John 1:33 - Printer Friendly

ESV: I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

NIV: And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'

NASB: And 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.’

CSB: I didn't know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The one you see the Spirit descending and resting on--he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'

NLT: I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

KJV: And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

NKJV: I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

John the Baptist seemed to recognize Jesus as the Promised One when they were both in the womb (Luke 1:41). However, they probably didn't see each other all that often as children. We can't be sure, from the Bible, how well the Baptist knew Jesus personally prior to this. Verse 33 repeats John the Baptist's comment from verse 31, that he hadn't immediately recognized Jesus. Now, he partly explains why. The Baptist's directions from God were to baptize and preach repentance, waiting for the Messiah to appear. When the Promised One came, he would see the Holy Spirit on Him. In verse 32, the Baptist had claimed to see this exact vision with respect to Jesus. The Baptist also makes a point of mentioning that Jesus has come to baptize with the Holy Spirit, in contrast to his own ministry of water baptism. This spiritual baptism would not be complete until the day of Pentecost, after Jesus' resurrection.

John 1:29–42 is a conversation between Jesus and John the Baptist, and records the moment when Jesus recruits His first two disciples. Jesus is identified as “The Lamb of God,” and “The Son of God.” The Baptist describes his vision of the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, landing on Jesus. This confirms that He is the Messiah. The Baptist tells two of his followers, John and Andrew, to go and follow Jesus. They, in turn, introduce Jesus to Peter.

The first chapter of John introduces Jesus as “the Word,” from the Greek Logos. This chapter clearly describes Jesus as identical to God. After this prologue, the chapter describes Jesus recruiting the first of His disciples, as well as a conversation between John the Baptist and the Pharisees. There are seven names for Christ in this chapter, including “The Son of God,” “The Word,” and “The King of Israel.”

The first chapter of the gospel of John equates Christ with God, and introduces John the Baptist. The Baptist specifically points to Jesus as the Promised One. Jesus collects the first five of His disciples. In this chapter, Jesus is given seven descriptive names, including “The Word,” “The Son of God,” and “The King of Israel.” This chapter sets the stage for the rest of the gospel, by giving the reader a sense of who Jesus truly is, and why He has come. The rest of the gospel is an exploration of the claims made in this initial passage.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.