John 1:19-34

John 1

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

¹⁹ This is the testimony John gave when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites ^[1] to ask him, “Who are you?”

²⁰ He confessed and did not deny. He confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹ And they asked him, “Who are you then? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

“No,” he answered.

²² Then they asked him, “Who are you? Tell us so we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³ He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ ^[2] just as Isaiah the prophet said.”

²⁴ They had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ So they asked John, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”

²⁶ “I baptize with water,” John answered. “Among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one coming after me, ^[3] whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”

²⁸ These things happened in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The Lamb of God

²⁹ The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘The one coming after me outranks me because he existed before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know who he was, but I came baptizing with water so that he would be revealed to Israel.”

³² John also testified, “I saw the Spirit descend like a dove from heaven and remain on him. ³³ I myself did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I saw this myself and have testified that this is the Son of God.”