THE KING’S BUSINESS
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istry, he did not altogether discontinue his work. And while the disciples of Jesus were baptizing in Judea; John at thé same time was baptizing in a place not far away. He continued his work until he was definitely precluded from working any longer by his arrest and imprisonment and ultimate mur der. The word “Aenon” is seemingly derived from the Hebrew or the Ara maic, word meaning “ Spring,” and the name means “ abounding in springs.” It-was a place where there were many' springs of water and this is what is indicated by the statement “ because there was much water there,” or rath er, “ because there were many waters there,” i. e. many fountains or springs or pools of water. This water would be needed not merely for the rite of baptism but for various purposes for the crowds who congregated to attend upon the ministry of John the Baptist. Water is one pf the universal wants of the East where crowds congregate. In our own. pountry when we have summer gatherings for religious pur- ' poses we always endeavor to choose a place where there is an abundance o f water. Evidently, crowds were still coming to John to be baptized. There has been a difference o f opinion as to where this Salim was located. Euse bius and Jerome locate Salim eight Roman miles south of Scythopolis, and Aenon, at the same distance, on the Jordan. This would seemingly put both places in Samaria but there was another Aenon in the wilderness o f Judah, and it seems more probable that John would have been baptizing there than in Samaria, and this would have brought him nearer to Jesus, who was in the land' of Judea, arid better fit the context here (vs. 22, 25). It does not. much matter which is the true opinion.’ V. 24. “ For John •was not yet (rather, had not yet been) cast into prison.” '
John, in writing these words'doubt less had in mind what was recorded about John the Baptist in the Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 4:12, 13, 17; Mark' 1 :14 ; cf. Luke 4 :1 4 ). There we. are told that the publié ministry of o u f‘ Lord Jesus in Galilee came after John was cast into prison. And, if we had only the synoptic Gospels, the natural impression would be that this minis try in Galilee immediately followed the temptation of our Lord, which fol lowed immediately upon His baptism. So the further impression would be that John the Baptist was imprisoned immediately after the temptation of Jesus, before Jesus entered on the Gal ilean ministry. John evidently had in mind the correcting of this misappre hension and supplements • the earlier records of Matthew, Mark and Luke by his statements here. The events in Galilee, which John records in chapter 2:1-12, did not constitute a public ministry, and were simply preparatory to our Lord’s manifestation at Jeru salem which was the true commence ment of His Messianic work. John fully records “ the course and issue of this manifestation.” Matthew, Mark and Luke begin with the record of the Galilean ministry and this began im mediately after the imprisonment of John. This is one o f the many indi cations that John in his-writing of this Gospel had in mind the earlier records and that part of his purpose was to supplement them. It is proof positive of the early date of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and the theory that they Were written in the second century or even later is conse quently absolutely untenable. Until his imprisonment, John continued the ministry, which had been entrusted to him but he did it with the full con sciousness that the One Whom he had announced must come more and more into the foreground and be himself sink more and more out o f sight (v. 30).
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