This is the testimony of John [the Baptist] when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed [truthfully] and did not deny [that he was only a man], but acknowledged, “I am not the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)!” They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the [promised] Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” [Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5] Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am THE VOICE OF ONE SHOUTING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” [Is 40:3]
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize [only] in water, but among you there stands One whom you do not recognize and of whom you know nothing. [Mal 3:1] It is He [the preeminent One] who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie [even as His slave].” These things occurred in Bethany across the Jordan [at the Jordan River crossing], where John was baptizing.
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! [Ex 12:3; Is 53:7] This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I and has priority over me, for He existed before me.’ I did not recognize Him [as the Messiah]; but I came baptizing in water so that He would be [publicly] revealed to Israel.” John gave [further] evidence [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. [Matt 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:22, 23] I did not recognize Him [as the Messiah], but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this One is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ I myself have [actually] seen [that happen], and my testimony is that this is the Son of God!”
Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked along, and said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following Him, and asked them, “What do you want?” They answered Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went [with Him] and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard what John said and [as a result] followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first looked for and found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means the Christ). Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas (which is translated Peter).”
The next day Jesus decided to go into Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher, and walking the same path of life that I walk].” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote about—Jesus from Nazareth, the son of Joseph [according to public record].” Nathanael answered him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Here is an Israelite indeed [a true descendant of Jacob], in whom there is no guile nor deceit nor duplicity!” Nathanael said to Jesus, “How do You know [these things about] me?” Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, when you were still under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered, “Rabbi (Teacher), You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Jesus replied, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe [in Me]? You will see greater things than this.”
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