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Harmony and Explanation.
Ver. 15. Iohn bare witness of him, and cried, &c.
THE Evangelist from the beginning of the Chapter to this place, and in it doth purposely go about to shew what declarations and demonstrations were given of Christ, both before his coming in the flesh and after: what before, we shewed in their proper place upon the Chapter to the fourteenth vers. what after, is shewed in this verse, and the next that follows: In the fourteenth verse, he tells, that Christ declared himself to be the only begotten of the Father, by conversing among his Disciples, full of grace and truth: And in this verse he sheweth how John declared and published him to all that came to be baptized, and in the next verse, how his Disciples received of his ful∣ness, &c.
Now Johns manner of testimony of him, he expresseth by these two words, He bear∣eth witness, and cried, words of different tenses, as was observed before, and of some dif∣ference of sense in that diversity.
The word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 of the present tense, is properly to be understood, 1. Of Johns whole Ministery, Function, and Office, as vers. 7. explaineth it, He came for a witness: not to be restrained to this or that particular, vocal and verbal testimony that John gave of Christ, no nor to all the vocal testimonies that he gave of Christ, but to be dilated to Johns whole course and ministry that he beareth witness to Christ, in that God raised up such a one to be his fore-runner: And the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in the praeter tense, is to be ap∣plied to the particular testimony that John gave of Christ in that his ministery: so that the former word referreth to Johns person, and his whole function, and the latter only to the manner of his executing of one particular of that function.
2. The word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 may also include Johns martyrdom for the truth, by which he beareth witness unto Christ even unto this time, as Abel being dead, yet speaketh, as Heb. 11. 4. And in this sense should I understand those words of this same Evangelist in his first Epistle, Chap. 5. vers. 6, 8. Jesus Christ came by water and blood; and the Spirit beareth witness. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the Water, and Blood; that is, the Spirit of Prophesie, Baptism, and Martyrdom: all three agreeing in one testi∣mony of Christ, that he is he: The Prophets speaking so jointly of him, Baptism bring∣ing in so many unto him, and Martyrs sealing unto him with their dearest blood: The scores that have prophesied of him, the thousands that have suffered death for him, and the many thousands that have been baptized into him, bearing witness of him on earth, as the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost do in heaven.
§. He that cometh after me, is preferred before me.
We do not find that John had at any time before Christs baptism, given any such testi∣mony as these words. He had said indeed, A mightier than I cometh after me, whose shoos I am not worthy to bear, and whose shoo latchet I am not worthy to unloose, as the other three Evangelists agree in the relating of it; but these words, He is preferr'd before me, for he was before me, we heard not of till now: Yet is it to be conceived that the Baptist speak∣eth to the same sense now that he did before, as vers. 27. sheweth his intention, though he have altered his expressions: For it is a very common custom of Scripture, in alledg∣ing of former speeches, to give the sense, but not to keep exactly to the words. And yet it is not without its weight, that whereas Johns constant testimony of Christ before his baptism was, A mightier than I cometh, he should as constantly after his baptism use this, He coming after me is preferr'd before me; as here, and vers. 27. & 30.
Now the reason of this seemeth to be, because Christ had now appeared, and no migh∣ty work had been yet shewed among the people by him; no nor any thing done in their eyes or hearing, which might give them occasion to conceive, that he was mightier or stronger than John. The appearance of the Holy Ghost, and the voice from heaven, they had neither seen nor heard; only his catching away from Jordan at this time, it is probable they saw, therefore John to clear their apprehensions from any carnal miscon∣struction of his words, explains himself, that by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, A mightier than I, they were not so to understand, as to look for any present visible demonstration of power or miraculousness from him, but that they should take notice that he of whom he spake those words, was before him in rank and dignity, for he was before him in time and of∣fice, nature and qualifications, though he came after him.