m not; but that He
should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing
with water. And John bare witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit
descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon Him. And I
knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, He said
unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and
abiding upon Him, the same is He that baptizeth with the Holy
Spirit. And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son
of God."--JOHN i. 6-8, 15-34.

In proceeding to show how the Incarnate Word manifested Himself among
men, and how this manifestation was received, John naturally speaks
first of all of the Baptist. "There came a man, sent from God, whose
name was John. The same came for witness ... that all might believe
through him." The Evangelist himself had been one of the Baptist's
disciples, and had been led to Christ by his testimony. And to many
besides, the Baptist was the true forerunner of the Messiah. He was the
first to recognise and proclaim the present King. John had come under
the Baptist's influence at the most impressible time of his life, while
his character was being formed and his ideas of religion taking shape;
and his teacher's testimony to the dignity of Jesus had left an
indelible print upon his spirit. While his memory retained anything it
could not let slip what his first teacher had said of Him who became his
Teacher and his Lord. While, therefore, the other Evangelists give us
striking pictures of the Baptist's appearance, habits, and style of
preaching, and show us the connection of his work with that of Jesus,
John glances very slightly at these matters, but dwells with emphasis
and iteration on the testimony which the Baptist bore to the Messiahship
of Jesus.

To us, at this time of day, it may seem of little importance what the
Baptist thought or said of Jesus. We may sympathise rather with the
words of the Lord Himself, who, in allusion to this witness, said, "I
receive not testimony from man." But it is plain that, at any rate from
a Jewish point of view, the witness of John was most important. The
people universally accepted John as a prophet, and they could scarcely
think him mistaken in the chief article of his mission. In point of
fact, many of the most faithful adherents of Jesus became such through
the influence of John; and those who declined to accept Jesus were
always staggered by John