John 1:20 (DBY)

Passage

And he acknowledged and denied not, and acknowledged, I am not the Christ.

Nearby Context

John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, *he* hath declared [him].

John 1:19 And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites that they might ask him, Thou, who art thou?

John 1:20 And he acknowledged and denied not, and acknowledged, I am not the Christ.

John 1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he says, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No.

John 1:22 They said therefore to him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "acknowledged", "denied", and "christ". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "acknowledged" and "denied", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "And this is the witness of John..." into verse 21's "And they asked him What then Art...", so "acknowledged" and "denied" 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 "acknowledged" and "denied" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.