Above the evangelist said that John testifies about Him; then he inserted what John testified about Christ, namely: that He came before me, and that all we prophets received from His fullness; now he adds: "and this is the testimony of John." What testimony? That which he spoke of above, namely: "before me" and so forth. But the words that follow below, "I am not the Christ," also constitute the testimony of John.
The Jews sent to John people who were, in their opinion, the best, namely priests and Levites, and moreover from Jerusalem, so that they, being more clever than others, might by flattery persuade John to declare himself to be the Christ. Notice the evasiveness. They do not ask directly, "Are you the Christ?" but rather, "Who are you?" And he, seeing their craftiness, does not say who he is, but declares that I am not the Christ, having in mind their purpose and in every way drawing them to the belief that the Christ is another, the One whom they considered a poor son of a poor carpenter father, coming from the poor homeland of Nazareth, from which they expected nothing good. Meanwhile, they held a high opinion of the Forerunner himself, since he had a high priest for a father and led an angelic and almost bodiless life. Therefore it is worthy of wonder how they become entangled in the very thing by which they thought to harm the glory of Christ. They question John as a trustworthy man, so that in his testimony they might have a pretext for unbelief in Christ, in the event that he would not declare Him to be the Christ. But this turned against them. For they find that the one whom they considered trustworthy testifies in favor of Christ and does not claim His honor for himself.
Jn. 1:21. And they asked him: What then? Art thou Elijah? He said: No. A prophet? He answered: No.
On the basis of ancient tradition, the coming of Elijah was expected. Therefore they ask John whether he is Elijah, since his life was also similar to the life of Elijah. But he denied this as well.
Are you that prophet? He denies this too, even though he was a prophet. How then does he deny it? Why? Because they did not ask him: are you a prophet? But they posed the question: are you that prophet? That prophet whom they were expecting, of whom Moses said that the Lord God will raise up a prophet for you (Deut. 18:15)? So John denied not that he was a prophet, but that he was that prophet whom they were expecting. And since they knew the words of Moses about a prophet who would arise, they hoped that at some point that prophet would appear.
Jn. 1:22. They said to him: Who then are you? That we may give an answer to those who sent us: what do you say about yourself?
Jn. 1:23. He said: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said.
Then again they insistently ask: tell us, who are you? Then he answers them: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. "I," he says, "am the one about whom it is written, 'the voice of one crying in the wilderness' (Isa. 40:3). For if one does not add the words 'about whom it is written,' the combination of words will appear strange.
What then does the voice cry out? "Make straight the way of the Lord." "I," he says, "am a servant and prepare your hearts for the Lord." So then, you who are crooked and cunning, straighten them and make them level, so that through you there may be a way for the Lord Christ. Then he brings Isaiah as a witness. Having said something great about Christ, that He is the Lord, and about himself, that he fulfills the role of a servant and herald, he turns to the prophet.
Perhaps someone might explain the words "I am the voice of one crying out" in this way: I am the voice of Christ "crying out," that is, clearly proclaiming the truth. For all the messengers of the law were not loud-voiced, since the time of the truth of the Gospel had not yet come, and the weak voice of Moses truly indicated the indistinctness and obscurity of the law. But Christ, as self-existent Truth who proclaimed the Father to us all, is "the one crying out." Thus John says: I am the voice of the Word crying out, dwelling in the wilderness.
Then another beginning: "make straight the way of the Lord." John, as the Forerunner of Christ, is rightly called a voice, because the voice also precedes the word. I will say it more clearly: a voice is an inarticulate breath coming from the chest; but when the tongue divides it into articulate parts, then it becomes a word. Thus, first the voice, then the Word; first John, then Christ — in manifestation in the flesh. And the baptism of John is inarticulate, for it did not have the action of the Spirit, while the baptism of Christ is articulate, having nothing shadowy or figurative, for it is accomplished by the Spirit (Matt. 3:11).
Jn. 1:24. And those who had been sent were from the Pharisees;
Jn. 1:25. And they asked him: why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?
After they could not entice him (John) with flattery so that he would say what they desired and declare himself to be the Christ, they intimidate him with very stern and threatening words, saying: "Why then do you baptize? Who gave you such authority?" From this statement it is also evident that they considered the Christ to be one person and the expected prophet to be another. For they say "if you are not the Christ, nor that prophet (evidently)," meaning that the Christ is one and that prophet is another. They understood poorly. For that prophet is the very Christ and our God. All this they said, as I have stated, in order to compel John to declare himself to be the Christ.
But closer to the truth, one can say that they ask him as if out of envy of his glory. They do not ask "Are you the Christ?" but rather "Who are you?" As if saying: "Who are you, that you undertake such an important matter — baptizing and purifying those who confess?" And it seems to me that the Jews, wanting John not to be accepted by the majority as the Christ, ask him out of envy and ill will, "Who are you?"
So then, cursed are those who accept the Baptist but after baptism do not acknowledge him: truly the Jews are a brood of vipers.
Jn. 1:26. John said to them in answer: I baptize in water; but there stands among you One whom you do not know.
Note the meekness of the saint and his truthfulness. Meekness in that he does not answer them anything harsh, despite their arrogance; truthfulness in that he testifies to the glory of Christ with great boldness and does not conceal the glory of the Lord in order to earn himself a good name, but declares that I baptize with a baptism that is not perfect (for I baptize in water alone, which has no forgiveness of sins), but one that is preparatory to receiving spiritual baptism, which grants the forgiveness of sins.
"There stands among you One whom you do not know." The Lord mingled with the people, and therefore they did not know who He was or where He was from. Perhaps someone might say that in another sense too the Lord stood among the Pharisees, but they did not know Him. Since they apparently studied the Scriptures diligently, and the Lord was proclaimed in them, He was "among" them, that is, in their hearts, but they did not know Him, because they did not understand the Scriptures, even though they had them in their hearts. Perhaps also in the sense that the Lord was the mediator between God and men, He stood "among" the Pharisees, desiring to reconcile them with God, but they did not know Him.
Jn. 1:27. He it is Who comes after me, but Who has been placed before me. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandal.
He constantly adds "He who comes after me," in order to show that his baptism is not complete, but preparatory to the spiritual baptism.
"He came before me," that is, more honored, more glorious than me, and to such a degree that I do not consider myself even among the least of His servants. For untying sandals is the task of the lowest service.
I know, and I have read in one of the saints, the following explanation: "sandals" are everywhere understood as the flesh of sinners, subject to corruption, and the "strap" or band refers to the bonds of sin. Thus, John, with the others who came to him and confessed, was able to untie the strap of sins, for they came to him bound by the bonds of their own sins; and, persuading them to repentance, he showed them the way to the complete casting off of this strap and the sinful sandals; but on Christ, finding no strap or bond of sin, he naturally could not untie it either. Why then did he not find it? Because He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth (1 Pet. 2:22).
The "sandal" signifies the Lord's appearing among us, and the "strap" of it signifies the manner of the incarnation and how the Word of God was united with a body. This manner is impossible to untie. For who can explain how God was united with a body?
Jn. 1:28. This took place in Bethabara (Bethany) beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.