John 1:30

30 He it is of whom I said, A man comes after me who takes a place before me, because he *was* before me;

John 1:30 Meaning and Commentary

John 1:30

This is he, of whom it is said
Either the day before, as in ( John 1:27 ) , or some time before that, ( John 1:15 ) , when he first began to baptize, even before Christ came to be baptized by him, and before he personally knew him; see ( Matthew 3:11 Matthew 3:13 ) .

After me cometh a man;
not a mere man, but the man God's fellow: and this is said, not because he was now a grown man, or to show the truth of his human nature; but seems to be a common Hebraism, and is all one as if it had been said, "after me cometh one", or a certain person: for the sense of this phrase, and what follows, (See Gill on John 1:15).

John 1:30 In-Context

28 These things took place in Bethany, across the Jordan, where John was baptising.
29 On the morrow he sees Jesus coming to him, and says, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
30 He it is of whom I said, A man comes after me who takes a place before me, because he *was* before me;
31 and I knew him not; but that he might be manifested to Israel, therefore have I come baptising with water.
32 And John bore witness, saying, I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it abode upon him.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.