John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’”
Parallel translations
- KJV John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
- BSB John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’”
- NKJV John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”
- NASB John *testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who is coming after me has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’ ”
- NLT John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
John the Baptist testified that Jesus, who came after him in time, ranks above him because He existed before him. This affirms Christ's eternal pre-existence.
Overview
John bears public witness that, although Jesus began His ministry after John's and was younger in human years, He 'surpassed' and 'was before' John — pointing to the Word's eternal existence (1:1). The humble forerunner thus exalts the One he announces. This testimony anchors the church's confession of Christ's deity in eyewitness witness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Matt 3:11I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
- Col 1:17He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.
- John 1:29–34The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
- Luke 3:16John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire,
- John 1:1–2In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- Matt 3:13–17Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
- John 5:33–36You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.
- John 3:26–36They came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, the same baptizes, and everyone is coming to him.”
- John 1:7–8The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him.
- Mic 5:2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.
- Mark 1:7He preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen.
- John 17:5Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.
- John 1:27He is the one who comes after me, who is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to loosen.”
- Rev 1:17–18When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
- Isa 9:6For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- John 8:58Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM. ”
- Rev 2:8“To the angel of the assembly in Smyrna write: “The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life says these things:
- Heb 13:8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
- Phil 2:6–7who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,
- Prov 8:22“Yahweh possessed me in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old.
- Rev 1:11saying, “What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Pastoral
Henry on the prologue — rich on the Word and the incarnation.
Seminary
- ★ Start hereCommentaryThe Gospel According to John (Pillar NT Commentary)D. A. Carson · ~720 pp · Paid · reformed
The go-to mid-level exegetical commentary on John — rigorous and readable.
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 1:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.