pharisees and Sadducees who had come to him for baptism when he said, Brood of vipers! Who has shown you how to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, produce fruit that matches genuine repentance.^[1] Those who for a long time were called God’s children are now by reason of their faults called a brood of vipers, because by doing the will of the devil, who from the beginning was called a snake, they made themselves the devil’s children. The devil is your father, and it is your will to fulfill your father’s desires.^[2]

Offspring of vipers. The nature of vipers is such that when a viper bites a person, it immediately heads for water. If it does not find water, it dies.^[1] So too John called those persons the offspring of vipers who, committing grave sins, hastened to baptism so that, like vipers, through water they might avoid the danger of death. Also, the nature of a viper is that it ruptures its mother’s entrails in order to be born. Therefore, because the Jews who were doggedly persecuting the prophets ruptured their mother the synagogue, as the lamenting woman says in Canticles, My mother’s children were angry at me,^[2] they are called the offspring of vipers. Further, vipers are beautiful on the outside and adorned as it were, but on the inside they are full of poison. Thus John calls both hypocrites and Pharisees the offspring of vipers, because the hypocrites showed the beauty of holiness on their face while they bore the poison of malice in their hearts.

He advises them to bring forth fruit that matches repentance and not to boast that they have Abraham as their father, for God is able to raise up children to Abraham out of stones. Indeed, succession to Abraham in the flesh is not required, but the inheritance of Abraham’s faith. In this context, dignity of origin consists in examples of works. The glory of one’s race lies in the imitation of faith. The devil was faithless, but Abraham was faithful. The devil was treacherous in his treatment of humanity, whereas Abraham was justified by faith. Therefore the very life and character of each person is acquired by a close relationship, so that those who are faithful to Abraham are his posterity in faith. But those who are unfaithful are changed into the devil’s offspring by their unfaithfulness.

One might say that the fruits of repentance are, by way of anticipation, faith in Christ. They are also the evangelical society that exists in newness of life,^[1] changed from the present dullness of the letter.

It is better to be born noble from a contemptible family than to be born contemptible from a noble family. As for the one who is born noble from a noble family, the glory of his nobility is not his alone, but he has it in common with his family. As for the one who is born contemptible from a contemptible family, the baseness of his contemptibility is not his alone. . . . Therefore do not take pride in saying that we have Abraham for a father. Rather, be ashamed that you are his children and are not heirs of his holiness.

God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. He calls the Gentiles stones because of their hard heart. We read in Ezekiel: I will revive their stony heart and give them a heart of flesh.^[1] He shows the hardness in a stone and the softness of flesh. In other words, this passage indicates the power of God, who made everything out of nothing and can produce a people out of the hardest stones.

If from stones children are given to Abraham, this is not by their possessing his flesh and spirit but by their sharing his virtue.^[1] Therefore the people of God are able to call Abraham father. How so? Consider the following: Stones are employed by the Gentiles not only for building but also for idolatry. Besides this, remember this: the heart of the dragon is said to be as hard as a stone.^[2]

Although John terrified them with his preaching, he did not permit them to fall into despair. He did not say God has raised up but God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. In this way he simultaneously alarmed and comforted them.

He did not merely say that the axe was barely touching the root but laid to the root—it is poised right next to it and shows no sign of delay. Yet even while bringing the axe so near, he makes its cutting depend upon you. For if you turn around and become better persons, this axe will be laid aside without doing any harm. But if you continue in the same ways, it will tear up the tree by the roots. So note well that the axe is neither removed from the root nor too quickly applied to cut the root. He did not want you to become passive, yet he wanted to let you know that it is possible even in a short time to be changed and saved. He first heightened their fear in order to fully awaken them and press them on to repentance.

He calls Christ an axe sharper than a two-edged sword,^[1] which was to cut off the unbelieving Jews and dissociate them from the honor and communion of the patriarchs. Those spoken of as the root are the fathers of old who remained well pleasing to God, those who with Abraham and as with many people in former times were holy. The unbelievers who sprang from them were cut off as fruitless branches. But the root remained, onto which those of the believing Gentiles were engrafted. And as Irenaeus reminds us, God’s Word is like an axe in accordance with Jeremiah’s saying: the word of the Lord is like a pickaxe chopping stone.^[2] Why am I saying that you are going to fall away? God did not spare the root.

The axe is the utter wrath of the destruction about to strike down the whole world. If that axe was prepared, why did it not strike down? And if it was not about to strike down, why was it made ready? The trees^[1] of which we speak have a rational quality and have the power either to do or not to do good. Since an axe has been laid at their roots they fear being cut down, as they were called to bear fruit. An evildoer is not corrected by fear. But a good person will perish unless he has appropriate fear. Therefore, even if angry denunciation does nothing to change evildoers, it serves to distinguish the bad from the good. Note, however, that the axe is not said to be laid at the branches that they may be cut down and then restored. It is laid at the roots that they may be irretrievably eradicated. Why? Because as long as this world steeped in evil has not come to final judgment,^[2] sinners are chastised but not cut away altogether. This is for two reasons. First, it was necessary for people responding to God to have a locus of action in the world, even if the world is full of iniquity. Second, with the world continuing on, there was hope that some just people might be born from the generations of the unjust. But now with the former world ending and the holy world fast approaching, sinners are not being chastised but turned out. There is room for hope that from the generations of the unjust, some just people may possibly be born. But it would be inappropriate in this coming holy world to have people who are not holy, as it is written: The upright of heart shall inhabit the earth, but the evildoers lie prostrate, they are thrust down, unable to rise.^[3]

There is no doubt this axe signifies the power of the divine word, for God says through Jeremiah the prophet: Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces?^[1] Therefore this axe which is laid at the very roots of interior faith in this forest of humanity always implies the severe threat of divine judgment. Unfruitful trees or barren people, bearing no fruit of faith, will be cut down and consigned to perpetual fire.

The axe laid at the roots of the trees witnesses to the power present in Christ. The cutting down and burning of the trees signifies the destruction of barren faithlessness that is being prepared for the fire of judgment.

The work of the law is now ineffectual for salvation. John appeared as a messenger of repentance to those about to be baptized. It was the task of the prophets to call people away from their sins, but it was proper to Christ to save those who believe. Thus John said that he was baptizing them for repentance. He also said that a mightier one would come whose sandals he was not worthy to untie. And he left to the apostles the glory of spreading God’s word. It would be their duty to go about with their trusty feet and proclaim God’s peace.^[1] He therefore points ahead to the time of our salvation and judgment in the Lord, saying, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.^[2]

See how great is the wisdom of the Baptist in his preaching? Note how he states his case without compromise, unafraid of alarming his hearers and filling them with anxiety. Yet his very next words are mild, speaking of that which is apt to make them recover. He does not dwell on the axe alone or the tree that is cut down, burned and thrown into the fire, or the wrath to come, but also speaks of the remission of sins, the removal of punishment, righteousness, sanctification, redemption, adoption and community, a partaking of the inheritance and an abundant supply of the Holy Spirit. For to all these remedies John implicitly pointed when he said, He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.^[1] At once, by this very figure of speech, John witnessed to the abundance of grace. He did not say He will give you the Holy Spirit but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Then to specify the volatile and uncontrollable quality of divine grace he adds, and with fire.

Now we must focus on what is meant by these sandals from the spiritual standpoint. We know that Moses said long ago: Put off your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.^[1] We read that Joshua the son of Nun likewise said, Remove the latchet from your sandal.^[2] But as to why they are ordered by the Lord to remove their sandals, we must understand this to be the type of a future truth. According to the law, if a man is unwilling to accept the wife of his brother after his brother’s death, he should take off his shoes, so that another may marry her and succeed by right of law.^[3] As to the commandment prefigured in law, we find it fulfilled in Christ, who is the true bridegroom of the church. Therefore, because neither Moses the lawgiver nor Joshua the leader of the people could be the bridegroom of the church, not without good reason was it said to them that they should remove the sandals from their feet, because the true future bridegroom of the church, Christ, was to be expected. John says concerning him: He who has the bride is the bridegroom.^[4] To bear or loosen his sandals, John professed himself to be unworthy. The Lord himself through David revealed that these sandals signify the footsteps of gospel preaching when he says, Upon Edom I cast my shoe;^[5] through his apostles he will take the steps of gospel teaching everywhere.

The blessed Baptist added to the word spirit the active and meaningful phrase and with fire. This was not to imply that through Christ we shall all be baptized with fire but to indicate through the designation fire that the life-giving energy of the Spirit is given.

The words behind me are used in the sense of after me. He who is coming is said rather than he who shall be revealed. The souls of the saints, in order to receive the mystery of revelation, are said to be baptized purely in fire. This is because the Spirit first came down upon the disciples in tongues of fire, by which they were baptized and their souls made perfect.^[1] Or because, in the age to come, all will be baptized with fire, for everyone will be salted with fire,^[2] so that the fire may test everyone’s work, of what sort it is.^[3] Fire is appointed for the material element, which in itself is neither wicked nor evil but powerful and able to purify from evil. For the power of fire is deemed to be beneficial and strong, destructive of evil things and preservative of what is better. This is why fire is associated with wisdom by the prophets. For this reason also, when God is called a consuming fire,^[4] this is to be understood as a term and symbol not for evil but for power. As fire is the strongest of the elements and conquers everything else, in the same way God is all-powerful and almighty, able to conquer, to create, to make, to nourish, to multiply, to save, possessing authority over both body and soul. Just as fire outperforms all the elements, so too all gods, powers and rulers are no match for the Almighty.

Fire has a twofold potency. On the one hand, it is suitable for the formation and ripening of fruits and for the birth and sustenance of animals. The sun is the primary image of this power. On the other hand, fire is fit for destroying and consuming, as is the case with earthly fire. When God therefore is called a consuming fire, able to destroy, he is being called a mighty and irresistible power. To God nothing is impossible. Concerning such a power the Savior also says, I came to cast fire upon the earth.^[5] This is a power that purifies the saints, causes material things to disappear and, we might say, educates. Fire induces fear. Its light spreads outward.

The threshing floor is the church, the barn is the kingdom of heaven, and the field is the world. Therefore, like the head of the household who sends out reapers to mow down the stalks in the field and bring them to the threshing floor that he may thresh and winnow them there and separate the wheat from the chaff, the Lord sends out his apostles and other teachers as reapers. He will cut down all the people in the world and gather them onto the threshing floor of the church, where we are to be threshed at one point and then winnowed. As the grain of wheat enclosed in the chaff cannot escape unless it has been threshed, so too it is hard for one to escape worldly encumbrances and carnal affairs while one is enclosed in the chaff, unless one has been shaken by some hardship. Note that once the full grain has been slightly shaken it sheds its chaff. If it is flimsy, it takes longer to escape. If it is empty, it never emerges but is ground in its chaff and then thrown out with the chaff. In this way, all who take delight in carnal things will be like the grain and the chaff. But one who is faithful and has a good heart, once he experiences adversity, disregards those things that are carnal and hastens to God. If he has been somewhat unfaithful, however, only with great difficulty will he go back to God. As for him who is unfaithful and empty, though he may be sorry over his circumstances, like empty grain he will emerge from the chaff—he will never leave carnal things or worldly encumbrances behind, nor will he go over to God. Rather, he will be ground up with the things that are evil and thus be cast out with the unfaithful like the chaff.

It remains for those who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit to be consumed with the fire of judgment, for his winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. The function of the fan is to separate the fruitful from the unfruitful. That the decision lies in God’s hands is indicated by his splendid wheat, the ripened fruit of believers, to be stored in barns. But the chaff indicates the futility of the unprofitable and unfruitful who are fit for the fire of burning judgment.

And then Christ came, so that also this witness revealed his truth. In his baptism the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended, the Father spoke from heaven, and through this it was made manifest that he who was baptized by John was truly more worthy than John. In the same way Lucifer came forth, but the light did not wait for the fall of Lucifer before it emerged. Even as he came forth it emerged and with its light obscured his brightness. So too in this way John’s preaching came before Christ. Christ did not wait for John to complete his career before he arrived on the scene, but, while John was still teaching, he appeared. Thus in comparing the teaching and work of Jesus and John, John’s work and role is constantly diminishing. Hence, after Jesus began preaching to all those who were flocking to him, John’s teaching was overshadowed.

John went about preaching, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.^[1] Jesus came that he might receive John’s witness and confirm his preaching: Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.^[2] Thus, when some saw the sinless Christ baptized as if he were a sinner, they said to one another: If he whose innocence the Baptist gave witness thought it necessary to have himself baptized, how can we who are covered with sins scorn repentance? Here we must recall that John himself testified that I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

In Jesus Christ we behold a complete man. Thus in obedience to the Holy Spirit the body he assumed fulfilled in him every sacrament of our salvation. He came therefore to John,^[1] born of a woman,^[2] bound to the law and made flesh through the Word.^[3] Therefore there was no need for him to be baptized, because it was said of him: He committed no sin.^[4] And where there is no sin, the remission of it is superfluous. It was not because Christ had a need that he took a body and a name from our creation. He had no need for baptism. Rather, through him the cleansing act was sanctified to become the waters of our immersion.

By this act Jesus showed himself to be meek and lowly in heart,^[1] coming to those inferior to him, doing all that followed in order to humble himself and become obedient unto death.^[2] It is not always the case that the one who baptizes is greater than the one who is baptized. Ananias was not greater than Paul.^[3] And while Philip baptized,^[4] Peter gave the Spirit through the laying on of hands.^[5]

For three reasons the Savior accepted baptism from John. First, because he was born a man, that he might fulfill all justice and humility of the law. Second, that by his baptism he might confirm John’s baptism. And third, that by sanctifying the waters of the Jordan through the descent of the dove, he might show the Holy Spirit’s advent in the baptism of believers.

Many raise the question, What in fact was the nature of this baptism with which the Lord was baptized? What did it amount to, the baptism of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who, for the sake of the salvation of all, became human? As such he was to show himself to be the beginning of a certain paradoxical life on account of which he is called Adam, since for Adam’s sake and for the rest of those who have arisen from Adam he becomes the beginning of everlasting life, in the same way that Adam was the original of this temporary and mortal life. This Jesus, I say, recapitulated in himself everything that pertains to our salvation. For just as he both died and rose again, we also shall do so, in the same way. Since necessarily we were to be symbolically transferred from this present life by baptism and settled in that life which is to come, he saw to it that this baptism should be fulfilled first of all in himself. In his providential dispensation of things, he had received, before all others, this baptism of adoption which is by water and the Spirit. He thereby showed this baptism to be great and honorable, in that he himself, first of all, truly accepted it. Moreover, he himself identified himself with that part of society outside the law of grace, in which we also take part. For it was fitting that the Lord, in humility of spirit, should become subject both to the prophet and Baptist, like a common person from among the people. He was baptized that he might hallow the waters and bestow upon us, through the basin, regeneration and adoption and remission of sins and all the other blessings that came to us through baptism, prefiguring them in himself. As God, however, he is the One who takes away the sin of the world,^[1] and as such he has no need of baptism.

John’s baptism was looking toward repentance. Its purpose was to bring hearers to the point of experiencing conviction for their offenses. John, however, did not want anyone to draw the conclusion that Jesus himself also came to the Jordan to repent of his sins. So he sets this point straight from the outset by calling him both Lamb and Redeemer of all the sin that is in the world. He who is able to take away the sins of the whole world was himself without sin.

Jesus therefore descended to fulfill all the observances of the law, and in this context he was baptized by John in Galilee at the Jordan. But John, recognizing the Lord as his God through the Holy Spirit, declared that he was unworthy to bear his sandals. He excused himself from doing what he was directed to do, because he could not conceive that baptism was necessary for the One whom he knew had come to blot out the sins of the world. He rather pled that he himself ought to be baptized by Christ, saying, It is I who should be baptized by you, and do you come to me? It is as if he were saying, I am a man. You are God. I am a sinner because I am a man. You are sinless because you are God. Why do you want to be baptized by me? I do not refuse the respect you pay me, but I am ignorant of the mystery. I baptize sinners in repentance. But you have no taint of sin. So why do you want to be baptized? Why do you want to be baptized as a sinner, who came to forgive sins? This is what John in effect was saying to the Lord.

The Lord here is testing the faithful deference of service on the part of his servant, but he reveals the mystery of his dispensation by saying, Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness, showing this to be true righteousness, that he the Lord and Master should fulfill in himself every sacrament of our salvation. Therefore the Lord did not want to be baptized for his own sake but for ours, in order to fulfill all righteousness. Indeed, it is only right that whatever someone instructs another to do, he should first do himself. Since the Lord and Master of the human race had come, he wanted to teach by his example what must be done for disciples to follow their Master and for servants their Lord.

To this Jesus did not merely reply Let it be so, but he added pointedly, now. The implication: It will not be so forever. You will not always see the One for whom the prophets have longed. But for the present, permit this. And then he shows how this baptism is fitting. Why? For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. The whole law is fulfilled by all righteousness, by which all the commandments are performed. He is in effect saying, Since then we have performed all the rest of the commandments, this baptism alone remains. I have come to do away with the curse that is appointed for the transgression of the law. So I must therefore first fulfill it all and, having delivered you from its condemnation, bring it to an end. It is fitting for me therefore to fulfill the whole law by the same rule by which it is fitting for me to do away with the curse that is written against you in the law. This is the very purpose of my assuming flesh and coming to you.

How did Christ fulfill the righteousness of baptism? Without doubt according to the demands of human nature: people need to be baptized, for according to carnal nature they are all sinners. Even as he fulfilled the righteousness of baptism, he fulfilled also the righteousness of being born and of growing, of eating and drinking, of sleeping and relaxing. He also fulfilled the righteousness of experiencing temptation, fear, flight and sadness, as well as suffering, death and resurrection: that is, according to the requirement of the human nature he took upon himself, he fulfilled all these acts of righteousness.

When he who is perfect according to the law was baptized with the baptism of John, he became the first to achieve the perfection of the law. For this reason even Christ, who was perfect in the law, was baptized with the baptism of John. For this reason he says, For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.

The baptism of John was at one and the same time perfect and imperfect. It was perfect according to the precept of the law, but it was imperfect in that it did not supply remission of sins but merely made people fit for receiving the perfect one. For this reason, even Christ, since he was perfect with regard to the law, was baptized with this baptism, that is, the baptism of John. And he makes this clear, saying, For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.

In the times before Christ’s coming, those being baptized were held down in the water a longer time for the confession of sin. But Christ, being sinless, came up immediately. For Christ was not baptized as one repenting but as one cleansing sins and sanctifying the waters.

I do not understand why it states He immediately came up from the water. What difference does it make if he came out later?^[1] The Evangelist therefore could have said, After being baptized, Jesus came out of the water. I believe that Christ’s action belongs to the mystery of all those who were subsequently to be truly baptized. Thus he said immediately. And note that he did not say he went out but he came up. All those who, as members formed and established in righteousness, are worthily baptized in Christ immediately come up from the water in the sense that they advance in virtue and are raised up to heavenly dignity. Those who enter the water as carnal children of Adam the sinner immediately come up from the water as persons who have been made spiritual children of God.

Christ was baptized for our sake, in order to sanctify the waters. The Spirit descended in the form of a dove, since wherever there is reconciliation with God there is a dove, as in the case of Noah’s ark . . . announcing God’s mercy to the world and at the same time making clear that what is spiritual should be meek and without wickedness, simple and without guile.^[1]

The Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove, being kindly, affectionate and a lover of humanity. Although frequently pushed aside,^[1] the dove nevertheless comes again to be possessed by us and does us good according to its own goodness. For the dove is an affectionate creature, a friend of humanity, who, even though mistreated by people who snatch away and eat its nestlings, does not depart from those it is accustomed to live with but remains no matter what.

Some say that the voice saying, ‘This is my beloved Son’ was either an angelic voice serving to represent the person of the Father or else some other voice fashioned on the spot.

A voice from heaven thus spoke: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.^[1] God’s Son is manifested both by hearing and by sight. Both the witnesses of contemplation and the spoken word are sent from the Lord to an unfaithful people who disregard the prophets. At the same time, we knew from those who were immersed in Christ that after baptism with water the Holy Spirit would descend to us from the heavenly gates. Then we would be filled with the anointing of heavenly glory and become God’s children through the adoption the Father’s voice announced. Truth prefigured the image of the sacrament through these very happenings.

Jesus freely identified himself with the people. For if he were not one of the people, he would not have come with the people for John’s baptism. Yet this caused some to imagine that John was greater than Jesus. In order that this opinion not be entertained, when Jesus was baptized the Spirit came down, and a voice with the Spirit proclaimed the identity of the Only Begotten. The voice said, This is my beloved Son. The voice was not identifying John but Jesus. The voice did not say this one who is baptized, but simply this. The Spirit came in the form of a dove, drawing the voice toward Jesus and making it evident to all that this was not spoken of John who baptized, but of Jesus who was baptized.

Here then we have the Trinity presented in a clear way: the Father in the voice, the Son in the man, the Holy Spirit in the dove. This only needs to be barely mentioned, for it is so obvious for anyone to see. Here the recognition of the Trinity is conveyed to us so plainly that it hardly leaves any room for doubt or hesitation. The Lord Christ himself, who comes in the form of a servant to John, is undoubtedly the Son, for here no one can mistake him for either the Father or the Holy Spirit. It is the Son who comes. And who could have any doubt about the identity of the dove? The Gospel itself most plainly testifies: The Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove. So also there can be no doubt whose voice it is who speaks so personally: You are my beloved Son. So we have the Trinity distinguished. . . . Here are the three persons of the Trinity distinguished: When Jesus came to the river, he came from one place to another. The dove descended from heaven to earth, from one place to another. The very voice of the Father sounded neither from the earth nor from the water but from heaven. These three are as it were distinguished in places, in offices and in works. But one may say to me, Show me instead the inseparability of the triune God. Remember you who are speaking are a Catholic, and to Catholics are you speaking. For thus does our faith teach, that is, the true, the right Catholic faith, gathered not by the opinion of private judgment but by the witness of the Scriptures, not subject to the fluctuations of heretical rashness but grounded in apostolic truth. This we know, this we believe. This, though we do not see it with our eyes nor as yet with the heart, so long as we are being purified by faith, yet by this faith we most firmly and rightly maintain the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are a Trinity—inseparably one God, not three gods. But yet one God in such a way that the Son is not the Father, and the Father is not the Son, and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son but the Spirit of the Father and of the Son. This ineffable Divinity, abiding ever in itself, making all things new, creating, creating anew, sending, recalling, judging, delivering, this Trinity, I say, we know to be at once indescribable and inseparable.