John 3:22-36

John 3

Jesus and John the Baptist

²² After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside where he spent some time with them and was baptizing.

²³ John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People kept coming and were being baptized, ²⁴ for John had not been thrown into prison yet.

²⁵ Then an argument broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew ^[1] about purification. ²⁶ His disciples came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, about whom you testified—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him!”

²⁷ John answered, “A man cannot receive a single thing, unless it has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves are witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and listens for him, is overjoyed when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine is now complete. ³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease.”

³¹ The one who comes from above is superior to everyone. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in a way that belongs to the earth. The one who comes from heaven is superior to everyone. ³² He testifies about what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. ³³ The one who has received his testimony has certified that God is true. ³⁴ In fact, the one whom God has sent speaks God’s words, for God ^[2] gives the Spirit without measure. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has put everything in his hands. ³⁶ The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, God’s wrath remains on him.