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

Verse 28. This was in Bethabara the Jordan, where John baptized.12 More correct copies are found in Bethabar, because Bethany was not beyond the Jordan, nor in the wilderness, but near Jerusalem. It marks the place, indicating that John spoke this about Christ in the presence of many. Omitting further events narrated by other Evangelists, namely the baptism of Jesus Christ, the testimony of Him from above, the forty-day fast in the wilderness and the temptation, the Evangelist tells about what happened after His departure from the wilderness and what was omitted by others.

Verse 29. In the morning (and) in the morning, John of Jesus coming to himself... 1 – the day after the return of Jesus Christ from the wilderness, since John still remained at the Jordan. Why does Jesus Christ go to John? As some had supposed that he, like the others, had received the baptism of repentance as a sinner, he now went to John to present him with an opportunity to correct such a suspicion by a more perfect testimony.

Verse 29... And he said, Behold the Lamb of God... 2 He called him the Lamb, reminding us of the types of the law and the prophecy of Isaiah, and as if to say, "Behold the Lamb formed in the law, and proclaimed by Isaiah." Then He adds His special, predominant attribute, namely, that He was sent by God to the slaughter for the salvation of people. Or: God's, i.e. Divine, because of His Divinity.

Verse 29... Take away the sins of the world.3 The lawful lamb that was slain took away the sins of one people of Israel, as a shadow, a predestination, and a type of truth, but the slain Lamb of God takes away the sins of the whole world and cleanses all who dwell in the world as truth; this one was unreasonable, but this one was rational and, moreover, even divine. By sins understand not only the impurities of the soul, from which He frees those who keep His commandments, but also the infirmities of the body, from which He frees the sick. By saying, "Take away the sins of the world," he destroyed the above-mentioned suspicion. It is obvious that He Who destroys the sins of other people Himself has no sins; and he who has no sins came to baptism for a completely different reason, which the Baptist indicates a little later.

Verse 30. This is, O Him who is before me: A Man is coming for me, Who was before me, as before me.4 Again He says, "Be before Me, as before me," openly humbling Himself as a servant, and exalting Him incomparably as a Lord.

Verse 31. And I did not know Him... 5 Lest it should be thought that he, having long been acquainted with Jesus Christ, gives such a testimony of Him out of favor to Him as a kinsman, saying, "I did not know Him before He came to the Jordan, because I was in the wilderness all the time." True, while still in his mother's womb, John recognized Jesus Christ and leaped up, as Luke wrote (1:41); but then he knew Him not according to natural laws, but naturally and in a way that no other man has. Now he recognized Jesus Christ in three ways: by sight, hearing, and prophetic knowledge; in none of these ways did John know Him before He came to the Jordan, and then He knew Him by all three. Prophetically, everything pertaining to Jesus Christ was revealed to John; wherefore he said, "He that cometh after me, shall be before me" (John 1:15). He saw Jesus Christ, and therefore he restrained Him, saying, "I require Thee to be baptized, and Thou art coming to me" (Matt. 3:14)?6 Finally, he heard of Him: "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased,"7 as the other Evangelists testified (Matt. 3:17; Mk. 1:11; Lk. 3:22).

Verse 31... But let Israel appear, for this reason he came with water to baptize.8 He also expressed the reason why he came to baptize: it was the same for both, namely, that Jesus Christ should be revealed to Israel. John was sent by God to the Jordan to preach the baptism of repentance, so that many people would flock to be baptized, and that Jesus Christ, standing in the midst of this multitude, as also wishing to be baptized, would receive a testimony on earth from John, and from heaven from the Father and the Holy Spirit, and so that, thus drawing them to Himself, He would begin to teach and work miracles. If this had not been the case, then everyone would not have come together in this way, and would not have heard this testimony in this way.