John 4:2

(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Though	καίτοιγε kaítoige	G2544	and yet indeed
Jesus	Ἰησοῦς Iēsous	G2424	Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
himself	αὐτὸς autos	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — nominative singular masculine
baptized	ἐβάπτιζεν ebaptizen	G907	to immerse · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
but	ἀλλ᾽ all᾽	G235	properly · conjunction
his	αὐτοῦ, autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
disciples	μαθηταὶ mathētai	G3101	a learner · noun — nominative plural masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Corinthians 1:13-17 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
Acts 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 4:1-3

We read of Christ's coming into Judea (Joh 3:22), after he had kept the feast at Jerusalem; and now he left Judea four months before harvest, as is said here (Joh 4:35); so that it is computed that he staid in Judea about six months, to build upon the foundation John had laid there. We have no particular account of his sermons and miracles there, only in general, Joh 4:1. I. That he made disciples; he prevailed with many to embrace his doctrine, and to follow him as a teacher come from God. His ministry was successful, notwithstanding the opposition it met with (Psa 110:2, Psa 110:3); mathētas poiei - it signifies the same with mathēteuō - to disciples. Compare Gen 12:5. The souls which t…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 4:2

Jesus baptized not--John being a servant baptized with his own hand; Christ as the Master, "baptizing with the Holy Ghost," administered the outward symbol only through His disciples.

Adam Clarke on John 4:2

Jesus himself baptized not - See Joh 3:22.

John Gill on John 4:2

Though Jesus himself baptized not,.... And therefore as Nonnus observes, it was a false report that was made to the Pharisees; at least in part, so far as concerns the act of baptizing: though it may be this is observed, not so much to show the falsehood of that report, as to correct what is said of Christ's baptizing; lest it should be understood, as if he baptized in his own person; whereas he did not, that not so, well comporting with his greatness and majesty: wherefore "the king did not baptize in water", as Nonnus expresses it, but left that for his disciples and servants to do; he had other and greater work to perform, as to preach the Gospel, and work miracles, heal diseases, cast ou…

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John Calvin

The Church Fathers

But we must believe that the disciples of Christ were already baptized themselves, either with John's baptism or, as is more probable, with Christ's. For he who had stooped to the humble service of washing his disciples' feet had not failed to administer baptism to his servants, who would thus be enabled in their turn to baptize others.
— Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 265.5

"But behold, "say some, "the Lord came, and baptized not; for we read, `And yet He used not to baptize, but His disciples!' " As if, in truth, John had preached that He would baptize with His own hands! Of course, his words are not so to be understood, but as simply spoken after an ordinary manner; just as, for instance, we say, "The emperor set forth an edict," or, "The prefect cudgelled him.
— Tertullian, On Baptism

The question is often asked, whether the Holy Ghost was given by the baptism of the disciples; when below it is said, The Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (c. 7) We reply, that the Spirit was given, though not in so manifest a way as he was after the Ascension, in the shape of fiery tongues. For, as Christ Himself in His human nature ever possessed the Spirit, and yet afterwards at His baptism the Spirit descended visibly upon Him in the form of a dove; so before the manifest and visible coming of the Holy Spirit, all saints might possess the Spirit secretly.
— Alcuin of York ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Crucifixion — A common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the…
Baptism · CHRISTIAN — CHRISTIAN
Human Nature Of Christ, The · Confession of, a test of belonging to God — Confession of, a test of belonging to God
Judea, Modern · Our Lord: Often left, to escape persecution — Our Lord: Often left, to escape persecution
Pharisees, The · Christ: Left Judea for a time on account of — Christ: Left Judea for a time on account of
Samaria · .Jesus travels through — .Jesus travels through
Shechem · .Jesus visits; disciples ma — .Jesus visits; disciples ma

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 4:1-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 4:2

Adam Clarke on John 4:2

John Gill on John 4:2

John Calvin

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 4:1-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 4:2

Adam Clarke on John 4:2

John Gill on John 4:2

John Calvin

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on John 4:2