and He will thoroughly cleanse His floor[1], and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Then the High Priest and the Council sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask John: “Who art thou?” He answered: “I am not the Christ.” They continued: “Art thou Elias?” He replied: “I am not.” They spoke again: “Art thou the great prophet?” He said: “No!” At last they exclaimed: “Why, then, dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet?” John answered that he was the forerunner [‘a voice crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord’] of the Messias who would soon appear in their midst, preaching penance and announcing the good tidings of salvation.
COMMENTARY.
The virtues of St. John the Baptist.
1. His self-denial. He lived far from the world in the solitude of the desert, wearing one single, coarse, rough garment, and his food was of the poorest description.
2. His obedience. It was a hard task to preach penance to the sensual and worldly-minded Jews, but John promptly undertook the task, because God commanded it
3. His courage. He did not hesitate to speak out the truth boldly to the Pharisees and Sadducees, although he knew that they would hate him for it.
4. His humility. “I am not the Christ. I am not worthy to loose the latchet of His shoes.”
John's mission was twofold: 1. to preach penance to the Jews by word and example, and thus make them ready to receive the grace of Redemption; 2. to herald the Redeemer, and bear testimony to Him. The holy prophet fulfilled both missions most perfectly. His preaching was so persuasive that even the hard-hearted publicans and rude soldiers were moved by it. He especially pointed out:
a) the necessity of good works: “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire”; — “He that hath two coats, let him give to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do in like manner”;
- ↑ Cleanse His floor. This simile is taken from the manner of threshing corn on open threshing-floors in vogue among the Jews. The grain was cleansed by being thrown up into the air with a shovel; the heavy grain fell back on to the ground, while the light chaff floated away. Thus will the Messias do with the Israelites (and all men): He will gather the good grain into His barn, but the evil and worthless chaff will be thrown into the unquenchable fire of hell.
