31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.



Ver. 31. He that cometh, &c.] Hitherto Christ hath been compared with John. In the rest of the chapter he stands compared, first, with all men; secondly, with the faithful, and infinitely preferred before them all. "He is the chief of ten thousand," Son_5:10; or the standard-bearer, which ever are the goodliest.



Is earthy] Terra est, so Augustine renders it, in the same sense as "he is flesh," Joh_3:6. God will smite this "earth with the rod of his mouth," Isa_11:4.



Speaketh of the earth] As ducklings have always their bills in the mud, as swine are ever rooting in the mire; like that fish in the Gospel, either dumb, or nothing but gold in their mouths.