Sermon of St. John Chrysostom on the Baptism of Christ

I discovered this sermon of the great eastern doctor of the Church in my quest to find the meaning of the words, twice repeated, by Saint John the Baptist regarding the public manifestation of Jesus at his baptism near the Jordan River: “And I knew Him not”.  Saint John gives an excellent explanation of what appears at first sight to be a problematic text. How is it that the Baptist could first identify Jesus as “the Lamb of God” and then state that he “knew Him not”?

One will also find in this commentary a sobering invocation for Catholics to give the knowledge of the Faith the same priority that they ought to give for their own salvation.

Christian Classics Ethereal Library: “These things were done in Bethany beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:28-29)

“A great virtue is boldness and freedom of speech, and the making all things second in importance to the confessing of Christ; so great and admirable, that the Only-begotten Son of God proclaims such an one in the presence of the Father. ( Luke xii. 8.) Yet the recompense is more than just, for thou confessest upon earth, He in heaven, thou in the presence of men, He before the Father and all the angels.” Full commentary is here.