His answer sufficiently shows that it was not rivalry that prompted him to continue his baptism. οὐ δύναται … οὐρανοῦ. The general sense is obvious (cf. Psalms 75:6-7; Psalms 127:1; James 1:17; 1 Corinthians 3:7), but did John mean to apply the principle directly to himself or to Jesus? Wetstein prefers the former: “non possum mihi arrogare et rapere, quae Deus non dedit”. So Calvin, Beza [“quid conamini meae conditioni aliquid adjicere?”], Bengel [“quomodo audeam ego, inquit, homines ad me adstringere?”], and Lücke. But, as Weiss points out, it is a justification of Jesus which the question of the disciples demands, and this is given in John's statement that His popularity is God's gift. But John avails himself of the opportunity to explain the relation he himself holds to Jesus.

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Old Testament