Book of Common Prayer

²² After this, Jesus and his disciples came into the country of Judea. Jesus stayed there with them and baptized people.

²³ John was also baptizing people in the river at Aenon, near the town of Salim. There was much water. People came to him and were baptized.

²⁴ This was before John was put in prison.

²⁵ John's disciples and the leaders of the Jews were talking about how to be clean, the way God wants us to be clean.

²⁶ They came to John and said, `Teacher, there was a man with you on the other side of the Jordan River. You were telling people about him. Now he himself is baptizing and all the people are going to him.'

²⁷ John answered, `A man cannot get anything unless God in heaven gives it to him.

²⁸ You yourselves heard what I said. I am not the Christ but I have been sent ahead of the Christ.

²⁹ The wife belongs to the man who has married her. The man's best friend may stand and listen. And when he hears what that man says, he is very glad for him. So what I hear makes me very glad in the same way.

³⁰ He must become more and more great, but I must become less and less great.

² John was in prison. He heard what Christ was doing. So he sent two of his disciples to him.

³ He asked, `Are you the one who will come? Or shall we wait for another person?'

⁴ Jesus answered them, `Go and tell John what you hear and see.

⁵ Blind people see. Lame people walk. People with leprosy are healed. People who could not hear, can hear. Dead people are made alive. Poor people hear the good news.

⁶ Anyone who is not troubled in his heart about me, will be happy.'

⁷ When John's disciples went away, Jesus began to talk to people about John. He said, `What did you go out into the wilderness to see? Did you go out to see a tall grass moved by the wind?

⁸ What did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? People who wear fine clothes live in kings' houses.

⁹ Why did you go out? To see a prophet of God? Yes, I tell you, and he is much more than a prophet.

¹⁰ He is the man the holy writings tell about. "See, I send my messenger ahead of you. He will make the way ready for you."

¹¹ `I tell you the truth. No one has ever been born who is greater than John the Baptizer. And yet the smallest one in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

¹² From the time of John until now, people try hard to break into the kingdom of heaven. And strong people take hold of it.

¹³ All the prophets and the books of the law gave God's word until John came.

¹⁴ If you will believe it, this man is the Elijah who would come.

¹⁵ Everyone who has ears, listen.

¹⁶ `What shall I say that the people of today are like? They are like children who sit in the market. They call to the other children.

¹⁷ They say, "We played music for you, but you did not dance. We cried, but you did not cry."

¹⁸ John came. He does not eat or drink much. People say, "He has a bad spirit in him!"

¹⁹ The Son of Man came. He eats and drinks. People say, "This man eats and drinks too much! He is a friend with tax collectors and bad people!" But a man is proved to be wise by what he has done.'