Tractates on the Gospel of John
94 ST. AUGUSTINE (2) But "He will come manifestly, and he will not keep silence." How "manifestly"? "Fire will go before him, and round about him will be a mighty storm. ""^ That storm has to remove from the threshing floor all the chaff which is now being threshed; and the fire has to burn what the storm has removed. But now he is quiet; he is quiet in judgment, but he is not quiet in instruction. For if Christ is quiet, what meaning do the Gospels have? What meaning do the words of the apostles have? Or the songs of the Psalms? Or the utterances of the Prophets? For in all these Christ is not quiet. But now he is quiet so as not to inflict punishment; he is not quiet so as not to give admonition.
(3) But he will come in glory for punishment, and he will appear to all, even to those who do not believe in him. But now, because, even though present, he was hidden, it was necessary that he should be despised. For were he not despised, he would not be crucified; and if he were not crucified, he would not pour out his blood, the price at which he redeemed us. But, in order to pay the price for us, he was crucified; in order to be crucified, he was despised; in order to be despised, he appeared in lowliness. 3. Yet because he appeared in mortal body, as if in night, he lit a lamp for himself whereby he might be seen.^ This lamp was John about whom you have already heard many things. And the present gospel reading contains the words of John, first, and this is the most important point, proclaiming that he was not the Christ. Yet there was such great excellence in John that one could believe him to be the Christ; and his humility was proven in the fact that he said that he was not, although one could believe that he was.
(2) Thus, "This is the witness of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?'" But they would not have sent them, unless they were stirred by the excellence of his authority, because he dared to baptize. "And he confessed and did not deny." What