John 1:15-28

John tells the truth about him and cries out, saying, “This is the One I told you about: ‘The One who comes after me is greater than I am, because he was living before me.’ ” Because he was full of grace and truth, from him we all received one gift after another. The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. But God the only Son is very close to the Father, and he has shown us what God is like. Here is the truth John told when the leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” John spoke freely and did not refuse to answer. He said, “I am not the Christ.” So they asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He answered, “No, I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” they asked. He answered, “No.” Then they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to tell those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John told them in the words of the prophet Isaiah: “I am the voice of one calling out in the desert: ‘Make the road straight for the Lord.’ ” Some Pharisees who had been sent asked John: “If you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet, why do you baptize people?” John answered, “I baptize with water, but there is one here with you that you don’t know about. He is the One who comes after me. I am not good enough to untie the strings of his sandals.” This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing people.