Because people has seen that John was endowed with great holiness, some thought he might be the Messiah, St Gregory the Great notes in one of his homilies. But John knew that a greater than he had come and that he stood in relation to him as the bride to the groom. It is a mark of his holiness and humility that contrary to the normal reaction of our fallen nature, John should be content to see himself decrease.
St Cyril of Alexandria reminds us of the importance of the fact that Jesus would baptise in the Holy Spirit and in fire; it shows that Jesus is who he says he is. It is the sole and peculiar property of the Substance that transcends all, to be able to bestow on people the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and make those that draw near unto it partakers of the divine nature. But this exists in Christ not as a thing received, nor by communication from another, but as his own and as belonging to his substance. He baptises in the Holy Spirit.
In the seventeenth of his catechetical lectures, St Cyril of Jerusalem instructs us that John, filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, was sanctified for the purpose of baptising the Lord. John himself did not impart the Spirit but preached the glad tidings of him who does.
In his baptismal instructions, St John Chrysostom notes that what happens with the body of Jesus happens with our own, because although it appeared as John was holding his body by the head, it was the Divine Word that led his body down into the waters of the Jordan and baptised him. The Master’s body was baptised by the Word, by the voice of the Father from heaven, whose words the blessed Saint reports here. So too, with your body, it is baptised in the threefold name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The priest baptises you not in his name, not with an act of his own, but in the name of the Trinity who enact the baptism.
St Maximus of Turin, in one of his sermons, draws for us the parallels between the great feast of the nativity which we have just celebrated, and this feast. The Holy Spirit who purified Our Lady, now sanctifies the running waters for Jesus; the Father who then overshadowed in power, now cries out with his voice. The first birth brought the Incarnation into the world, this second birth manifests who He is.
Origen, in his homilies on Luke’s Gospel, reminds us that the opening of the heavens signals the coming of the forgiveness for our sins.
In his homilies on Luke, St Ambrose stresses the great mystery of the Trinity. Though Deuteronomy (10:20) says we should serve God alone, God is not alone, for as Jesus tells us, the Father is with him (John 16:2).
St Cyril of Alexandria reminds us, in his commentary on St Luke, that Jesus had no need of baptism because he alone was pure and holy. Neither did he need the Spirit, for the Spirit that proceeds from God the Father is from him and equal to him in substance. What is happening here is that God, who through his love has provided for us a way of salvation, shows that we come to him through being baptised in the Threefold name and the washing away of the filth of our sins. Through the Spirit we are made partakers of the divine nature and gain the gift through adoption of being his children. So here, Jesus is the pattern for what we should do. Having set the example for us to follow, he prays that you and all of us should believe and come at the last to be with him.
St Cyprian notes the way in which having out on flesh and being willing to bear our sins, he also did not disdain to have his body laved in the water of regeneration.
In his exposition of Luke, St Ambrose reminds us that the grace of washing requires simplicity so that we might be innocent as a dove – and that image reminds us of the dove who returned to the ark – and the church is the ark of our salvation, and in the midst of the floods of the world the Holy Spirit brings to the Church the fruitful peace of God
All Along the Watchtower 
It is interesting that the words of St. Cyril of Jerusalem that you quote is the speculative theology of the Church from the beginning and was once taught in our Baltimore Catechism: that John was filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb. I do not know why we hear little of this today since it is a long-held belief within Christianity though never defined:
Luke 1
11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the alter of incense.
12 And Zachary seeing him, was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him: Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John:
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice in his nativity.
15 For he shall be great before the Lord; and shall drink no wine nor strong drink: and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
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Interesting the way that too often nowadays the Church forgets what it used to know. I am sure it is entirely a coincidence 🙂
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We’ll call it ecumenism . . . don’t want to challenge those who don’t believe it. 🙂
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The Orthodox, as I understand it, fully understand John as having one sole purpose and that was to fulfil his work in the Holy Spirit which was placed in him at the moment of his miraculous conception and of course fulfil earlier Scripture. He is always regarded as being the instrument of the Holy Spirit. Although the Western Church separates Epiphany and the Baptism of Our Lord, the Orthodox hold 6th January as the Feast of Epiphany (a manifestion or revelation), or Theophany (a manifestation of God) together and commemorates Christ’s Baptism which was necessary for the fulfilment of all God’s righteousness. Jesus does not become the Son of God on this day, but rather in His Baptism the eternal Son of God is revealed to all humankind. God the Father, speaking from heaven makes Jesus’s Baptism a manifestation or epiphany of the Holy Trinity. In my notes on the Theophany it is
interesting to note also that Christ’s rising from the water is symbolic of His Ascension, since the same Greek verb, anabaino, is also used to refer to his total immersion in the water, as suggested in Mark’s gospel. The ‘Spirit descending upon Him’ foreshadows the Holy Spirit’s descent upon the first Christians at Pentecost in Jerusalem. This incredible event therefore, is full of symbolism as well as mystery. Jesus’s Baptism anticipates His Transfiguration and Resurrection – the dawning of New Creation.
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Very interesting and full of symbosim as it should be.
The only thing that popped out at me and perhaps it was only a misuse of words is when you said that John the Baptist is filled with the Holy Spirit at the moment of conception. In the Roman Catholic tradition only Mary was given Sanctifying Grace at conception though John the Baptist did receive this grace when Mary visited Elizabeth and John lept in her womb. For this reason alone, when Jesus says that John the Baptist was the greatest of all the prophets it seems to echo the fact that John was given a singular privilege (similar to that of Maary) among men to receive Sanctifying Grace in the womb as scripture says.
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Ah yes! I see what you mean. I was not explaining my thoughts very clearly here!
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Good . . . we have the same teaching on it then. Always good to keep it professed as most folks don’t speak of the singularity of privilege when they talk about John the Baptist anymore. It is being forgotten in the West . . . I hope it isn’t in the Eastern tradition. 🙂
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Im glad you used this subliminal picture. It might turn the hearts of some people caught in the web of this Satanic Roman state religion.
On the belly of what is suppose to be the Savior is a big phallic symbol. Just another sign of the sex obsessed Romanish cult.
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It is more probably another sign of your own obsessions Bosco.
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Hey Chalcedon, this is off subject on this post. However, I was wondering since we’ve had the big discussions on hell, has there been a post about burial? Whether a full body burial vs. cremation and how the plays out during the resurrection of the body?
If not, I think you could write a good post on the subject.
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Thank you for the suggestion- let me have a bit of time to look through what I have here – but yes, a good subject.
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