25 And John said, ‘Who do you reckon I am? Do you think I’m that special man that God promised to send to save his people? No way. He will come later. I am nothing. I’m not good enough to touch his feet or untie his shoes.’ That’s what John told everyone when he was finishing his work.
25 And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
25 And as John was ending his course, he asked, What or who do you secretly think that I am? I am not He [the Christ. No], but note that after me One is coming, the sandals of Whose feet I am not worthy to untie!
25 And as John was fulfilling his course, he said, What suppose ye that I am? I am not he. But behold, there cometh one after me the shoes of whose feet I am not worthy to unloose.
25 As John was completing his mission, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I’m not the one you think I am, but he is coming after me. I’m not worthy to loosen his sandals.’
25 Then, when John completed his course, he was saying: 'I am not the one you consider me to be. For behold, one arrives after me, the shoes of whose feet I am not worthy to loosen.'
John kept on talking to the people. He said, “If you say you are sorry for the bad things you did, and if you turn to God, then I will baptise you with water. But somebody is coming soon, and he is more important than me. I’m not even good enough to carry his shoes. I’m just nothing. He will put the Holy Spirit in you, that is, he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire.
John told them, “A man will come to this country later. He is more important than me, and he is stronger than me. I’m not good enough to untie his shoes. I’m just nothing.
But I will keep going to Jerusalem anyway. I want to finish the work that our leader Jesus told me to do. I have to tell people the good news, that God is good to us, and that he saves us. I really don’t care about myself, I don’t even care if they kill me, so long as I can tell them that good news.
I did my job properly, and I finished all the work God gave me to do. I always told the true message about Jesus. I’m like a man that runs a long race and keeps going hard right up to the finish line.
Paul said, “John baptised people that turned away from doing bad things. But he also told people to believe in the man that was coming after him. That man is Jesus.”
But David was not saying that he was that special person. You see, at that time, David did God’s work, and then he died, and people buried him next to his grand-fathers. His body rotted in that grave.
Think about this. If somebody wants to make themselves look important, they make up their own stories. But sometimes a boss sends a work-man to give people a message. If that work-man wants people to respect his boss and know that his boss is important, then that work-man doesn’t make up his own story or tell lies. He only tells the true message that he heard. Then the people that listen to him respect the boss that sent him.
Jesus said, “Nobody gave me any food. I do everything my father wants me to do, and that keeps me going. It is like food for me. My father sent me here to do his work, and I want to finish it.
He saw Jesus walking by, and John said to 2 of his followers, “Look at that man. He is the special one that God sent to die for us. You know that God told people to kill young sheep, to pay for the wrong things they did. Well, this man will die for us, just like those young sheep died for people.”
The next day, John saw Jesus coming to him. John said to the people there, “Look at that man. He is the special one that God sent. You know how people kill a young sheep to pay for the bad things they did. Well, God sent this man to die, like those young sheep. He is going to let people kill him, to pay for all the bad things that everybody in the world does.