John 1:29–42 (NRSV)
Read John 1:29–42 on biblegateway.com
Verse 29The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Verse 30This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.' Verse 31I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel." Verse 32And John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. Verse 33I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' Verse 34And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God." Verse 35The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, Verse 36and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!"
Verse 37The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Verse 38When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" Verse 39He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. Verse 40One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. Verse 41He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointed). Verse 42He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).
Devotion
What is your testimony? “Testimony” is not language many of us are accustomed to speaking, but many of our faith communities certainly need to renew the practice of testifying to Christ. In the fourth gospel, John serves as a much-needed model for our evangelism today. The first chapter’s cosmic pronouncements about the incarnation of the eternal Word become “really real” in the one-on-one meeting of Jesus and John. John responds straightforwardly: “I have seen God’s Son, anointed with the Holy Spirit. He is greater than me. I did not know him, but God revealed him to me. And now I testify to who he is.” John shows how to keep it real in our testimony: 1) Speaking from personal experience—of what he himself sees and hears. 2) Declaring it directly—in the first person, repeated for emphasis. 3) Understanding the power of encountering another person one-to-one. What have you seen and heard lately? How will you testify to such good news?
Prayer
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world. Mercifully assist us, we pray, in bearing witness to your powerful word to the ones we encounter day to day. Amen.