John 1:20-31

20He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

21They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

22Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ” Isaiah 40:3 24Now the Pharisees who had been sent

25questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26“I baptize with Or in; also in verses 31 and 33 (twice) water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.

27He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

John Testifies About Jesus 29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’

31I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”