27
He comes after me, but he is not in second place to me. I'm not even worthy to hold his coat for him."
28
These conversations took place in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing at the time.
29
The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out,
30
"Here he is, God's Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I've been talking about, 'the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.'
31
I knew nothing about who he was - only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.