The Shepherd, January 2005
AN EXEGESIS ON THE DAY OF THE LORD’S BAPTISM, 3
But in reply, Jesus said to John: Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Suffer it to be so now: be silent, O Baptist! - and do it unto Me. Learn to desire that which I desire. Learn to minister unto Me in those things which I require of thee. And do not pry beyond measure into that which I wish to achieve. Suffer it to be so now: do not yet proclaim My Divinity; do not yet proclaim with thy lips My Kingdom, lest the tyrant, learning of it, should abandon the course which he hath taken against Me. Allow the devil to come upon Me and to engage with Me as if I were a simple man; allow him to enter into conflict with Me, that he might then receive a mortal wound. Permit Me to accomplish My course and My desire, for which cause I came upon earth. A mystery and a hidden thing let that be which is being accomplished today in the Jordan. It is a hidden thing that I accomplish here, not for some need of My Own, but for the cure of those who have been wounded. A mystery and a hidden thing let that be by which mankind is regenerated in these waters, even before the heavenly floods are manifest. Suffer it to be so now: When thou seest that I, as God, do that amidst My creations which is according to My dispensation, then do thou praise that which is accomplished. When thou seest that I cleanse the lepers, then do thou preach concerning Me, that I am the Creator of nature. When thou seest me made the lame quick to run, then with metal agility do thou employ thy tongue in glorifying Me. When thou seest that I cast out demons, then is My Kingdom nigh. When thou seest that with one word I recall the dead from the grave, then do thou, along with those who are resurrected, praise me as the Perpetrator and Giver of life. When thou seest Me sitting on the right hand of the Father, then do thou acknowledge and confess Me as God, co-enthroned, co-eternal and of one honour with the Father and the HolySpirit. Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. I am the Lawgiver and the Son of the Lawgiver; and thus before all else it befitteth Me to fulfil that which is commanded, and only then to manifest everywhere the trophies of My power. I must needs first fulfil the Law and then impart Grace. I must needs first pass through the shadow, and then the truth itself. I must needs set an end to the old covenant, and only then to proclaim the new, imprinting it on the hearts of men, inscribing it with My blood and sealing it with My Spirit. I must needs ascend the Cross and be nailed thereto, and in this [human] nature endure all that it is capable of enduring, by My sufferings healing the passions of others, and by the wood curing that wound, which was inflicted upon people by means of the wood. I must needs descend into the very depths of the nether regions for the sake of those, the dead, who are held there. I must needs, by My three-day death in the flesh, destroy and annihilate the long-standing dominion of death. I must needs light the lamp of My body for those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. I must needs ascend thither in the flesh where I abide in Divinity. I must needs bring to the Father the Adam who reigneth within Me. I must needs now accept this baptism, and hereafter impart the baptism of the Trinity, One in Essence, to all peoples. Now lay thy right hand upon Me, O Baptist, just as Mary lent Me her womb that I might be born. Immerse Me now in the streams of the Jordan, just as she who gave Me birth wrapped Me in swaddling bands as a Child. Impart baptism unto Me, just as the Virgin imparted milk unto Me. Touch thou My head, before which the Seraphim do reverence and which they worship. Touch thou with thy right hand that head, which is related to thee by blood. Touch that which by nature may be touched. Touch that, which for this very purpose was prepared by Myself and the Father. Touch thou My head, for if one toucheth it with reverence, he shall not suffer shipwreck. Baptise Me, Who with water, the Spirit and with fire shall baptise believers: with water which washeth away the impurity of sin; with the Spirit, Which maketh the earthly spiritual; with fire which is able to burn up the thorns of transgressions.
On hearing these things, the Baptist gave heed to the purpose of salvation and comprehended the mystery; he discharged the Divine command and, with joy and with trembling, stretching forth his right hand, he baptised the Saviour. Then He Who is by nature the Father of the Only-Begotten, He Who alone genuinely and perfectly knew Him Whom He had begotten, opened the gates of heaven, and sent down upon Jesus’ head the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, as if by a finger pointing out the new Noah Who is also the Creator of Noah and the wise Pilot for that nature, which was in danger of suffering shipwreck. And He Himself announced from heaven, speaking clearly: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased - the Son of the Same Essence, and not of some other nature. My Son is not other than the Son of Mary; rather the Very Same is My Beloved Son, Who is now both seen with the eyes and apprehended by the mind.
Translated from Russian 
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