This is the record of Iohn, When the Iewes sent Priests and Leuites from Ierusalem to aske him, What art thou?
THis Gospell is a dialogue betweene certaine Priests and Iohn the Baptist. The Priests inquire after his person and place, cariage and calling. Their interrogato∣ries are fiue: the which are answered by S. Iohn seuerally; shewing, and that directly, both what he was not, as also what he was; not Christ, not Elias, not the Prophet; but the voice of a Crier in the wildernesse.
The first question is, Who art thou? t 1.1 Quis ego sum? is the question of a good man? Tu quis es? of an enuious. He that hath a bad house gads abroad. The wicked are u 1.2 busie Bishops in other mēs diocesses. A true saying in it selfe, but vpon this text a false glosse: for it belonged vnto the x 1.3 Priests office to mannage the businesse of the Church, and exactly to know what euery Prophet was. And albeit Euth••mius is of opinion, that the Iewes here∣in malitiously disabled their knowledge: yet it is more probable that they made this question, to see whether he was Christ. For as we read••, Luke 3.15. All men mused in their hearts of Iohn, if he were not the Christ: and our y 1.4 Sauiour told the Iewes plainly, that they for a time re∣ioiced more in Iohn, who was but a candle, then in him∣selfe who was the Sunne of righteousnesse, and light of the world: and albeit these messengers vttered not so much in word, yet assuredly they harboured such a con∣ceit