23 He said, 'I 'am' a voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.' 24 And those sent were of the Pharisees, 25 and they questioned him and said to him, 'Why, then, dost thou baptize, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?' 26 John answered them, saying, 'I baptize with water, but in midst of you he hath stood whom ye have not known, this one it is who is coming after me, who hath been before me, 27 of whom I am not worthy that I may loose the cord of his sandal.' 28 These things came to pass in Bethabara, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing,
29 on the morrow John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, 'Lo, the Lamb of God, who is taking away the sin of the world; 30 this is he concerning whom I said, After me doth come a man, who hath come before me, because he was before me: 31 and I knew him not, but, that he might be manifested to Israel, because of this I came with the water baptizing. 32 And John testified, saying—'I have seen the Spirit coming down, as a dove, out of heaven, and it remained on him; 33 and I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water, He said to me, On whomsoever thou mayst see the Spirit coming down, and remaining on him, this is he who is baptizing with the Holy Spirit; 34 and I have seen, and have testified, that this is the Son of God.'
35 On the morrow, again, John was standing, and two of his disciples, 36 and having looked on Jesus walking, he saith, 'Lo, the Lamb of God;'
37 and the two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus having turned, and having beheld them following, saith to them, 'What seek ye?' and they said to them, 'Rabbi, (which is, being interpreted, Teacher,) where remainest thou?' 39 He saith to them, 'Come and see;' they came, and saw where he doth remain, and with him they remained that day and the hour was about the tenth. 40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard from John, and followed him; 41 this one doth first find his own brother Simon, and saith to him, 'We have found the Messiah,' (which is, being interpreted, The Anointed,) 42 and he brought him unto Jesus: and having looked upon him, Jesus saith, 'Thou art Simon, the son of Jonas, thou shalt be called Cephas,' (which is interpreted, A rock.)
Matthew Henry's Commentary on John 1:23-42
Commentary on John 1:19-28
(Read John 1:19-28)
John disowns himself to be the Christ, who was now expected and waited for. He came in the spirit and power of Elias, but he was not the person of Elias. John was not that Prophet whom Moses said the Lord would raise up to them of their brethren, like unto him. He was not such a prophet as they expected, who would rescue them from the Romans. He gave such an account of himself, as might excite and awaken them to hearken to him. He baptized the people with water as a profession of repentance, and as an outward sign of the spiritual blessings to be conferred on them by the Messiah, who was in the midst of them, though they knew him not, and to whom he was unworthy to render the meanest service.
Commentary on John 1:29-36
(Read John 1:29-36)
John saw Jesus coming to him, and pointed him out as the Lamb of God. The paschal lamb, in the shedding and sprinkling of its blood, the roasting and eating of its flesh, and all the other circumstances of the ordinance, represented the salvation of sinners by faith in Christ. And the lambs sacrificed every morning and evening, can only refer to Christ slain as a sacrifice to redeem us to God by his blood. John came as a preacher of repentance, yet he told his followers that they were to look for the pardon of their sins to Jesus only, and to his death. It agrees with God's glory to pardon all who depend on the atoning sacrifice of Christ. He takes away the sin of the world; purchases pardon for all that repent and believe the gospel. This encourages our faith; if Christ takes away the sin of the world, then why not my sin? He bore sin for us, and so bears it from us. God could have taken away sin, by taking away the sinner, as he took away the sin of the old world; but here is a way of doing away sin, yet sparing the sinner, by making his Son sin, that is, a sin-offering, for us. See Jesus taking away sin, and let that cause hatred of sin, and resolutions against it. Let us not hold that fast, which the Lamb of God came to take away. To confirm his testimony concerning Christ, John declares the appearance at his baptism, in which God himself bore witness to him. He saw and bare record that he is the Son of God. This is the end and object of John's testimony, that Jesus was the promised Messiah. John took every opportunity that offered to lead people to Christ.
Commentary on John 1:37-42
(Read John 1:37-42)
The strongest and most prevailing argument with an awakened soul to follow Christ, is, that it is he only who takes away sin. Whatever communion there is between our souls and Christ, it is he who begins the discourse. He asked, What seek ye? The question Jesus put to them, we should all put to ourselves when we begin to follow Him, What do we design and desire? In following Christ, do we seek the favour of God and eternal life? He invites them to come without delay. Now is the accepted time, 2 Corinthians 6:2. It is good for us to be where Christ is, wherever it be. We ought to labour for the spiritual welfare of those related to us, and seek to bring them to Him. Those who come to Christ, must come with a fixed resolution to be firm and constant to him, like a stone, solid and stedfast; and it is by his grace that they are so.