And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
Ver. 33. And I knew him not] i.e. Not so perfectly till I heard that testimony from heaven. Christ is not known all at once: but as by steps and stairs men went up to Solomon's temple; and as the trumpet in the mount sounded lower at first, and then louder and louder, till at last it was heard all the camp over; so is it here. "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day," Proverbs 4:18 .