Now this was John’s testimony when some of the Jewish leaders sent an entourage of priests and temple servants from Jerusalem to interrogate him. “Who are you?” they asked him.
John answered them directly, saying, “I am not the Messiah!”
“Then who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”
“No,” John replied.
So they pressed him further, “Are you the prophet Moses said was coming, the one we’re expecting?”
“No,” he replied.
“Then who are you?” they demanded. “We need an answer for those who sent us. Tell us something about yourself—anything!”
John answered them, “I am an urgent, thunderous voice crying out in the desert—clear the way and prepare your hearts for the coming of the Lord YAHWEH!”
Then some members of the religious sect known as the Pharisees questioned John, “Why do you baptize the people if you are neither the Messiah, Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
John answered them, “I baptize the people in this river, but the One who will take my place is to be more honored than I, but even when he stands among you, you will not recognize or embrace him! I am not worthy enough to stoop down in front of him and untie his sandals!” All these events took place at Bethany, where John was baptizing at the place of the crossing of the Jordan River.
The very next day, John saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized, and John cried out, “Look! There he is—God’s Lamb! He takes away the sin of the entire world! I told you that a Mighty One would come who is far greater than I am, because he existed long before I was born! My baptism was for the preparation of his appearing to Israel, even though I didn’t recognize him.”
Then, as he baptized Jesus, he proclaimed these words: “I see the Spirit of God appear like a dove descending from the heavenly realm and landing upon him—and it remained on him! Before this I didn’t know who he was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. He will be the One I have sent to baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen this happen and I can tell you for sure that this man is the Son of God.”
The next day, Jesus walked right past where John and two of his disciples were standing. John, gazing upon Jesus, pointed to him and prophesied, “Look! There’s God’s sacrificial Lamb!” And as soon as John’s two disciples heard this, they immediately left John and began to follow a short distance behind Jesus.
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