All men were in expectation, (Lk. 3, 15), and the question arises
at this point, whether the Baptist left them to discover or to
recognize the Coming One for themselves ; or whether he directly
testified in addition that Jesus was He of whom he spoke. La
the Fourth Gospel, after Jesus' baptism, there is reported the
Baptist's direct testimony to a group of his disciples that Jesus
is the Lamb of God and Son of God,' who has the Spirit abiding
on Him and who will Himself baptize with the Spirit. AU these
titles and descriptions express his messianic character. Even if
viewed as originating with the Evangelist, they express his claim,
which is repeated in 3, 26; 5, 33-36; 10, 41; that the Baptist gave
a personal testimony to Jesus as related to the messianic Kingdom.
This claim of the Fourth Gospel may be tested by the references
to their relations in the Synoptics and Acts. In the summaries
of the Oral Gospel in Acts 10, 37 ff. and 13, 24 f., among the fixed
lines of proof of Jesus' messiabship is the ministry of the Baptist.
Paul in his synagogue address when advancing from the Old Testa-
ment predictions of the Christ to their fulfilment in Jesus, begins
with a reference to the Baptist's ministry and to his testimony
to the coming of the more exalted One. Although the report of
the address does not contain a personal testimony of the Baptist
to Jesus, yet since the Apostle is not here concerned to give in
detail a history of the Gospel movement to which the Baptist's
ministiy was an introduction, but to give the several lines of
'ZahD adopto the reading ^kXckt6s.
