What Must a Minister Do? – John 1:6-8,19-42
1 (6) There came a man, sent by God, whose name was John. (7) He came as a witness, so that he might bear testimony about the Light, so that all men might believe through him. (8) He himself was not the Light; on the contrary, he came so that he might bear testimony about the Light…
(19) Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, Who are you? (20) He admitted and did not deny; indeed, he admitted, I am not the Christ. (21) So they asked him, What then? Are you Elijah? And he replied, I am not. Are you the Prophet? And he answered, No. (22) Therefore they said to him, Who are you? Tell us, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? (23) He said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, Make the way straight for the Lord, just as Isaiah the prophet foretold. (24) Now they had been sent by the Pharisees. (25) Then they asked him and demanded of him, Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? (26) John answered them by saying, I am baptizing with water; but among you stands someone whom you do not know, (27) namely, the one who comes after me. I am not worthy to untie the thongs of his sandals. (28) These things occurred in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.
(29) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (30) This is he of whom I said, After me there comes a man who surpasses me; because he was before me. (31) I did not know who he was; but the reason I came baptizing with water is so that he might be revealed to Israel. (32) Then John testified, I have seen the Holy Spirit descending out of heaven like a dove; and he remained on him. (33) I did not know who he was; but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, Upon whomever you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. (34) I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.
(35) The next day John was again standing with two of his disciples. (36) He looked at Jesus as he passed by, and said, Look, the Lamb of God! (37) The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. (38) Jesus turned and saw them following. He said to them, What do you want? They said to him, Rabbi (which, being translated, means, Teacher), where are you staying? (39) He said to them, Come, and you shall see. So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day; it was about the tenth hour of the day. (40) One of the two who heard John speak and who followed Jesus, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. (41) The first thing he did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, We have found the Messiah (which, being translated, means, the Christ). (42) He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which, when translated, means, Peter).
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
