John 1:20-44

²⁰he told them clearly and simply, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹“What then?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?” “No,” he said, “I am not.” “Are you ‘the prophet’?” He answered, “No.”

²²“Who then are you?” they continued; “tell us so that we have an answer to give to those who have sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³“I,” he answered, “am — ‘The voice of one crying aloud in the wilderness: make a straight road for the Lord’, as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴These men had been sent from the Pharisees;

²⁵and their next question was, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ or Elijah or ‘the prophet’?”

²⁶John's answer was — “I baptize with water, but among you stands one whom you do not know;

²⁷he is coming after me, yet I am not worthy even to unfasten his sandal.”

²⁸This happened at Bethany, across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him, and exclaimed, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

³⁰I was taking about him when I said ‘After me there is coming a man who ranks ahead of me, because before I was born he already was.’

³¹I did not know who he was, but I have come baptizing with water to make him known to Israel.”

³²John also said: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove and rest on him.

³³I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water, he said to me ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him — he it is who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

³⁴This I have seen myself, and I have declared my belief that he is the Son of God.”

³⁵The next day, when John was standing with two of his disciples,

³⁶he looked at Jesus as he passed and exclaimed, “There is the Lamb of God!”

³⁷The two disciples heard him say this, and followed Jesus.

³⁸But Jesus turned around, and saw them following. “What are you looking for?” he asked. “Rabbi,” they answered (or, as we should say, ‘Teacher’), “where are you staying?”

³⁹“Come, and you will see,” he replied. So they went, and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was then about four in the afternoon.

⁴⁰One of the two, who heard what John said and followed Jesus, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

⁴¹He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (a word which means ‘Christ,’ or ‘Consecrated’.)

⁴²Then he brought him to Jesus. Looking straight at him, Jesus said, “You are Simon, the son of John; you will be called Cephas” (which means ‘Peter,’ or ‘Rock’).

⁴³The following day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip, and said to him, “Follow me.”

⁴⁴Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.