John 3:22-23

The Baptism and Final Testimony of John

22, 23. We have here a mark of authenticity similar to John 2:12. These passages "it is impossible to regard as embodiments of dogma. It is equally impossible to regard them as fragments detached from the mass of tradition. The only conclusion remains, that they art facts lodged in the memory of a living witness of the events described." S. p. 86. S. John records them, not for any theological purpose, but because he was there, and remembers what took place.

and baptized Or, was baptizing during his stay there, through his disciples (John 4:2). Christ's baptism was not yet in the Name of the Trinity (John 7:39) as ordered to the Apostles (Matthew 28:19). It was a continuation of John's baptism, accompanied by the operation of the Spirit (John 3:5). We have abundant evidence that John baptized before Christ's public ministry commenced, and that the disciples baptized after His ministry closed. That the one baptism should be the offspring of the other is probable enough antecedently; "yet this is the one passage in which it is positively stated that our Lord authorised baptism during His lifetime." S. p. 85.