Verse 19. And this is the testimony of John...,[42] of which I am now going to speak.

Verse 19... When priests and Levites were sent to the Jews from Jerusalem, let them ask him, "Who art thou?" [43] 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, and then received the proof of His wisdom, when, as a twelve-year-old lad, He came into contact with the teachers, listened to and asked them, as Luke said (2:46), were amazed and began to envy Him. Hearing afterwards that John also had many and great things to say 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)? [44] But they deceitfully pretend not to know, and do not say, "Who art thou?" 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... [45] He confessed, of course, the truth, since he was truthful and unyielding.

Verse 20... And confess, as I am Christ. [46] 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 despised 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... [47] 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." [48] For this reason the question is again proposed 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); [49] 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? [50] 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 the way of the Lord, etc.51 This saying is explained in the third chapter (v. 3) of the Gospel of Matthew.

Verse 24. And the message of the Behu from the Pharisees. [52] 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... [53] Not having achieved what they wanted, they try to accuse him, in order at least by fear to force him to say something that 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." [54] Jesus Christ was among the people at that time. 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...,[55] He to whom I referred these words. The expression is explained above.

Verse 27... And I am worthy of him, that I may loosen the strap of his boot. [56] 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." [57]

Verse 28. This was in Bethabara the Jordan, where John baptized. [58] More correct copies are found in Bethabara, because Bethany was not beyond the Jordan or 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... [59] — 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.