Verse 17. As the law was given by Moses, grace and truth were given by Jesus Christ.4 The law, or Old Testament, was given to the Jews through Moses, and grace, or the New Testament, was given by Jesus Christ without any intermediary. Moses was a servant and gave what he himself received from God, and Jesus Christ was the Master, and He Himself established the New Covenant as God. So, as much as there is a difference between Moses and Jesus Christ, so is the difference between the Testaments. Above the Evangelist said: grace and grace for the reason indicated there, but here only the New Testament called grace as true grace, because only it grants the remission of sins, regeneration, adoption, the Kingdom of Heaven, and those blessings which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor ascended into the heart of man (1 Corinthians 2:9).5 Having said grace, the Evangelist added: and truth, thus testifying to the non-falsehood or perfection of the New Testament. The Old Testament was an imperfect grace: for the law did nothing,6 says the Apostle (Heb. 7:19), but the New Testament is perfect grace, because it makes perfect. Thus, the greater grace we have been vouchsafed, the greater virtue we bind ourselves to, so that, living unworthy of so great a blessing, we may not suffer a punishment worthy of so great sloth.

Verse 18. God is nowhere to be seen: the Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, that confession.7 See with what consistency the Evangelist proceeded to this. Having shown the difference between law and grace, he adds a reasonable reason for this difference: the law was brought by Moses, a man who did not see God, since God is nowhere to be seen, and therefore the law is inferior, as brought by man; but grace, or the Gospel, the Only-begotten Son, who dwells in the bosom of the Father and always sees God as God, confessed, established, taught, and therefore grace is higher than that which proceeded from God, who sees God and knows all things of God. But how did the Evangelist say: "God is nowhere to be seen?" And Isaiah (6:1) saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and exalted; Ezekiel (10:18) saw Him sitting on the cherubim; Daniel (7:8) saw the Ancient of Days sitting, and others also saw. But they all saw not as He was in His being, but as He appeared in one likeness or another. If they had seen His very essence, they would not have seen Him in various images, because He is something simple, having no image, not sitting, not standing, not walking, – everything that is proper to bodies. That is why God said: "I have multiplied visions, and in the hands of the prophets they have been likened to them" (Hosea 12:10),1 thus pointing to various visions and likenesses. The Son is called the Only-begotten, first of all, because one is begotten of the Father, because He is born of the Father alone, and His Father is only the Father, and not any one's son, like other fathers, – further, because only the Son is born, and not someone else's father, like other sons – and, finally, because He is born of a single or special generation, surpassing all reason and word, and not like bodies. He is called the Son, because He is of one and the same being with the Father, and not only of the same being, but also of the same being. The bosom of the Father is said, not because God has a bosom – since the bosom is in bodies – but by this expression: "He who is in the bosom of the Father" signifies the kinship, consubstantiality, and indivisibility of the Son. It can also be said in another way: the following saying serves as a confirmation of God's words: "The Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, confessed, i.e. He taught that God is nowhere to be seen; and Jesus Christ spoke about this in various ways, as we will see later. Thus, no creature, not only corporeal, but also incorporeal, has seen God, since He is essentially invisible even to bodiless powers, although they see Him as far as they can.

Verse 19. And this is the testimony of John...,2 of which I am now going to speak.

Verse 19... When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem, let them ask him, "Who art thou?"3 That is, this testimony was given when the Jews sent, etc. The chief priests and priests of the Jews, who knew the extraordinary events that took place at the birth of Jesus Christ, then received the proof of His wisdom, when, as a twelve-year-old boy, He came together with the teachers, listened and asked them, as Luke said (2:2 46), were amazed and began to envy Him. Hearing afterwards that John also said many and great things about Jesus Christ to those who came to be baptized (and they understood that John was saying all this about Him), they were even more troubled and sent priests and Levites, i.e. ministers, from Jerusalem to ask him: Who art thou? They did not do this because they did not know it, since everyone knew what happened at his birth, circumcision, and naming, when everyone said, "For this child shall be" (Luke 1:66)?4 But they deceitfully pretend to be ignorant, and do not say, "Who are you?" Who are you? Thou to whom we have all striven, of whom we have formed a lofty conception for ourselves, and before whom we have so much reverence. They foolishly assumed that, though John had despised glory in all other respects, yet he, as a man, would experience that which is proper to man, and out of love of glory would say that he was the Christ, and thus the fame of Jesus Christ, against which all measures had been taken, would be diminished. Therefore they sent not just anyone, but priests and Levites, and moreover from Jerusalem, as more hostile and treacherous than from any other city.

Verse 20. And confess, and do not deny it... 5 Of course, he confessed the truth, because he was truthful and unyielding.

Verse 20... And confession, as I am Christ.6 The Evangelist repeats the same thing, proving the virtue of John, since he not only did not show any love of glory and did not appropriate to himself the glory of the Lord, but also neglected that which was given to him by many. And pay attention to his prudence: he did not say who he was, what he did afterwards, but, referring to their thoughts and knowing their desires, he first directly destroyed what they thought he should have answered. He said, "I am Christ."

Verse 21. And she asked him, "What is it? Are you Elijah? and the verb: "Bear... 1 Being deceived in this design, they turn to another, and, wishing to conceal their purpose, say, What is this? Are you Elijah, so that it would seem that they are asking innocently and without malice, since they were waiting for the coming of Elijah on the basis of the words of the prophet Malachi (4, 5, 6): "I will send you Elijah the Tishbite..., who will arrange the heart of the father to the son."2 Therefore again the question is asked, in order to remain beyond all suspicion.

Verse 21... Are you a prophet? and answered: neither. Do they not say: are you a prophet (προφητης)? Because they knew that John was a prophet; But: Are you a prophet (ο προφητης)? It is the one of whom Moses wrote: "The Lord thy God shall raise up a prophet from thy brethren as unto me, Him ye shall hear" (Deuteronomy 18:15); 3 and such a prophet was Jesus Christ.

Verses 22-23. And he said unto him, Who art thou? yes, yes, the answer of the ladies who sent us: What do you say about yourself? 4 And he said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Straighten out the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet spoke. Having magnanimously answered all their questions, he now says who he is: I am the one of whom it is written: the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare ye the way of the Lord,' etc.5 This saying is explained in the third chapter (v. 3) of the Gospel of Matthew.

Verse 24. And the Epistle of the Behu from the Pharisees.6 He designated the sect to which they belonged, indicating their excessive pettiness.

Verse 25. And she asked him, and answered him, Why do you baptize, if you bear Christ, neither Elijah nor the prophet... 7 Not having achieved what they desired, they try to accuse him, in order at least by fear to force him to say what did not really happen; but he again reveals complete justice.

Verse 26. John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water: but he stands in the midst of you, whom you do not know."8 Jesus Christ was at that time among the people. He was going to be baptized as one of many, and this was known to John by Divine Revelation. The words: Whom ye do not know refer to His Divinity.

Verse 27. He is He who comes after me, who was before me...,9 He to whom I referred these words. The expression is explained above.

Verse 27... To Him I am worthy, that I may cut off the strap of his boot.10 By this he points to the incomparable superiority of Jesus Christ, saying: I cannot even be among His last servants, because of the greatness of the Godhead that dwells in Him. And such a duty is actually entrusted to the lower slaves. It is necessary to find at the beginning of the Gospel of Mark (1:7) an explanation of the words: "And he preached," saying: "He who is strong is coming after me, Who is worthy to bow down, to loose the strap of His boots."11