John 1:26-33

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 1:30

This is he, of whom it is said ,.... Either the day before, as in John 1:27 , or some time before that, John 1:15 , when he first began to baptize, even before Christ came to be baptized by him, and before he personally knew him; see Matthew 3:11 . After me cometh a man ; not a mere man, but the man God's fellow: and this is said, not because he was now a grown man, or to show the truth of his human nature; but seems to be a common Hebraism, and is all one as if it had been said,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 1:31

And I knew him not ,.... Ομμασιν , "by sight", as Nonnus paraphrases it; personally he had never seen him, nor had had any conversation and familiarity with him; for though they were related to each other, yet lived at such a distance, as not to know one another, or have a correspondence with each other: John was in the deserts, until the day of his showing unto Israel; and Christ dwelt with his parents at Nazareth, in a very mean and obscure manner, till he came from thence to Jordan to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 1:32

And John bare record ,.... The same day that he said the above things, and at the same time: saying, I saw the Spirit ; that is, of God, as is said in Matthew 3:16 and which Nonnus here expresses; and the Ethiopic version reads, "the Holy Ghost", descending from heaven like a dove ; at the time of his baptism; see Gill on Matthew 3:16 . And it abode upon him ; for some time; so long as that John had a full sight of it, and so was capable of giving a perfect account of it, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 1:33

And I knew him not ,.... That is, before he came to be baptized by him; when it was secretly suggested to him who he was, and the following signal was given him, to confirm him in it: but he that sent me to baptize with water ; or "in water"; that is, God; for John's mission was from God, as in John 1:6 , and his baptism from heaven; he had a divine warrant and commission for what he did: the same said unto me ; either by an articulate voice, or by a divine impulse on his mind, or... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - John 1:26

I baptize with water - See on Mark 1:8 ; (note). I use the common form, though I direct the baptized to a different end, viz. that they shall repent of their sins, and believe in the Messiah. There standeth one among you - That is, the person whose forerunner I am is now dwelling in the land of Judea, and will shortly make his appearance among you. Christ was not present when John spoke thus, as may be seen from John 1:29 . read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - John 1:27

Is preferred before me - Ὁς εμπροσθεν μου γεγονεν , Who was before me. This clause is wanting in BC*L, four others, the Coptic, Ethiopic, Slavonic, and two copies of the Itala, and in some of the primitive fathers. Griesbach has left it out of the text. It is likely that it was omitted by the above, because it was found in John 1:15 ; and John 1:30 . At the end of this verse, EG, and ten others, with some copies of the Slavonic, add, He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - John 1:28

These things were done in Bethabara - It is very probable that the word Bethany should be inserted here, instead of Bethabara. This reading, in the judgment of the best critics, is the genuine one. The following are the authorities by which it is supported: ABCEGHLMSX, BV, of Matthai, upwards of a hundred others, Syriac, Armenian, Persic, Coptic, Slavonic, Vulgate, Saxon, and all the Itala, with some of the most eminent of the primitive fathers, before the time of Origen, who is supposed to... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - John 1:29

The next day - The day after that on which the Jews had been with John, John 1:19 . Behold the Lamb of God, etc. - This was said in allusion to what was spoken Isaiah 53:7 . Jesus was the true Lamb or Sacrifice required and appointed by God, of which those offered daily in the tabernacle and temple, Exodus 29:38 , Exodus 29:39 , and especially the paschal lamb, were only the types and representatives. See Exodus 12:4 , Exodus 12:5 ; 1 Corinthians 5:7 . The continual morning... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - John 1:31

And I knew him not, etc. - John did not know our Lord personally, and perhaps had never seen him, at the time he spoke the words in John 1:15 . Nor is it any wonder that the Baptist should have been unacquainted with Christ, as he had spent thirty years in the hill country of Hebron, and our Lord remained in a state of great privacy in the obscure city of Nazareth, in the extreme borders of Galilee. But that he should be made manifest to Israel - One design of my publicly baptizing... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - John 1:32

I saw the Spirit descending, etc. - See the notes on Matthew 3:16 , Matthew 3:17 . read more

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