Passage
These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John 1:28 (WEB)
Nearby Context
John 1:26 John answered them, “I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you don’t know.
John 1:27 He is the one who comes after me, who is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to loosen.”
John 1:28 These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John 1:29 The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is preferred 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 "He is the one who comes after..." into verse 29's "The next day he saw 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.