John 1:15-36 John bore witness concerning him, and cried aloud, saying, "This is he of whom I said, 'He who is coming after me has been put before me, for he was before me.'"

MNT⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹⁵ John bore witness concerning him, and cried aloud, saying, "This is he of whom I said, 'He who is coming after me has been put before me, for he was before me.'" ¹⁶ For out of his fulness we have all received, yes, grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For the Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No man has ever seen God; God, only begotten, who is in the bosom of the Father—he has interpreted him. ¹⁹ Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent some priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" ²⁰ He acknowledged—he did not deny it—but acknowledged, "I am not the Christ." ²¹ "What then?" they questioned; "Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he replied. ²² Then said they to him. "Who are you? That we may give some answer to those who sent us. What account do you give of yourself?" ²³ He said, "I am a voice of one who cries aloud in the desert, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as said the prophet Isaiah." ²⁴ Now it was some of the Pharisees who had been sent to him; ²⁵ so they questioned him, saying, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" ²⁶ "I indeed am baptizing in water," John said in reply, "but in your midst stands One whom you do not recognize, ²⁷ One who is to come after me, whose sandal-strap I am not worthy to untie." ²⁸ This happened in Bethany, beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. ²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said: "Behold, that is God's Lamb, who takes and bears away the sin of the world. ³⁰ This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes One who has been put before me, for he was before me.' ³¹ I myself did not recognize him; I only came baptizing in water, in order that he might be openly shown to Israel." ³² John also bore this testimony, saying. "I saw the Spirit like a dove descend from heaven and rest upon him. ³³ And I did not recognize him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and resting upon him, is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.' ³⁴ This I have seen, and I am become a witness to the fact that he is the Son of God." ³⁵ Next day again, John was standing with two of his disciples. ³⁶ After gazing intently on Jesus as he walked about, he said, "Look! that is the Lamb of God!"