John 1:32

32 John clinched his witness with this: "I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him.

John 1:32 Meaning and Commentary

John 1:32

And John bare record
The same day that he said the above things, and at the same time:

saying, I saw the Spirit;
that is, of God, as is said in ( Matthew 3:16 ) and which Nonnus here expresses; and the Ethiopic version reads, "the Holy Ghost",

descending from heaven like a dove;
at the time of his baptism; (See Gill on Matthew 3:16).

And it abode upon him;
for some time; so long as that John had a full sight of it, and so was capable of giving a perfect account of it, and bearing a certain and distinct testimony to it.

John 1:32 In-Context

30 "Here he is, God's Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I've been talking about, 'the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.'

31 I knew nothing about who he was - only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God."

32 John clinched his witness with this: "I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him.

33 I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, 'The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'

34 That's exactly what I saw happen, and I'm telling you, there's no question about it: This is the Son of God."