I Pascha Saturday – John 3: 22-33
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At that time, came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison. Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
Did the Lord Jesus Himself actually baptize anyone? The holy Evangelist clears this up at the beginning of the next chapter:
” When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs go through Samaria. – John 4:1
St. John Chrysostom explains it thus:
The Evangelist says further on that Jesus did not baptize, but His disciples did…He had not yet given the Spirit, and so there was good reason why He did not baptize. But His disciples did because they wanted to bring as many to faith as possible. – Homilies on the Gospel of John 29:1
St. John the Forerunner himself had said that the One Who was greater than he would come after him and baptize “…with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16).” Prior to Our Lord’s Ascension and the giving of the Holy Spirit, however, the baptism of grace was not yet given. The baptism of John and the baptism of the disciples of the Lord, at this point, possessed the same power and had the same purpose: a call to faith and repentance as a preparation for the true baptism of grace which was to come. Those baptized by this preliminary baptism became, in a sense, catechumens, prepared to receive the full revelation that was to come after Christ was glorified and sent the Holy Spirit.
Though the Forerunner told his disciples plainly that he had come to prepare the way for Jesus, and that Jesus was greater than he, they continued to be jealous for their master’s pre-eminence. Fallen human nature acts thus: we can all become unreasoning partisans of our chosen leader and chosen faction. The holy Baptist reproves his disciples for this lack of understanding while also consoling them by lifting their minds to a higher understanding of the One to Whom their master is yielding the pre-eminence.
Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid explains it thus:
...After the quarrel about “purifying,” meaning, baptism, John’s disciples approached their master and attempted to provoke him to indignation by saying, “He that was with thee – formerly one of your disciples – has left you and is now baptizing on his own.” By the words “to whom thou barest witness” they mean, “The man whom you baptized and made famous dares to usurp your place. No longer do the people heed you; instead, they run to him. “All men come to him,” and disdain you.” But John wants to instill the fear of God in them, and teach them that they battle against God when they obstruct the work of Christ and demean Him. “A man can receive nothing”…he says, “except it be given him from heaven.” Unless it were given to Him from above, the One Whom you resent would not be winning renown. Opposing Him, you sin in two ways: you resist the will of God, and attempt to do the impossible.” At the same time, John gently consoles them: “Not man, but God gains preeminence over us. What we once had, we too received ‘from heaven’; it did not stem from our own power. Be not dismayed that Christ’s deeds are more glorious than ours – it is the will of God.” – The Explanation of the Gospel of John
The disciples of John were learning a hard lesson that we all have to learn at some point, or, rather, at many points, during our lives: We think that we are doing God’s will, and then God tells us that we are wrong or simply have more to learn about what His will really is, and we don’t like it. We want to remain at the level of catechumens, that is, to live the Faith externally, and not surrender to the action of grace within the mind and heart, which invariably comes with suffering and humiliation. These are the crises, the turning points in life, at which we are confronted with a choice of the greatest consequence: we can choose pride and self-reliance – often even while remaining “religious”! – or we can choose humility and total reliance on the will of God and the grace of God. By the prayers of the Holy Forerunner, may we always choose as he did: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
O Risen Lord, Bridegroom of the Church and Bridegroom of our souls, illumine our minds and hearts to know Thee as Thou desirest to be known and to love Thee as Thou desirest to be loved. Amen.
