John 1:26 (KJV)

Passage

John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

Nearby Context

John 1:24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

John 1:25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

John 1:26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

John 1:27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

John 1:28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "john", "answered", "saying", "baptize", "water", and "standeth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "john" and "answered", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "And they asked him and said unto..." into verse 27's "He it is who coming after me...", so "john" and "answered" 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 "john" and "answered" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.