Matthew 3:11-12

Ver 11. "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12. Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Gloss. non occ.: As in the preceding words John had explained more at length what he had shortly preached in the words, "Repent ye," so now follows a more full enlargement of the words, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Greg., Hom. in Ev., 7. 3: John baptizes not with the Spirit but with water, because he had no power to forgive sins; he washes the body with water, but not at the same time the soul with pardon of sin.

Chrys., Hom. 10, 1: For while as yet the sacrifice had not been offered, nor remission of sin sent, nor the Spirit had descended on the water, how could sin be forgiven? But since the Jews never perceived their own sin, and this was the cause of all their evils, John came to bring them to a sense of them by calling them to repentance.

Greg.: Why then does he baptize who could not remit sin, but that he may preserve in all things the office of forerunner? As his birth had preceded Christ's birth, so his baptism should precede the Lord's baptism.

Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, John was sent to baptize, that to such as came to his baptism he might announce the presence among them of the Lord in the flesh, as himself testifies in another place, "That He might be manifested to Israel, therefore am I come to baptise with water." [John 1:31]

Aug., in Joann. Tract. v. 5: Or, he baptizes, because it behoved Christ to be baptized. But if indeed John was sent only to baptize Christ, why was not He alone baptized by John? Because had the Lord alone been baptized by John, there would not have lacked who should insist that John's baptism was greater than Christ's, inasmuch as Christ alone had the merit to be baptized by it.

Rabanus: Or, by this sign of baptism he separates the penitent from the impenitent, and directs them to the baptism of Christ.

Pseudo-Chrys.: Because then he baptized on account of Christ, therefore to them who came to him for baptism he preached that Christ should come, signifying the eminence of His power in the words, "He who cometh after me is mightier than I."

Remig.: There are five points in which Christ comes after John, His birth, preaching, baptism, death, and descent into hell. A beautiful expression is that, "mightier than I," because he is mere man, the other is God and man.

Rabanus: As though he had said, I indeed am mighty to invite to repentance, He to forgive sins; I to preach the kingdom of heaven, He to bestow it; I to baptize with water, He with the Spirit.

Chrys.: When you hear "for He is mightier than I," do not suppose this to be said by way of comparison, for I am not worthy to be numbered among his servants, that I might undertake the lowest office.

Hilary: Leaving to the Apostles the glory of bearing about the Gospel, to whose beautiful feet was due the carrying the tidings of God's peace.

Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, by the feet of Christ we may understand Christians, especially the Apostles, and other preachers, among whom was John Baptist; and the shoes are the infirmities with which he loads the preachers. These shoes all Christ's preachers wear; and John also wore them; but declares himself unworthy, that he might shew the grace of Christ, and be greater than his deserts.

Jerome: In the other Gospels it is, "whose shoe latchet I am not worthy to loose." Here his humility, there his ministry is intended; Christ is the Bridegroom, and John is not worthy to loose the Bridegroom's shoe, that his house be not called according to the Law of Moses and the example of Ruth, "The house of him that hath his shoe loosed." [Deuteronomy 25:10]

Pseudo-Chrys.: But since no one can give a benefit more worthy than he himself is, nor to make another what himself is not, he adds, "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire."

John who is carnal cannot give spiritual baptism; he baptizes with water, which is matter; so that he baptizes matter with matter. Christ is Spirit, because He is God; the Holy Ghost is Spirit, the soul is spirit; so that Spirit with Spirit baptizes our spirit. The baptism of the Spirit profits as the Spirit enters and embraces the mind, and surrounds it as it were with an impregnable wall, not suffering fleshly lusts to prevail against it. It does not indeed prevail that the flesh should not lust, but holds the will that it should not consent with it.

And as Christ is Judge, He baptizes in fire, i.e. temptation; mere man cannot baptize in fire. He alone is free to tempt, who is strong to reward. This baptism of tribulation burns up the flesh that it does not generate lust, for the flesh does not fear spiritual punishment, but only such as is carnal. The Lord therefore sends carnal tribulation on his servants, that the flesh fearing its own pains, may not lust after evil. See then how the Spirit drives away lust, and suffers it not to prevail, and the fire burns up its very roots.

Jerome: Either the Holy Ghost Himself is a fire, as we learn from the Acts, when there sat as it were fire on the tongues of the believers; and thus the word of the Lord was fulfilled who said, "I am come to send fire on the earth, I will that it burn." [Luke 12:49]

Or, we are baptized now with the Spirit, hereafter with fire; as the Apostle speaks, "Fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is." [1 Corinthians 3:13] [ed. note, e: The fire here spoken of is interpreted by S. Austin, (Enchir. 68) and Pope Gregory, (Dial. iv. 40) of the "troubles of this life;" by S. Ambrose, (in Ps. 118, 20. n. 15. apparently, Hil. in Ps. 118, 3. n. 12) of the "severity of the divine judgment;" by S. Chrysostom, and Theophylact, (in loc.) and Pseudo-Athanasius, (Quaest. in Ep. Paul. 98. t. 2. p. 328. Ed. Ben.) of "hell-fire;" by Ambrosiaster, (in loc.) S. Jerome, perhaps, (in Isa. 1. fin.) and also by S. Austin and Pope Gregory, of a "purgatorial fire."]

Chrys.: He does not say, shall give you the Holy Ghost, but "shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost," shewing in metaphor the abundance of the grace.

This further shews, that even under the faith there is need of the will alone for justification, not of labours and toilings; and even as easy a thing as it is to be baptized, even so easy a thing it is to be changed and made better. [ed. note, f: This sentence is not here found in the original.]

By fire he signifies the strength of grace which cannot be overcome, and that it may be understood that He makes His own people at once like to the great and old prophets, most of the prophetic visions were by fire.

Pseudo-Chrys.: It is plain then that the baptism [ed. note: Two sentences about rebaptizing, wanting in some copies of the original, are omitted by Aquinas. This comment on St. Matthew has apparently passed successively through the hands of opposite controversialists upon the Arian question. It may be observed that the Eunomians rebaptized, and that the second General Council rejects their baptism.] of Christ does not undo the baptism of John, but includes it in itself; he who is baptized in Christ's name hath both baptisms, that of water and that of the Spirit. for Christ is Spirit, and hath taken to Him the body that He might give both bodily and spiritual baptism.

John's baptism does not include in it the baptism of Christ, because the less cannot include the greater. Thus the Apostle having found certain Ephesians baptized with John's baptism, baptized them again in the name of Christ, because they had not been baptized in the Spirit: thus Christ baptized a second time those who had been baptized by John, as John himself declared he should, "I baptize you with water; but He shall baptize you with the Spirit."

And yet they were not baptized twice but once; for as the baptism of Christ was more than that of John, it was a new one given, not the same repeated.

Hilary: He marks the time of our salvation and judgment in the Lord; those who are baptized in the Holy Ghost it remains that they be consummated by the fire of judgment.

Rabanus: By the fan is signified the separation of a just trial; that it is in the Lord's hand, means, 'in His power,' as it is written, "The Father hath committed all judgment to the Son."

Pseudo-Chrys.: "The floor," is the Church, "the barn," is the kingdom of heaven, "the field," is the world. The Lord sends forth His Apostles and other teachers, as reapers to reap all nations of the earth, and gather them into the floor of the Church. Here were must be threshed and winnowed, for all men are delighted in carnal things as grain delights in the husk. But whoever is faithful and has the marrow of a good heart, as soon as he has a light tribulation, neglecting carnal things runs to the Lord; but if his faith be feeble, hardly with heavy sorrow; and he who is altogether void of faith, however he may be troubled, passes not over to God.

The wheat when first thrashed lies in one heap with chaff and straw, and is after winnowed to separate it; so the faithful are mixed up in one Church with the unfaithful; but persecution comes as a wind, that, tossed by Christ's fan, they whose hearts were separate before, may be also now separated in place. He shall not merely cleanse, but "thoroughly cleanse;" therefore the Church must needs be tried in many ways till this be accomplished.

And first the Jews winnowed it, then the Gentiles, now the heretics, and after a time shall Antichrist thoroughly winnow it. For as when the blast is gentle, only the lighter chaff is carried off, but the heavier remains; so a slight wind of temptation carries off the worst characters only; but should a greater storm arise, even those who seem steadfast will depart. There is need then of heavier persecution that the Church should be cleansed.

Remig.: This His floor, to wit, the Church, the Lord cleanses in this life, both when by the sentence of the Priests the bad are put out of the Church, and when they are cut off by death.

Rabanus: The cleansing of the floor will then be finally accomplished, when the Son of Man shall send His Angels, and shall gather all offences out of His kingdom.

Greg., Mor. 34. 5: After the threshing is finished in this life, in which the grain now groans under the burden of the chaff, the fan of the last judgment shall so separate between them, that neither shall any chaff pass into the granary, nor shall the grain fall into the fire which consumes the chaff.

Hilary: The wheat, i.e. the full and perfect fruit of the believer, he declares, shall be laid up in heavenly barns; by the chaff he means the emptiness of the unfruitful.

Rabanus: There is this difference between the chaff and the tares, in that the chaff is produced of the same seed as the wheat, but the tares from one of another kind. The chaff therefore are those who enjoy the sacraments of the faith, but are not solid; the tares are those who in profession as well as in works are separated from the lot of the good.

Remig.: The unquenchable fire is the punishment of eternal damnation; either because it never totally destroys or consumes those it has once seized on, but torments them eternally; or to distinguish it from purgatorial fire which is kindled for a time and again extinguished.

Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii. 12: If any asks which were the actual words spoken by John, whether those reported by Matthew, or by Luke, or by Mark, it may be shewn, that there is no difficulty here to him who rightly understands that the sense is essential to our knowledge of the truth, but the words indifferent. And it is clear we ought not to deem any testimony false, because the same fact is related by several persons who were present in different words and different ways.

Whoever thinks that the Evangelists might have been so inspired by the Holy Ghost that they should have differed among themselves neither in the choice, nor the number, nor the order of their words, he does not see that by how much the authority of the Evangelists is preeminent, so much the more is to be by them established the veracity of other men in the same circumstances. But the discrepancy may seem to be in the thing, and not only in words, between, "I am not worthy to bear His shoes," and "to loose His shoe-latchet." Which of these two expressions did John use? He who has reported the very words will seem to have spoken truth; he who has given other words, though he have not hid, or been forgetful, yet had he said one thing for another.

But the Evangelists should be clear of every kind of falseness, not only that of lying, but also that of forgetfulness. If then this discrepancy be important, we may suppose John to have used both expressions, either at different times, or both at the same time. But if he only meant to express the Lord's greatness and his own humility, whether he used one or the other the sense is preserved, though any one should in his own words repeat the same profession of humility using the figure of the shoes; their will and intention does not differ.

This then is a useful rule and one to be remembered, that it is no lie, when one fairly represents his meaning whose speech one is recounting, though one uses other words; if only one shews our meaning to be the same with his. Thus understood it is a wholesome direction that we are to enquire only after the meaning of the speaker.