On the Baptism of our Savior in the Jordan

On the Baptism of our Savior in the Jordan, which is his, and which is by the holy Mar Jacob. Memra 8. On the Baptism of our Savior in the Jordan. The sinful one, Christ, made a bridal chamber for the Church of the peoples. And by the feast which he prepared, the world perceived. The son of the kingdom desired to betroth the harlot. And he sent her to go to the spring to wash away her shame. He saw the persecuted one, who was weak, hidden and weary. And he mixed water and sent her, that she might bathe and be cleansed from her defilement. He looked upon her beauty, that she might be adorned with the crown of images. And he anointed the rays of light upon her face, that her interior might be fair. To the pure waters he brought her first, when he prepared her. That from her shame she might pass to holiness. He burned in her that scent of the incense of sacrifices. And he passed over her the holy waters which perfumed her body. She was delivered from the foulness of the world's ways. And the holiness was sprinkled upon her, that she might be consecrated by it from impurity. He placed in the basin of baptism a stole of glory. And he sent the bride to receive and put it on from within the waters. He called to his true one, the son of the barren one, and sent him before him. That he might go and bring the good news to the bride until he himself should come. John went forth and prepared the wealth of the great treasure. Which was to be given to the daughter of the poor, as was commanded.

He took the opening of the chest of the Spirit above the waters, and brought forth the garments for the Church to wear in holiness. He showed her the wondrous garments that she had never seen, with which the vestments of the house of God were prepared. He adorned her with his beautiful, resplendent bridal chamber, while the confused covenants were astray, as he proclaimed her to the daughter of the regions: the kingdom of Rome. Behold, the kingdom has drawn near to us, that of heaven. The sinful one said, "Come to you, that you may be united with him." He called the young girl, and she gave herself to be baptized, for she had learned that the sinful one is the king who comes to her. She called to Isaiah to learn from him about John, who baptizes, saying, "This one who proclaims to me the kingdom of Rome—come, O prophet, come, explain to me about the herald, for I am ascending to learn from you truly. I am receiving your voice, which is yours, on their behalf, for I have heard his saying about your lineage from the beginning. You, I have relied on the interpretation in your prophecy. Come, see if the time has come for me to enter into him. See what the goodness of this one who proclaims the glorious things is, while his own standing is seen as poverty in him. His appearance is combed, and the voice of his proclamation is rich; his forms are small, and his word is great in the ears of all. Not by his measure does the man speak, from what I have seen of him, nor by his likeness; the covenant he sows in the ears is small.

He brought his word to completion, though he had not yet ceased from anything. He shines in the desert and makes me hope for the kingdom of heaven. He said to me, "Listen, if what he says is true, hear his words; and if it is not true, do not be led astray by him like the rest." Your Lord comes and makes ready; I will enter before him. Truth was revealed to me; do not doubt, go out to meet him. Isaiah drew near to teach the Church concerning John: that he who bears his mystery is the one who baptizes; receive his words, O Church. This is the voice that cries in the desert before the king's son: "Make way, make way for the Lord through faith." Go, my sister, and be baptized; do not be troubled by the herald. The pure wool that prepares the way for the king who comes. The Church, the bride of the king, drew near to John, and he began to baptize, to purify, to cleanse, and to sanctify her. He taught her faith, and she, of her own will, as much as she was able, learned wisdom so that she might be adorned, for she had been confused. She heard his voice and was cast after his words, and she believed that he was the Baptist who was hidden from her. She embraced the servant lovingly as if he were the Lord, because Christ was concealed from her among the tribes. She saw the true one, the elder, in him, the bride who was betrothed, and he began to strike his breast and cry out, "I am not the Baptist!" Lest she be led astray by him, he was about to become a servant, and he feared that she might trust in the hope of the Baptist while he was withdrawing.

He humbles himself, though he is not worthy, and I, and his listeners: The beginning of the mysteries is reserved for his Lord, as is fitting. Behold the shadow of the church: her eye is upon the fierce one, And she hastens to cut off the cause of stumbling from her thought. She binds him with the sign of the cross, she covers the sinner, and through him she does not delay. While she proclaims that after me he comes, and he is before me. The beginning of the helper, that you may see when he comes toward her: While among the baptized, hand in hand, she was being divided. She was casting her eye upon the crowd, upon the many, That in him you may see the one only, who is hidden from her. When a man would descend to baptism, around him were the thorns, That they might be baptized in him, lest perhaps he be the coming Messiah. The thorns of the church stood in the desert before John, While with joys she makes ready to see what the sinner is. She encircled the river and cast her eyes among its currents, That she might receive the hidden one of truth from within the waters. She stands beautiful and looks for the sinner, when will he come, That he might enter with him into the depth of the waters to be sanctified. Her stone is spread out and she covers him around the waters, So that when he sinks, he might be received in a holy manner. John also covers him, when will he come, That in him his baptism, which was deficient, might be completed.

He was guarding for himself the mystery that was between him and the Father. And he was looking at the Spirit that would testify concerning the true one. As he placed his hand to baptize those who were to come, he was looking upward because of the sign that was there. He fixed his eyes upon the many who were with him, that he might see which one would show forth the Spirit when it was sent. He was looking at that hovering one, mistress of heights, how she descends and upon whom she alights to testify. He was covering his eyes from the sharp rays, the ends of which were submerged, that he might see how those who were receiving him from within the waters were receiving him. He was eager to see the wing that flies without rowing, that when it is revealed it might become a witness concerning the Savior. He was listening to that strong voice of the Father, that he might hear from it concerning whom it cries out: "My beloved." The bride stands before the true one, the son of the barren woman, and she awaits him until he signals that this is the sinner. She looks to him to follow him upon the Savior, and he awaits the Father to testify concerning his beloved. When the sign came, the sinner descended and was baptized, and the congregation around him received him from him lovingly. He said to the priests: "Behold, the sinner stands in your midst, and this great voice has gathered in the bride.

He proclaimed again that he was not equal, nor his assistants. And again he stirred it up through the love of Jesus and his humility. A sudden zeal arose in the bride toward John, that she might show him what sin had fallen before him. Over every soul that was being brought to come and be baptized, until the veil of the bride rose up over him, he was casting it away. Thousands were baptized, but there was no spirit of descent upon them. Myriads were immersed, and the water was cold from the breeze. The sick and the infirm came down, the waters being as they were. Many went up, and the voice of the Father was hidden from him. And when the bride was completed in the contests of repentance, and the immersion went up from within the waters of baptism. And when the whole mixture was prepared with its ordinances, and only the sin stood to come and perform its own. When the baptism was given to the infants, and the Spirit descended and put on bodies, and the garments of the Spirit were not worn from within the waters. And when all the peoples were standing in the apostolate, and they were waiting for the sin to come and put on bodies. And when the face of the bride was washed in the waters and went up, and everyone looks at the whites that the sin brings. And when baptism was lacking forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit did not receive a sign from the waters.

And when the entire river saw the sin of how it was, the prince came out from within the waves that had come to the river. And when the baptism was far from receiving him, it boiled. The river overflowed and proclaimed over him silently. The Spirit of Holiness came out from him and stood upon the waters. And the warmth of the power of his might was kindled. The bank of the river was filled with waves up to the edge, and the river was pressed with a great boiling of flame. The baptism that came toward him was swimming, like the horn of anointing against David. Not that the boiling might sanctify him for the path of the Holy One, but that his own sanctity might be sanctified in him, his beloved, thus. It rejoiced in him that he might complete and seal it, and it spread out its wing that the sanctity of the Son might be received in it. John saw the river boiling and turning its waves, and he knew that the Holy One had come to baptism. He withheld his hand that he might not baptize those who were coming, that the sin might be revealed and stand: the Anointed One alone. He cried out in the waves and drove the fire away from the river, that all might know on what the boiling of the baptism was. He bound the arms of the waves to press, he drove it from the spring, that the lamb of the sacrifice might go forth from the flock.

He beckoned to the waves, and they gave him place among the billows, so that the sinner might be revealed in glory before all the peoples. The waves that had surrounded the baptism fled, and the prince of the kingdom stood alone, solitary. The true one ran, hoping for freedom upon the Savior. He called to the betrothed one to show that her Lord was this one. For this sinner the Church has been betrothed from the beginning. In the hope of this one who hangs, I have been for you from when I came. This is the Lamb that is for him the sacrifice that is offered. This one takes away the sin of the world by his sacrifice. Upon this one I relied for you from the beginning. In the name of this one I set you down that you might be justified for him. This one I have kept for you with vigilance, as is true. I have confessed him from me, that I did not leave you to be chosen through me. And when the bride of the king becomes wise from John, behold, the harp of the spirit of David drew near and sang to her: Hear, my daughter, and see, and pray, and know your glory, and walk with him, and to the house of your father of the divisions of the river. If in truth this is your Lord, approach and worship him; do not be divided over the Savior who has come to you. The Church learned from John and also from David, and she was confirmed that this is the sinner to whom she was betrothed.

She drew near to the front so that she might see how he would be baptized, what would happen when he came up from within the water. She fell down before him. Christ approached John, from whom he was to be baptized. John saw him, and his hand was restrained from the service. He bowed his head before him, like a son, while saying to him: "It is I who ought to be baptized by you, for you are the holy one. I was waiting for you, that I might prepare the baptism for you. Behold, your treasure, and I have now released it; go quickly. The place is preserved, for it is not mine—it is the headship. Stand on your step; no one is permitted to enter your order. The king does not take authority from the one who wears the crown; the orders of all authorities go forth from him. What does the baptism have that is not yours? And what is hidden from you, that you should descend and receive from within the water? If forgiveness flows from you to the sinful, and if absolution is yours, then again, absolution of sins. If the priesthood is in you, then you are the whole of the high priests; and if the kingdom is you, then you are the binder of crowns for kings. Holiness flows from you to the sinful, and if the priesthood is here, the world stands at your right hand. And when the fullness of divinity is here beside you, what does the small river have that it should fill you?" Our Lord said: "Let no one be lacking except the one who is alone; the finding of Adam, who was lost, is sought from me.

She sought the beautiful image of Adam, and when she found him, all my desire was fulfilled. With great entreaty she led me to his lineage, and I came because of her. And if I cannot go to the lost one, it is a deficiency. This alone is lacking for me: the finding of my hunter, that I might stand before Adam, who desired to be lost through my evil hands. With this finding, my desire comes to completion, for Adam is lacking to me, who entered upon his inheritance. Leave me, O mother, take and go: the image I have defiled, so that it may not be lacking, even he, when you have completed me. That grace which called you to birth has come to the child; again, when it called you, it came also to baptism. A great sin: you have begotten me, O mother, and I have become wicked; now that you have begotten me, O mother, I have become baptized. The womb of the baptismal font is not narrower than the belly, and the waters of the river are not darker than the spring. If honor is divided, you have given me what is fitting for you; it would be right for you to trust both the belly and the child. If it is a complaint to me, which place is more spacious: the belly of flesh or the greatness of baptism? If you had prevented me from coming to the belly when you were with your mother, it would have been easy for you to be restrained, so that I would not have been baptized as I was stripped. If you have turned me from that rank of birth, come, turn me from the order of baptism.

If I had passed by the little ones and not turned back, I would have been cut off from the chase of the waves of the light that cannot be hidden. If I had ceased and not tasted, I would have been like scattered milk. I would have stood back from the spring and not taken hold of it. If I had stopped and not alighted upon the rock of Mary, I would have passed even beyond the depth of baptism. And now that I have descended and come by that path of the born, yet its end is as if I were to turn from it. Even so, it is fitting for me to be stripped, that the whole path by which I descended might be filled with me. John the Baptist trembled and withdrew from the king's son; he bowed to him and confessed, while being constrained like a Roman. He says, "I am a man, my Lord, I am not worthy to approach you. Feeble is the hand that would be placed upon the gazelle. How can the leaf take hold of the flame, or the ember cast its hand upon the coal? The heat of your strength has touched the light, and behold, it kindles it. And how can my hands, which are flesh, not be burned? Neither is it necessary that you be baptized by me as if you were a deficient one, that you might have no share in the world of the deficient one. Go, king's son, redeem the captivity that looks to you. You lack no ornament that you should take from within the waters. Your crown is yours from eternity and is not changed; it is not filled from the treasury of baptism, you.

Drive on your way, O Exile, thirsty to see you. Not the Levite of fire, but you who go with him. Upon the foundations of the Father, you are born from his being. And you are not lacking, that you should put on flesh and then redeem. A tunic on the earth shall not be delayed from salvation. Go forth, deliver the captivity of the peoples from the pursuers. One is the kingdom of the Father and of you, Lord of kings. Not from here are you empowered over authority. Behold, the Exile has crossed its boundary: you stand. Drive, turn her back from the burdens within which she went out. Behold, his armies of elders: to the place, lighten your course. Go forth, deliver the captivity of the exodus from your grasp. There is no addition in baptism for you, which is yours. And why then should you descend and be baptized, you who are hastening? Cease, John; you make no addition through me. The waters are closed over the hovering of the one who was baptized yesterday. Not that I took a bribe and descended to the spring, But that I might prepare great armor for the battles, that I might redeem humanity in the generation, that a tunic hastening might redeem, That everyone who comes to the font might offer like me. Like a place of battle, I make the baptism, So that unless humanity puts on from it, it is not armed.

If I pass over, I do not immerse, as you feared. No man can take a weapon from within the water. Like a commander, you were girded, a head over the camp, that there might be a likeness for the hosts that come after me. And if I turn aside from the path of your heart and come, then they too will pass after me as they saw me. And if my strength is not held back from within the water, they will not yield the great crown to him like the valiant. Since I have no need of the circle of water, behold I enter, so that in my own nature the man of Belial may be hidden. I drag you so that you may come to me like me, hunting for the spring, so that in my death you may be baptized spiritually. I bring you down to the grave of water, to the abyss, so that in desire you may become immortal. I bring you into the hungry womb, so that you may be swallowed, that without pangs a new birth may be born from you. And purity is what is baptized from you; do not delay. Come, loosen the path of the world; look, it is renewed through me. Approach the strong one, the mighty, and ask of him: How, my Lord, does she have the opportunity to be this? To the bride of light who was betrothed to you, this was said: In the spirit of holiness and fire, baptize the sinner, your Lord.

Behold, you are the one who sees that she was baptized as you taught her. And now, come near and see that I am the one who baptizes you. You confessed before her that I am not worthy, nor your companions. And now, I said that even over your head I placed my hands. In your own name I was baptizing her, that she might be purified through you. And for you, O holy one, I do not know who baptized in the name of what. Behold, my word is able to pursue her and is clear concerning her. For I had said to her that the Holy Spirit baptizes you. And now, my word is turned and I change my voice. And I baptize you like all the rest in water. I am left with falsehood, and you are diminished. And the hope of the bride is in her deficiency, that there is in her betrothed. As if to say, when a man baptizes, he forgives sins. And by what words do I establish the rite of baptism? In the name of the Father I baptize the Son; behold, in his stead you are. And there is no trace of a small sign between you and him. Read, O Son, who sanctifies the water; you alone. And when you sanctify the water in baptism, you set aside your sanctity. In the name of the Spirit, if you are baptized, how can you divide the water, that you and the Spirit are together? The Father is in his Son, and the Son in his Father, the whole of him. And the Spirit is from him, a single bond without confusion.

And like a weak, sick man, I perform this: and I cast a veil over that indivisible union. John passed from questions and was silent. Here, do not be afraid because of these things. It is not that I came to the baptism to sanctify you. Nor is it necessary for you to say anything when a man is baptized. Silently come, place only your hand on my head. And this, that it is the father, what does he say because of his son? Stretch out your right hand so that it may come to me gently. And without your word, the Spirit bears witness to the truth. And when the son of the barren woman was baptized, the second one because of these things. Then he left the son who was baptized according to his will. He approached trembling, he bowed, he confessed, he reached out while seeing. He trembled and was amazed, and he supported him with strength that does not fail. The holy man came and reached the waters beneath the baptism. And his lips touched the waves, and they stirred up the river. He was pressing the river in the pure depth of baptism. Like John from Elizabeth before his Lord. The waters were rolled up in flashes of flame. That the living fire came to the baptism in which it would be extinguished. The burning of the worlds cast its rolling upon the spring. And the boiling of its waters stirred the river in sanctity. The lukewarm waters were mixed with the rays of holiness. For from the holy one, a burning went forth and stirred the river.

The perfection of the fire descended to immerse in the midst of the waters. And it took away from there the heat of its sanctity. The dove came and took the garments of the one who was clothed. And it descended to cast the fire into the water of the baptism. The heavenly ones were astounded at that immersion of the Trinity. As its glorious body was shaken, it sanctified the waters. The streams of water mingled with the rays. And the river was confounded by the radiance that alighted in it. The vault of the waves was troubled by the currents. And flashes of flame surrounded it from every side. Wonder fell upon the creatures, and great astonishment, as the dove descended to be baptized by John. The whole air burned and blazed in a holy manner, because the holy Son descended to baptism without blemish. The Spirit was stirred in the fire mightily, that it might receive the baptismal candidate from within the waters with splendor. A fitting glory was snatched from all sides, and it made a procession for the Son of the kingdom in a dignified manner. It hid from the ends the clouds of light that were there, that they might be a veil for the glorious baptismal candidate who descended and was baptized. The clouds emerged like curtains of the palace, so that when that king bathed, he might be received in that place. The father spread out choice waters above the air: radiance, and glory, and flashes of wonder, and also clouds.

He circled the river in wondrous depths that cannot be touched. The unique one was raising the mystery of his Son. He cried out to heaven and raised his voice mightily: "Behold, this is my Son, behold, my true beloved!" The Spirit flew from the side of the Father in the great river and flew, descended, settled, and hovered over her beloved. She came in the form of the body of a dove perfectly, so that she might descend and place her nest in the baptismal font. She put on the pure likeness of a dove from among the birds and came to testify to the true one in her simplicity. Not to sanctify the Son did she descend, having been sent, lest the worshiped Word be lacking and sanctify himself. The sanctity did not cease in her descent upon the holy one; rather, she testified to the Savior when she appeared. She showed him: the Spirit pointed to the Father, and through her he was revealed, that "Behold, to me, my Son, do not be divided concerning his coming." If the Spirit had not descended upon the true one, who would know where the voice of the Father might reach? Along with that word which was proclaimed from above, as if pointing, the Spirit showed that "Behold, the King." For if she had not alighted upon him manifestly, the voice would have been in doubt among the many. Behold, they were hearing the voice saying, "Behold, the beloved," and they were asking, while being divided, "Concerning whom does he say it?

The Spirit descended upon him and settled in a holy manner. For holiness was not lacking in him, and it was fulfilled in him. Also the Law calls two witnesses on his behalf: that the one alone is not accepted, while he is true. The Father and the Spirit together bore witness concerning the Only-Begotten: that lawfully the truth was revealed for the one who is true. The voice of the Father and the voice of the Holy Spirit descended equally, so that their testimony might not be forgotten when it was seen. The voice of the Father ascended to heaven and issued forth from it, and stood over the river, a sea of light that cannot be contained. The Spirit took and came on her wings, great glory, and the desert was flooded with the radiance that poured from the Most High. The Church, the bride, was amazed at the light of the king in his baptism, (for by his anointing height and depth were equalized). She saw the river trembling, its floods all in turmoil, and she heard the voice of the Father crying out over his beloved. She sent for that harp of the Spirit, David: that he might come and sing songs suitable for the feast. Come, son of Jesse, and bring with you your hymns, for at the feast of your Lord and your Son a day of freedom has dawned. Polish your strings and stretch the sinews of your cithara, and raise songs that will delight me plainly. Do not speak to me in hints when you sing, O Prophet: make your word and your canticles resound with truth.

He revealed to me why the Spirit descended upon the Jordan, and what power shook the depths of the abyss and made it tremble and be agitated. What is the meaning of "from the height to the depth it descended"? And to what purpose these scattered flashes that set the air ablaze? David cast forth songs of praise against the sin, that this event might explain to the Church what it truly was. "The waters saw you, O God; the waters saw you and were afraid." Even the depths trembled, and the waters pushed back the clouds of the air. The whole nature of water perceived that you had performed a deed. Seas, depths, rivers, springs, and lakes gathered together to be blessed from your banks, so that your great fear might be poured out upon them, which became over them. You descended upon the Jordan as upon the head of all the seas, and the footsteps of the depths and the abysses trembled from your power. The whole nature of water was moved by your hovering, so that for the salvation of all you established equality in your baptism. The waters of the seas, though distant, are not distant, for the power of your holiness spread secretly and performed a deed. Therefore, the waters saw you; the waters saw you and were afraid. Even the depths trembled, because by your descent you poured out fear. The clouds caused the waters to quake in the river; the waters in the river, as you were baptized, you who are not to be stripped bare, nor are they wearied by your hovering. Behold, the heavens again gave voice through your high father, so that by his testimony the earth might perceive that you are the only one.

Your lightning flashes illuminated the world and showed a great light: that the earth was dark until you came. The waters saw you and feared you as from a master, because of the force of your descent; the abyss trembled when you descended upon it. David explained the reason for the mystery when he sang, and Zechariah revealed its interpretation to the Church to show it. This is the man of whom I told you, whose name is "fear"; behold, he has shone forth and illuminated the ends from his rays. John approached and placed his hand upon the dove, and the ranks of the watchers were amazed at the surroundings from the mystery. The hosts were astonished at the wonder they saw, when the beloved one touched the font and it was not moved. The upper ones marveled at the sign of the power that took place there, that a hand of flesh was not burned by the flame. The seraphim hid their faces from the dove, and the hand of the clay-formed one was placed above his head. The dove, fashioned from the earth, flew to the sea and alighted, and placed her hand upon the baptism and was not burned. The wonder to tell, when the mountains are heavy from it, and in the right hand of the son of the barren one, he descended to the baptism. The cherubim took the chariot, concealed from the watchers, hidden from the ranks, glorious among the thrones of power over the orders. The ranks hide, the thrones tremble, the orders are terrified, the hosts quake, the walls shake, the ships tremble.

Your lightning flash stands at the side, trembling, and descends, plunges from the terror of the one whose hands created. Heaven cries out and the father shouts over his beloved. The spirit shines and stands to testify concerning the Only-Begotten. A voice came forth from the furnace of the house of royalty, which would proclaim concerning the king’s son who was not a stranger. The hidden word stirred, not from a mouth, to go out and testify concerning that child of divinity. That daughter of a voice, hidden from all, was revealed, as it cried out over the hidden one who came to revelation. A thunder in heaven, a high voice without tongue, but not a material one, over his beloved who became material. He did not speak through an angel at that time, nor did he proclaim through the eloquent mouth of one of the watchers. He did not ask for word and voice from the high ones, for he himself spoke from his essence concerning his Only-Begotten. He himself, in his person, the father spoke truly, that he might proclaim because of his son that he was true. A new word was heard between the clouds, a high voice whose like was never spoken. A cry that was never sown in the ears of man, a thunder of power that uniquely made its voice heard. He did not speak like that word through one of the prophets, for he had no other son through one of the chosen.

A mighty thunder roared, and he loved his son among the flashes. To make known that this one had a true son. The bowels of fatherhood were opened over the Only-begotten, and his form was such that it would show that it would be worthy of love. The high divinity did not disdain from all, to see her son who had put on a body and bathed in the waters. That greatness did not tremble when her beloved one descended to the baptism that was reckoned for salvation. Not from the waters was his deficiency filled, that the father might forgive and not confess in him because he was lesser. He was completing the account even from what had descended, and there was a frankness of face for the father to confess in his son. This is the reason that he came to the baptism, that the hand of the priests might be hidden in him and from him come forth. (The father was giving a commandment to Moses on the mountain, and sent him to his son, that he might take it from the waters from John. It was entrusted to that tribe of the sons of Levi, and the great one of the house of Judah stood and took it from him. Holiness poured forth upon Mount Sinai from the Most High, and upon John it poured forth for the Savior. From his beginning he took it that he might complete his way, our Lord, that no other path might stop like a stranger.

That priesthood which was given from the house of Herod: it went out from the Savior to the world through the apostles. Not that the great priesthood of priests was diminished: upon it she took baptism, and then gave it. So that the path of truth might not be confused, which his father had begun: from him he made a renewal for the ancient things. Not that Okeanos was diminished from his fullness: he casts all his nets and lights into it. The nature of water to the sea: it runs without being diminished. (And the whole sea is not increased from what it is. Not that Christ was lacking to receive the hand of Herod: nor was it diminished that he took the kingdom from the house of David. The kingdom ran with the priesthood, and they leaned upon him: while he is the great one of priests and the king of kings. Sanctity was disturbed and came, and fell upon him: like a swimmer in a full sea, without being diminished. The kingdom came from the house of David and was hidden in him: while the kingdom was richer than the abundant sea. He ascended as he descended, holily, as he is: and was received into the bosom of the sound from his begetter. His circling, the Spirit, in the wings of glory for the hidden sinner: and the church of the Jews was established and fell before him.

The perfect one of the sign of the priests (in the water) is finished. Your great need poured forth from you upon your priesthood. Blessed is the one who came and, with his preaching, baptized as was fitting for him. It is he who sanctified the baptism for himself; praise to him. Completed is the homily on the baptism of our Savior by John.