Passage
These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John 1:28 (ASV)
Nearby Context
John 1:26 John answered them, saying, I baptize in water: in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not,
John 1:27 [even] he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose.
John 1:28 These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John 1:29 On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!
John 1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is become before me: for he was before me.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "things", "done", "bethany", "beyond", "jordan", "where", "john", and "baptizing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "things" and "done", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 27's "even he that cometh after me the..." into verse 29's "On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming...", so "things" and "done" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "things" and "done" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.