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NASB | John 1:33 "I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.' |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 1:33 "I did not recognize Him [as the Messiah], but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this One is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' |
Bible Question: I'm confused. How could John the Baptist say he didn't know who Jesus was? First of all, John had to have known Jesus before, didn't he? They were cousins (or second cousins, at least), after all, right? Secondly, the commentaries I've read all say that this meeting between John and Jesus took place after Jesus' baptism and the temptation in the desert. If that's the case, John obviously knew Jesus, didn't he? He'd baptized him at least 40 days previously, and seen the signs from God. If this is true, would John really have waited all that time to publicly relate what must have been a life-changing event? |
Bible Answer: If you examine the context of when John said that he, “did not know Him [Jesus]” (Jn 1:33), you would find that his statement went quite a bit deeper. In fact, John makes an even more profound statement in verse 30. “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me’ (NAS).” Later Jesus Himself makes a similar statement to the Pharisees in 8:58, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” With that, we see that the Apostle John, the writer, plays on the word “know” (Greek word, oida). It could also be translated as recognize, acknowledge, understand. But the writer also uses this word prior in verse 26, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.” The people all knew who Jesus was; to them, He was the carpenter, He was Mary and Joseph’s son (John 6:42), to John the Baptist, he was just a cousin, but like John the Baptist, they all didn’t really know who He really was and is – as Messiah, as King, as Lord, as God. It wasn’t until then that John the Baptist had a “revelation” of who Jesus is. The Pharisees didn’t know who He was, and yet He walked among them all. “None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1Cor 2:8). Even today, Jesus is walking among us and so many claim to “know” Him, but they really don’t. Over 80 percent of the people in America claim to be Christians, yet America is one of the most wicked and sinful nations in the world. “Christianity” has become just a “religion,” a tradition, and “church” has become a business machine and another big money-corporation. We need CHANGE, we need a Jesus REVOLUTION in America. We NEED a revelation of who Jesus really IS. Let’s really pursue Jesus and know Him. Jesus Liberation, nameless |
Up | Down View Branch | ID# 2269 | ||
Questions and/or Subjects for John 1:33 | Author | ||
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Jim Dunne | ||
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Xapis | ||
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Jim Dunne | ||
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Nameless Faceless | ||
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flock | ||
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escrit |