John 1v28

These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

John in his gospel is here noting the place where most likely Jesus was baptised – Bethabara beyond Jordan. We can see this due to the fact the next verse starts “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him …” (v29) – this is just prior to the baptism of Jesus found in the following passage (v29-34). At most, the baptism of Jesus could only have been a day’s journey from Bethabara, although it is more likely that John was baptising in the same place the next day. If John the Baptist had perhaps moved to a slightly different location overnight, the Apostle John’s gospel might have mentioned the move. The place where Jesus was baptised would be more important to the believers than perhaps the place where John the Baptist spoke with some priests and Levites.

In the second half of verse 29, John the Baptist says of Jesus: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” – here John the Baptist is confirming who Jesus is and what His ministry will be. God has provided His own Lamb, who will be the once and for ever sacrifice sufficient to take away the sins of the whole world. John the Baptist here recognises that although his baptism is for the remission of sins (Mark 1v4 {18 }, Luke 1v77, Luke 3v3{30 }), the taking away of sin can only be completed through Jesus. Jesus also mentions this as the time draws near for Him to return back to the Father, as we can see in the following scriptures:

Matthew 26v28 “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

Luke 24v47 “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

From these verses it is clear that repentance, the blood of Jesus, the sacrifice of the Lamb of God (Jesus), and the name of Jesus all have a part to play in the remission of sins. (for an explanation of the word “remission”, refer back to section {18 })

John the Baptist continues his witness of who Jesus is in verse 30, where he says: “This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.” From a reading of Luke chapter 1, especially verses 24 to 26, we will see that John was approximately six months older than Jesus, yet here he is saying that ‘he was before me’. Clearly John is here backing up Jesus’ later claim that “Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8v58). To understand what they are both saying here, we need to understand the dual nature of Jesus – He was fully God, and had been since the beginning (John 1v1, Revelation 1v8, Revelation 21v6) and was fully man, being born on a particular day (John 1v14, Matthew 1v18).