Ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης διεκώλυεν αὐτὸν λέγων· ἐγὼ χρείαν ἔχω ὑπὸ σοῦ βαπτισθῆναι καὶ σὺ ἔρχῃ πρός με;
Introduction
Matthew 3:14 records John the Baptist’s theological resistance to baptizing Jesus. The Greek syntax encapsulates a profound reversal of roles, expressed through tense contrast, passive voice, rhetorical questioning, and emphatic word order. Each grammatical element in this verse serves the narrative’s purpose: to portray John’s astonishment and theological insight regarding Jesus’ superior identity.
Main Clause: Ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης διεκώλυεν αὐτὸν
– Ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης: Nominative subject with definite article and postpositive conjunction.
– ὁ: definite article, masculine singular.
– δὲ: mild adversative conjunction—”but,” marking a narrative shift from Jesus’ approach (v. 13) to John’s response.
– Ἰωάννης: proper name in nominative singular.
– διεκώλυεν: Imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular of διακωλύω, meaning “to hinder” or “to prevent.”
– The imperfect tense suggests continuous or repeated effort: “he kept trying to prevent him.”
– The compound verb intensifies the action with διά as a prefix.
– αὐτόν: Accusative singular masculine pronoun, referring to Jesus as the object of John’s attempted prevention.
Participial Speech Introduction: λέγων
– λέγων: Present active participle, nominative masculine singular of λέγω, “saying.”
– Functions to introduce direct speech.
– Present tense indicates contemporaneous action with διεκώλυεν: John was preventing while saying…
First Declarative Statement: ἐγὼ χρείαν ἔχω ὑπὸ σοῦ βαπτισθῆναι
– ἐγὼ: Emphatic 1st person nominative pronoun—”I.”
– Placed at the front to highlight the personal contrast.
– χρείαν: Accusative singular feminine noun, “need” or “necessity.”
– Direct object of the verb ἔχω.
– ἔχω: Present active indicative, 1st person singular of ἔχω, “I have.”
– Expresses present, ongoing need.
– ὑπὸ σοῦ: Preposition ὑπό with genitive σοῦ, denoting agency in a passive construction: “by you.”
– βαπτισθῆναι: Aorist passive infinitive of βαπτίζω, “to be baptized.”
– The infinitive governed by χρείαν ἔχω, forming an articular infinitive phrase of necessity: “I have need to be baptized by you.”
– The aorist views the baptism as a complete event.
Contrasting Rhetorical Question: καὶ σὺ ἔρχῃ πρός με;
– καὶ: Coordinating conjunction meaning “and,” here functioning contrastively—”and yet.”
– σὺ: Emphatic 2nd person singular pronoun—”you.”
– Juxtaposed with ἐγὼ to form an emphatic parallelism: “I…you…”
– ἔρχῃ: Present middle/passive deponent indicative, 2nd person singular of ἔρχομαι, “you come.”
– Present tense implies a current approach.
– Deponent in form, active in meaning.
– πρός με: Preposition πρός with accusative με, meaning “to me.”
– Denotes personal direction—”you come to me?”
– The entire clause forms a rhetorical question expressing shock, almost incredulity:
– “And you come to me?”
Contrastive Emphasis and Theological Reversal
– The grammatical emphasis on ἐγὼ and σὺ intensifies the rhetorical contrast: the inferior should not be baptizing the superior.
– βαπτισθῆναι ὑπὸ σοῦ vs. σὺ ἔρχῃ πρός με: a chiastic inversion of roles and agency.
– Theologically, John acknowledges Jesus’ divine status and considers himself unworthy to perform the rite.
Verbal Aspect and Tense Function
– The imperfect διεκώλυεν sets a tone of persistent objection.
– The present tense verbs (ἔχω, ἔρχῃ) anchor the speech in the immediate moment.
– The aorist infinitive βαπτισθῆναι reflects the conceptual wholeness of the baptismal act.
Syntax and Sentence Structure
– Main clause: Ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης διεκώλυεν αὐτόν
– Participial speech introduction: λέγων
– Embedded statements:
1. ἐγὼ χρείαν ἔχω ὑπὸ σοῦ βαπτισθῆναι – necessity construction
2. καὶ σὺ ἔρχῃ πρός με; – rhetorical question
This structure builds emotional tension and theological drama. The embedded speech showcases grammatical parallelism between subject pronouns and verb forms, maximizing contrast.
Lexical Observations
– χρεία: Conveys existential or spiritual necessity, not mere desire.
– βαπτισθῆναι: The passive infinitive highlights Jesus’ role as recipient, contrasting common assumptions about his authority.
– διεκώλυεν: A strong, intensified verb showing moral or ritual resistance.
Theological Implications
– John’s speech presents a theological argument based on divine hierarchy and ritual propriety.
– The grammar reflects not just factual hesitation, but deep reverence and recognition of messianic authority.
– Jesus’ passive role (implied in βαπτισθῆναι) will later contrast with his active role in baptizing with the Holy Spirit.
Chiastic Structure and Contrasts
Matthew 3:14 is a compact but powerful example of Koine Greek used rhetorically and theologically. John’s emphatic objection is expressed through grammatically precise contrasts, chiastic structure, and intense verb forms. The grammatical reversal of expectation—John insisting that he should be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around—mirrors the theological reversal at the heart of the Gospel: the righteous submitting for the unrighteous. Each Greek element contributes to the verse’s tone of reverent hesitation and prophetic insight.
