The first tome or volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testamente

The .iii. Chapter.

[ The texte.] ¶In those dayes came Iohn the Baptiste, preachyng in the wylhernes of Iewry, and saying: Repent ye of your former lyfe. For the kyngdome of heauen is at hande. For this is he, of whome the Prophete Esay spake, whiche saieth: The voyce of a crier in the wilder∣nes: prepare the waye of the Lorde, and make his pathes strayght. And this Iohn had his garment of Camels heere▪ and a gyr••cii of a sky 〈◊〉〈◊〉 about his loynes. Further his meate was Locustes and wylde houye. Than went out to hym Hierusalem and all Iewrye, and all the countrey round about nere to Iordane, and were baptised of hym in Iordane, con∣fessyng theyr spunes,

NOwe is it worthy the hearyng, to know how our Lord Ie∣sus Christ begā and entred with the matier, that he came for. He thrust not in sodēly to men vnawares, when they thought not vpon it. First he woulde that all mennes myndes shoulde be prepared,* 1.1 and made in a redines by his vssher and messen∣ger Iohn the sonne of zacharie, a man knowen and allowed of the Iewes themselues: to thentent that the thyng whiche euer should be beleued, might by lytle and lytle be stilled and put into the hartes of men. Therfore whan the tyme drewe nere, in the which it was decreed by the e∣ternall ordeynaunce of God that the whole worlde shoulde be renewed through the doctrine of Christ: Iohn came furth, the sonne of a priest, and of a prophetisse, whiche Iohn was iudged afterward to be more than a Prophet by the testimonie of Christ, who also euen in his byrthe and be∣ginning, had made men to conceyue great hope of hym. And he came not out of kinges courtes,* 1.2 or out of commō resortes of mē, but out of wilder∣nes, where from his chyldhode he led an aungels lyfe, beyng contente w^t a most simple & common diet, clad with a garmēt wouē of Camels heres, girded with a letheren girdell. His dyet was agreable vnto his apparell. For he lyued with course meate, and easy to be gotten, which he found in the wildernes, that is to saie, with locustes and wilde hony. Suche dyet, suche apparell, suche a place, was moste mete for a preacher of penaunce: Whose wonderfull holynes so amased all mens myndes, that many sup∣posed that he was Christ: chiefly when many were perswaded the other which was thought to be Messias, to haue perished in the number of the infantes of Bethleem. But he did not chalenge vnto him the glory of o∣thers, insomuche that he shewed Christ openly to al men, and sayed that he was not worthy to leu••e the latchet of his shooes. And yet he rushed not furth of his owne swinge to preache: but whan he was admonished from heauen, that now was the tyme to playe the preacher. For he came not by chaunce to his office of preaching, or by the sendyng of man, but this was he,* 1.3 of whom Esaye prophecied so many yeres before, both that he should vtter openly in wyldernes the voyce of his preachyng, and also that he should be sēt before to prepare the hartes of men to receyue the doctrine of Christ, & because he perswading repentaunce of the former lyfe, should make them able to receyue the grace of Christe, who by baptisme shoulde

pardon all men of theyr sinnes. And that (the course of thynges beyng sodeynly chaunged) they that were puffed vp before by the vayne iustice of Moyses lawe, and by the folysh wisedom of this worlde, should haue their combes cut, and be brought lowe. And finally that thei which before semed vyle, abiect, and vnprofitable because of theyr ignoraunce and hū∣blenes, should nowe be made liuely and strong through the doctrine of the ghospell, and ryche with heauenly ryches: and those thynges whiche by the rigoure of the lawe semed hard and intricate, throughe faythe & grace of the gospel, should be made right and easy: and that this health and sal∣uacion, should be opened and publyshed not onely to the Iewes, but also to all nacions of the worlde. All these thynges prophecied Esay, the most assured Prophet of the Lord. And this is the prophecie: A voyce of the cryer in deserte, prepare ye the waye of the lorde, make his pathes plaine and euen. Euery valey shall be fylled, and euery mountayne & hyll shalbe brought lowe. And the croked shalbe made strayght, and the rough shalbe turned into plaine wayes, and all mankinde shall see the saluacion of God. And nowe a certeyne rumor and fame of the cumming of Christ, secretly spred abroade by many, and farther the conscience of theyr naughty lyues (for there was no tyme more sinfull and fylthy than that was) and finally a certaine secrete inspiracion dyd cause and brought to passe, that many of them were wery of theyr life, beyng very desyrous of him, of whom they had a certeyne sauour and vnderstandyng (simple though it wer:) who so∣denly should renewe all kynde of men, and theyr synnes clerely abolyshed, bryng them vnto the kyngdō of righteousnesse. Wherfore whan they came flockyng vnto Iohn not onely out of the citie of Hierusalem, but also out of whole Iewry, chiefly out of those coūtreis that be nere vnto Iordane: Iohn himselfe cummeth and approcheth to satisfie theyr redy wyll & de∣syre. And the thyng that he preached in wyldernes, thesame he doth beate into the people, beyng now more thycke assembled and gathered together nere vnto the water of Iordane, that through repentaūce of theyr former lyfe, they might prepare themselues to Messias now at hande, and offer themselues to be healed of hym,* 1.4 who should bryng helthe and saluacion. He is in the waye of helth, that knowlegeth his disease, and hateth it. For now (sayeth he) the kyngdome of heauen, and that same moste fortunate & moste to be desyred kingdō is at hand: yea and that very nere, but there is no entrie into it, but to suche as be pure and cleane, from this worldly fil∣thines. At this preaching, in figure & tokē that the filthynes of the mindes should shortely be clensed awaye, many wer baptised in the water of Ior∣dane condemning theyr former lyfe, and acknowlegyng theyr offences o∣penly. For so it was thought good vnto the wysedome of god, that Iohn which was the bound and border of Moses lawe, being nowe at an ende, and of the grace of the gospell nowe cumming on, with this sygne and to∣ken, should go before, not to abolishe synne, whiche thyng Christe proper∣ly reserued vnto himselfe, but to prepare mennes myndes, that they might be the more able to receyue the benefite that should furthwith ensue.

[ The texte.] But whan he sawe many of y^e Phariseis & Saduce••s cummyng to his baptisme, he sayd vnto thē: O gene••aciō of vipers: who hath taught you to flee from the vengeaunce that is to some? Bring furth therfore the fruites that becummeth penaunce. And be not of this minde, to saye within your selues: we haue Abraham to out father. For I saye to you, that God is

able to bryng to passe, that of these stones, children shall ryse vp to Abraham. Euen nowe is the axe also put to the roote of the trees. Therfore euery tree, whiche bringeth not ••urthe good fruite, is he wen downe and cast into the fyer.

And this was doen in the .xv. yeare of Tiberius Cesar, beyng Emperour of Rome, and Poncius Pilate hauyng rule ouer Iewry vnder hym, & Herode the brother of hym that dyed, beyng Tetrarche of Galile, where Christ made his abode: and his brother Philip Tetrarche of Iturea, and the countrie Tra∣chonisis: and Lisanya the Tetrarche of Abiline: and Anne, and Cayphas, be∣yng the chiefe of the priestes. And thus the realme of Iewry beyng deuyded vnto so many rulers, furthe came he whiche should call thynges to the power and rule of one prynce. And fyrste of all, a great numbre of people flockyng vn∣to him, whā Iohn sawe a great multitude of Phariseis and Saduceis come to baptisme, and was not ignoraunt how this kynde of people was arrogāt, fierce, and standyng in theyr owne conceyte, for the notable obseruacion of Moyses lawe as it semed to themselues, & for the merites of the patriarches, of whome they craked and gloryed muche, for that they came of them. For they enuying and laying wayte to hynder the baptisme of Iohn, beeyng in vse and reputacion, sent a craftye message vnto hym into Bethabaram, (for Iohn at that time did baptise there) demaūdyng whether that he were Christ. If he had been, forthwith they would haue obiected, that Christe had been promised of the tribe of Iuda, wheras it was manifest that Iohn was of the Tribe of Leuy. Further when Iohn protested plainly that he was not Christ, no nor no Prophete, especially of those olde and aunciente Prophetes, whom they thought woulde returne agayne the worlde▪ they demaunde of hym fur∣ther, howe he durst promyse remission of sinnes by baptysme, whiche proper∣ly was reserued vnto Christ. He answered, that there was muche difference betwene his baptisme, wherby he dyd stirre and moue mē to repentaunce and forthynkyng of the former lyfe: and the baptisme of Christ whiche forthwith should folow, wherby all sinnes should be forgeuen. Therfore whan he sawe many of this kynde of men come runnyng to baptisme with others:* 1.5 he biteth theyr conscience with bitter wordes wherby he might the rather moue them to penaunce. O crafty ({quod} he) and malicious kynde of men, nay no menne, but rather the ofspring of vypers, the murderers of your auncetours, subtyll and yll mynded towarde all men: Seyng that hytherto ye haue vaunted your selues emong men, vnder the tytle and name of fathers, whiche for their holi∣nes be muche praise wurthy with them, and vnder the false pretence of righte∣ousnes, haue reigned so negligently and idelly, as though Messias should ne∣uer haue come, who tolde you, and put you in remembraunce, that the ineui∣table punishmente was at hande, vnles ye had runne with others to the reme∣dy of penaunce? And how is it, that now ye desyre to be baptised as sinners, among whome ye appered as men of great holynes? Ye haue perceyued that your trust should be but vayne, vnles ye should escape from the vengeaunce of God now beyng at hande▪ by the refuge of penaunce. For neyther the merites of the fathers, nor the obseruacion of the law, deliuereth from euerlasting pu∣nyshment, but euery mannes owne purenes of lyfe maketh hym commenda∣ble vnto God. Seyng therfore y^t ye repent your former lyfe, hereafter so bryng forth fruite w^t godly affeccions and dedes, that they may testifie, that ye haue truely repented. Hytherto for the grossenes of menne, fygures and shadowes

hath been sumwhat made of, that mens pronitie to naughtines, being com∣passed in with these stayes, might be refrayned from fallyng into farther in∣conuenience. Hitherto with enlarged Phylacteries, with long prayers, with washinges, with often mencioning of father Abraham the holy Patriarche, with buildyng of the prophetes shrynes, of whose posteritie ye desire to ap∣pere and to be counted, ye haue obteyned vnto you a certayne coloure and appearaunce of holynes emong men. Hereafter because that shadowes shal vanyshe away at the light of the gospel, ye must go truely and sincerelye to woorke, if ye will obteyne euerlastyng health. Neyther brent sacrifice, ne bloud of beastes, is requyred of you for your olde sinnes: onely ••e that there be penaunce without counterfaytyng, and god wyl frely pardon the offence: further Messias himselfe wyl teache you, yf he fynde you apte and willing to learne, what be the fruites of true penaunce. In the meane season set ye a∣side vaine trust, and flatter not your selues thus: we be holy, we come of the holy father Abraham. The iuste Abraham shall auayle nothyng them that come of him, vnlesse thei folow his faith and obedience, which wer so muche commended. The blessyng that is now at hand was promised vnto Abrahā: but cosinage and kynred be it neuer so nere, is not sufficiente to obteyne this blessyng. Whosoeuer distrustyng God doeth leane vnto the soucoures of this world, they be fallen from the kinred of Abraham. And hereafter the posteritie of Abrahā shall not be counted by the kynred of bloud, but by the sinceritie of feyth. And yet god shall not therfore lacke the posteritie of A∣braham, to whom he may perfourme and paye the blessing that he promised, though ye swarue from the maners of Abraham. Nay be ye ascertayned, yf ye dispyse the grace offered vnto you, that god is of power, yea out of these stones to rayse vp chyldren farre better than ye bee, to his frende Abraham. And there is no cause why that ye should be the more negligente for that the cummyng of Messias hath been differred hytherto. For nowe the extreme parell cummeth vpon you, and nowe all the matter is euen vpon the edge of the raser, eyther ye muste come vnto the kyngdome of heauen withe cleane and syncere myndes, or elles ye muste receyue eternall punishement. Salua∣cion is present at hande to them that wyll enbrace it, and to them that wyll refuse it, presente payne and vtter destruccion is readye at hande. For nowe the axe is sette to the tree, not to the boughes or to the body, but to the roo∣tes, whiche shal vtterly cut it downe with a deadly wounde, that cannot be recouered, vnlesse it bryng furth fruite meete for god. There muste be no lin∣gering, the daungier is so nere at hande. Haste muste be made, all impedi∣mētes and lettes quite cut of. Yet ye may chose which ye wyll take. The axe wyll not stryke yf ye wyll sodenly chaunge your mynde. In the naturall tree it is long and hard to chaunge the iuyce wherof the fruite taketh his taste. Here the matter is brought to passe by the onely wil. But as they that make haste are partakers of health, so they that linger are al partakers of peryll. None shall be deliuered hereafter neither by riches, neither by noble birthe, neyther by wisedome, as many hitherto haue supposed. Euery tree that beareth not fruite, and that no meane fruite but excellent good and worthye the kyngdome of heauen, is cut downe and caste into the fyer.

[ The texte.] ¶I baptyse you with water vnto penaunce: but he that shall come after me is mightyer than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to beare. He shal baptise you with the holye ghoste and fyer, whose fanne is in his hande, and he wyl purge his floore, and gather his where into the barne, but he wyl burne the chaffe with fyer that cannot be quenched.

Hitherto god hath suffered and wynked at mens sluggishnesse. Erroure and ignoraunce deserued some pardon. Mankynde was in a maner deaffe at the law of nature. Small profit came by y^e law of Moses. The thretninges of the prophetes were set at naughte, theyr dreames and visions were not hearde. Now is he come after whome none other shalbe sent. Whose cūming leste it should be sodeine and vnwares, I (sayeth Iohn) am the messenger sēt before. If ye be penitēt, yf ye knowledge your diseases, yf ye receiue y^e Phi∣sicion with feruent desire, he wil be with you, profitable & healthfull to all: For I am not he▪ whom ye loke for. Truth it is I baptise you, but to this in∣tent only, y^• ye being penitent may be meere to learne of him, & redy to receyue health whā he shal come. For forthwith he wil come, yea euē now he is cum, & as he is behinde me in y^e ordre of preaching, so he is aboue me & passeth me by all meanes, so y^t I whom ye thinke to be of sum estimaciō, am not worthy to be his drudge & slaue,* 1.6 that is either to cary his shoes, or to leuse y^t latchet of his shoes. I am none other thīg but a preacher, neuertheles both trusty & doing mine office, which god hath enioined me by y^e prophecy of his prophet. He is the autor, he brīgeth w^t him al might & power both to forgeue sīnes, & to cōfer & geue al kinde of vertues. Let euery mā approche to his doctrine & to his baptisme, for he shal baptise you w^t effectual & liuely baptisme, not w^t water only but w^t y^e spirit & fier. With y^e spirit he shal alter & trāsforme you, w^t fier he shal pluck you vp vnto heauēly thinges. He wil require nothing of you but sincere penaūce, w^tout coūterfeyting. He wil geue you his good thī∣ges frely, if your yl thinges displease you hartily. Onely he willeth y^t there be no colouringes, which shall preuail nothing w^t him. There is nothing hid from him, he feareth no mā. The thing shalbe doen with seuere iudgemente, whiche can not be voided. Hereafter there shalbe no meane, either ye muste throughly be good, or throughly euil. He will passe nothing vpō cloked•• ho∣lines▪ He hath a fāne in his hād, he seeth also y^• inward secretes of the hartes. Before him either ye must be chaffe or fyne wheate.* 1.7 But in the meane season whether of both ye wyl be, he hath partly put in your choyce. It shalbe but vayne for the chaffe mingled among the clean corne to lucke and to be hiddē. He shall vtterly cleanse his floore, and lay vp the wheat in his granard, but he shall burne the chaffe with fier that neuer shall be quenched. Wherfore ei∣ther ye must endeuour with all your herte to the high prycke of vertue, that ye maye worthely be receiued into the euerlastyng kyngdome: or elles yf ye despise the goodnes of God nowe offered vnto you, ye must nedes thereby be extremely naught, because ye refuse so great helthe offered to you, with∣out your seking, and through your owne merite (forasmuche as ye reiect the heauenly rewarde,) ye must be appoynted to the euerlasting fier of hell. The mindes of the common sorte were so moued with the sayinges of this holy man, that a great numbre whiche hitherto had put theyr trust in the obserua∣cion of the lawe, came vnto hym tremblyng for feare, and sayd: If thus stā∣deth the case, what than thinke ye best for vs to do? but he dyd not exhort thē to the ceremonies of the lawe, and the constitucions of men, as the phariseis wer wont to do, but vnto the workes of charitie, saying: The first way to pacifie God is the free weldoyng vnto your neighbour. He that hath plenty of garmentes, let him geue vnto the naked: he that hath plenty of meates, let hym geue vnto the hungry. There came vnto hym also the Publicanes, the

which kynde of mē y^e Iewes abhorre, because cōmēly either for to please the princes, or to satisfy their auarice thei are wōt to poul y^e people. They demaūde of him fearfully, what he thīketh best for thē to do. And he doth not reiect them from baptisme, & agayne he appoynteth them not to geue their goodes, who now of long time wer wont violently to take away o∣ther mennes: but to thintent they might come nere by some degre vnto the perfect doctrine of Christ, he cōmaundeth them that they should exact no∣thing of the people, beside that, that was prescribed of the prince. Finally there came also souldiours, a violent & a diffamed kynde of people. Ney∣ther put he them awaye from him, declaring manifestlye vnto the Iewes by that dede, that Christ would despise no kinde of men. They confesse no∣thing: for, to professe a souldiour is of it selfe to confesse the puddle & sinke of all mischiefe. They demaunde also what counsayle he would geue thē. And he teacheth them beyng so rude, rather what oughte to be auoyded & shunned, that they might be lesse yll, then what was to be doen, whereby thei might be perfectly good. Abuse not ({quod} he) your weapōs which ought not to be styrred but agaynst your enemies, at the commaundement of the captayn: beate no man nor stryke no man violentlye, syth you be hyred for this purpose, that through your diligence the countrey should be quiet. Nor abuse not you familiaritie with great rulers, falsly blamyng and ac∣cusyng any man, wherby any filthy lucre or gayne might come vnto you. Finally be content with your wages, and defraude and spoile no man. For prynces geue wages to thintente no man by necessitie shoulde be forced to take other mennes goodes. So he through easye preceptes accordyng to euery mannes capacitie, made al men in a redines for Christ to come, fore∣seyng Christ in spirite, whom he had not yet seen with his bodily iyes.

[ The texte.] ¶Then cummeth Iesus from Galile to Iordane vnto Iohn, to be baptised of him. But Iohn forbade him, saying: I haue nede to be baptised of the: and cummest thou to me? Iesus answered and sayth vnto hym: Let it be so nowe. For thus it becummeth vs to fulfyll all righteousnesse. Then he suffred hym.

Therfore the rumour & fame beyng now spred abrode, and dayly more & more encreasing, & that by diuers meanes, by the angels, by the sheperdes by the Magyans, by the cruel carefulnes of Herode, by the prophecye of zachary, by Simeon, by Anne, by litle and litle secretely: but most of al by Iohns open & manifeste setting furth beeyng ioyned with a great aucto∣ritie, inso muche that yll mē also being now amased with feare did frame themselfe to the cumming of Christ, thus declared & set furth. For truly it was time for him to cū furth into the sight of the world to declare himself not by y^e testimonies of others, but by his own vertues, y^t it might appere what maner of one & how mighty he was, & that he might obscure & dar∣ken al men, by whose testimonie he was heretofore set forth & commēded. Therfore Iesus left Galile where he had been in secrete hitherto, & nowe goīg about his fathers busines he leueth his mothers cūtrey Nazareth, & maketh spede vnto Iordan, where he should haue a great cōpany gathered together out of diuers coastes of Iewry,* 1.8 to be a witnes of the thinges y^t should be there spokē & doen. He who alone was defiled w^t no spot of sin, yea who alone should take away y^e sinnes of the world, through y^e middes of the sinful cōpanies, euen lyke a sinner goeth vnto Iohn, & requireth to

be baptised of hym, who alone doth sāctifie euery baptisme. Iohn not yet ascerteyned y^t Iesus was that high Messias, the sonne of god, but yet ob∣seruing & marking a meruaylouse semelynes and honesty apperyng in his iyes,* 1.9 in all his coūtenaunce, & in his maner of going, he doth excuse his dis∣ordered office & ministracion, honoring his dignitie and worthines as yet with no certayne commendacion. Onely he saieth, it were mete & conueniēt that I which am far beneth & vnder thy vertues, should require baptisme of the: And how cummeth it to passe that thou doest humble & adbase thy selfe so lowe, to require baptisme of me, sith no man is more pure & cleane frō al sinne than thou? These thynges wer thus doen by the ordinaunce of god, to thintēt both that we should haue an exāple of the merueilous mo∣destie & humilitie of Christ, and also that it might appere vnto all men by the testimonie of Iohn, that Christ being without cōscience of any sinne or euil, required to be baptised. For he was baptised like as he was circūci∣sed, as he was purified in the tēple w^t his mother, as he was scourged, & as he was crucified. He suffered all these thinges for vs, & not for himself. Wherfore whē Iohn declaring constātly his own vnworthines, & setting forth y^e worthines of Christ,* 1.10 did refuse y^e office of a baptiser, Christ by no sinister suspicion did steine his own innocencie, which it behoued to be kno∣wen & beleued of al men. Euery parte ({quod} he) of this busines hath his time. Be thou content in the meane season that I be baptised of the, thynke not vn••ūly for the, if thou baptise him, who (as thou saiest) is better thē thou. Certainly it shal becū me, which desireth to bring al vnto me, to fulfill all iustice. For he that teacheth al, & teacheth perfecciō, must see that no likely∣hode or apparaūce of vnrighteousnes (be it neuer so litle) be founde in his life and maners. I must become all thinges to al men, that I maye winne and bring al vnto my father. When Iohn heard these wordes, he descen∣ded into Iordane with Christ, and baptised him. And here appereth an hol∣some example of humilitie in Christe, and of obedience in Iohn, but the thyng, & the effecte is of contrary order. For baptisme doth consecrate vs, but he through the holy touchyng with his body did consecrate baptisme.

[ The texte.] And Iesus whan he was baptised, came straight waye out of the water: and lo, heauen was open vnto hym: And he sawe the spirite of God descendyng lyke a doue, and lyghting vpon hym. And lo, there came a voyce from heauen saying: This is my beloued sonne in whome I am well pleased.

And to thintent he might declare vnto vs what we ought to do after bap∣tisme, & what felicitie was geuen vs by baptisme, Iesus going out of the water cherefully & spedely as though he had cast of a great burdē of sines (teaching vs that we should not tarry nor linger in washinges, nor oftēty∣mes returne vnto thē by sinning again, but to make haste to the dueties of a spiritual life, the sinnes of the former life once cast of, and buried in bap∣tisme:) kneled downe vpon his knees, and lifted his hādes vnto heauē, be∣seching his father y^t he would vouchesafe that this matter of sauing man∣kinde, which he toke in hande, might be happy and fortunate to all men, & that he would commend and set forth his sonne vnto the world with his fatherly auctoritie: and lest Iohns auctoritie should be of smal estimaciō, albeit this for y^e time was profitable for the grosse & rude people. And be∣hold the father did manyfestly auctorise his sōne in the presence of suche a

multitude of people. The heauens opened and shewed furthe a certayne won∣derful light. Iohn also sawe the heauenly spirite in the visible lykenes of a doue,* 1.11 to descende out of heauen, and to sytte vpon his holy head: from thence came the voyce of the father soundyng to all mennes eares, saying: this is my derely beloued sonne, the delight of my mynde, in whō I haue a singuler plea∣sure, heare hym the expoūder of my mynde, and the distributer of my goodnes towardes you. And because at that time Iesus was vnknowen to the multi∣tude which had a great opinion of Iohn, lest the voyce, whiche cūming frō a∣boue poynted no man certaynely to theyr vnderstandyng, should be thoughte to perteine vnto Iohn: therefore there was added a visible signe of the heauē∣ly doue, whiche sitting vpon Christes head, showed nowe playnely vnto al mē (as a man would poynte with his fynger) to whome that voyce dyd perteine. With the whiche signe also Iohn hymselfe was playnely and certaynly mo∣nished, that he was the sonne of God. And after he did openly testifye that this sygne and token was promysed him before of the father, to the intente that in suche a multitude of people, he might certeynlye knowe him that afterwarde should baptyse all men in the spirite and fyer. And with these ceremonyes the Lorde Iesus was declared and consecrated oure mayster, whose diuinitie, and heauenly doctrine who so wyll followe, he shall be truly blessed.

Notes

• * 1.1

  In those dayes came Iohn the Baptiste.
• * 1.2

  Preachyng in the wyl∣drenes of Iewry.
• * 1.3

  For this is he, of whō the prophet Esay spake
• * 1.4

  And were baptised of hym in Ior¦dane▪ &c
• * 1.5

  He sayd vn¦to them: O generacion of vipers.
• * 1.6

  I baptyse you with water. &c
• * 1.7

  Whose fāne is in his hand.
• * 1.8

  Then cum∣meth Ies{us},
• * 1.9

  But Iohn forbad him
• * 1.10

  Iesus an∣swereth▪ &c
• * 1.11

  And lo hea∣uen was o∣pē vnto him