Sign in
JOHN 4:2 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
John 4:1John 4:3
“(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)”
Although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples — this parenthetical clarification emphasizes that baptism, while practiced by the disciples under Jesus' authority, is subordinate to the work of belief and the Spirit. The distinction anticipates the later controversy over John's baptism versus Christian baptism, suggesting that the true work is internal transformation rather than external rite.

Church Fathers on John 4:2

The Evangelist, after relating how John checked the envy of his disciples, on the success of Christ’s teaching, comes next to the envy of the Pharisees, and Christ’s retreat front the them. When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard, &c.

Gloss (Glossa Ordinaria) · medieval compilation

Truly had the Pharisees’ knowledge that our Lord was making more disciples, and baptizing more than John, been such as to lead them heartily to follow Him, He would not have left Judea, but would have remained for their sake: but seeing, as He did, that this knowledge of Him was coupled with envy, and made them not followers, but persecutors, He departed thence. He could too, had He pleased, have stayed amongst them, and escaped their hands; but He wished to show His own…

Augustine · 4th century

He did it too to pacify the envy of men, and perhaps to avoid bringing the dispensation of the incarnation into suspicion. For had he been taken and escaped, the reality of His flesh would have been doubted.

Chrysostom · 4th century
Read all 21 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!
John 4:2 — Community Reflections | HolyStudy