22
Finally they said, āWho are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?ā
23
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, āI am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, āMake straight the way for the Lord.ā ā
24
Now the Pharisees who had been sent
25
questioned him, āWhy then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?ā
26
āI baptize with water,ā John replied, ābut among you stands one you do not know.
27
He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.ā
28
This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John Testifies About Jesus
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, āLook, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
30
This is the one I meant when I said, āA man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.ā
31
I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.ā
32
Then John gave this testimony: āI saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.
33
And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, āThe man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.ā
34
I have seen and I testify that this is Godās Chosen One.ā
Johnās Disciples Follow Jesus
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.
36
When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, āLook, the Lamb of God!ā
37
When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
38
Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked,
āWhat do you want?āThey said, āRabbiā (which means āTeacherā), āwhere are you staying?ā
39
āCome,ā he replied,
āand you will see.āSo they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40
Andrew, Simon Peterās brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.
41
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, āWe have found the Messiahā (that is, the Christ).
42
And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said,
āYou are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephasā (which, when translated, is Peter ).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him,
āFollow me.ā
44
Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.
45
Philip found Nathanael and told him, āWe have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wroteāJesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.ā
46
āNazareth! Can anything good come from there?ā Nathanael asked. āCome and see,ā said Philip.
47
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him,
āHere truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.ā
48
āHow do you know me?ā Nathanael asked. Jesus answered,
āI saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.ā
49
Then Nathanael declared, āRabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.ā