of Milan (339–97) is another early Christian author that addresses the passage in his commentary on Luke.5 For him it is im-possible that the Baptist would have not recognized the identity of the person whom he had already identified, according to John 1:34, as the chosen one of God: Non cadit igitur in talem prophetam tanti erroris suspicio (“therefore, suspicion of so great an error does not fall on such a prophet”).6 Since Ambrose views the Baptist as a representative of the Law, he interprets John’s question as a way of allowing his disciples to obtain the fullness of the Law, which is Christ.7 For Ambrose, the question of the Baptist had to do with John’s difficulty to accept that the “one who is to come” had to face death.8 The greatness of the Baptist is directly related to his relationship with Christ, whom John saw, befriended, and baptized, but who is subordinated to Christ for two reasons: (1) John was born of a woman whereas Jesus was born of a Virgin; and (2) the Baptist is human and Christ is divine.9 Jesus’ remark about the Baptist’s subordination to the least in the kingdom of God is related to his subordination to the heavenly angels. God is wisdom (7:35), and the forgiveness of sins through the baptism of John is the reason for which the people and the publicans, the children of wisdom, justified God (7:29, 35).10 In commenting on 7:31–34, Ambrose identifies the children of the parable with the Jews who frustrated the plan of God through their unbelief.
Cyril of Alexandria (378–444) deals in three separate homilies with each of the three main units of the passage (7:18–23, 24–28, 31–35).11 In a hortative style, Cyril interprets the episode in light of other OT and NT references, repeatedly acknowledging the stature of the Baptist. Alluding to the Baptist’s remarks in John 3:28–31, Cyril is convinced that the Baptist knew who Jesus was but asked the question about the identity of Jesus to lead his disciples into a deeper understanding of him.
[B]ut to produce a firm and steadfast faith in Him, in those, who as yet were halting, nor thus far convinced that He is the Christ, he puts on the appearance of ignorance, and so sends to Him certain [sic] to ask Him, saying ‘Art Thou He That cometh, or do we wait for another’? . . . I said then, that he puts on the appearance of ignorance purposely, not so much that he might himself learn—for as being the forerunner he knew the mystery—but that his disciples might be convinced, how great is the Savior’s superiority, and that, as the word of the inspired Scripture had announced before, He is God, and the Lord That was to come.12
Jesus’ characterization of the Baptist as the “greatest among those born of women” means for Cyril that John represents a type of Jewish righteousness, which Jesus uses to exemplify the superiority of the kingdom of God over the Law.13 Jesus praises the Baptist not only to illustrate how faith surpasses the righteousness of the Law but to show that those who have received the faith are greater than those who have been born of women.14 The qualification of Jesus regarding the “least in the kingdom of God” is not made to diminish the status of the Baptist but to underscore the superiority of the gospel way of life.15 Regarding the episode of the children in the marketplace (7:31–35), Cyril points out that the Jews failed to discern properly between good and evil and regarded the actions of the Baptist and Jesus as wicked, whereas in reality they were holy.16
Another early commentator on the passage is Bede the Venerable (672–735).17 For Bede it is out of envy that the disciples of John bring him the report about the power of Jesus.18 Along the lines of other previous authors, he interprets the question about the “one who is to come” as a pedagogical device of the Baptist to help his disciples appreciate the glory of Jesus. Bede paraphrases many verses of the passage and explains a number of its elements (e.g., the reed shaken by the wind) in the form of petty moral exhortations.19 Thus when he comments on the eating and drinking habits of the Baptist and Jesus, Bede says:
Et iustificata est sapientia ab ominibus filiis suis, ostendit filios sapientiae intellegere nec in abstinendo nec in manducando esse iustitiam sed in aequanimitate tolerandi inopiam et temperantiam per abundantiam non se corrumpendi atque oportune sumendi uel non sumendi ea quorum non usus sed concupiscentia reprehendenda est (“and wisdom is justified by all her children; she reveals to the sons of wisdom the understanding that there is no justice neither in abstaining nor in eating, but in bearing need with patience, in not letting temperance be corrupted by abundance, as well as in taking or not taking things of which only the carnal desire, not the use, is to be rejected”).20
For Bede, the Baptist’s greatness lies in his moral compass, and John’s subordination with respect to the kingdom can be interpreted as referring either to the eschatological kingdom of God or to the Church.
Bonaventure (1221–1274), one of the most renowned writers of the Middle Ages, interprets this passage in his commentary on Luke. Although Bonaventure follows the interpretations of some of his predecessors, he approaches the passage more thoroughly and with a more organized methodology.21 Following Bede, Bonaventure remarks that it is out of envy that the disciples of the Baptist report to him the works of Jesus.22 He regards the question about the identity of Jesus not as a doubt but as a way by which the Baptist helped his disciples to understand the “truth” about Jesus more fully.23 Bonaventure interprets Jesus’ remarks about those who might be scandalized as a warning against those who have not acknowledged his divine status.24 Jesus’ praise of the Baptist allows Bonaventure to emphasize the virtues and austerity of the life of John. He contrasts the Baptist’s spiritual life, his constancy, and his abstinence with the inconsistency and preference for worldly pleasures of sinners.25 For Bonaventure, the humility of Jesus makes him “the least in the kingdom of heaven” and therefore greater than John.26 He attributes 7:29–30 to Jesus, underlines the soteriological significance of these verses, and regards them as a commendation of John for having proclaimed Jesus.27 For Bonaventure the last verses (7:31–35) are an injunction against the Pharisees for their “infidelity, hardness, detraction, and blasphemy.”28 They contradicted the wisdom of God, who is Jesus, and the behavior of his children, who are the apostles.
John Calvin (1509–1564) is one of the most important Reformation authors to comment on the passage. He dismisses as “foolish” the suggestion that the Baptist doubted the identity of Jesus and regards as speculation the proposal that, sensing the proximity of his death, the Baptist’s question was really an inquiry about what message he should carry to the deceased fathers.29 Calvin proposes that the Baptist knew that Jesus was the Christ, and he sent his disciple to him so that they might be “aroused
