I John 2.29—3.6; Psalm 97; John 1.29-34
The Gospel according to St John does not narrate the Baptism of Christ (as the other three Gospels do: cf Matthew 3.13-17; Mark 1.9-11; Luke 3.21-22). Instead, this Gospel describes John the Baptist musing at an indeterminate later time about his experience of baptising Jesus. ‘Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God’ the baptiser declares.
Clearly there were conflicts between the disciples of John the Baptist and the disciples of Jesus. [cf Luke 3.15-18; Luke 7.18-23; Matthew 11.2-6; John 1.6-8; John 3.22-33; Mark 2.18-22] Certainly it was important to the proclamation of the Gospel to set John the Baptist and Jesus into relationship with each other; John the Evangelist does this in two ways. First, he emphasises that the first disciples of Jesus (Andrew and Peter) had first been disciples of John the Baptist. Second, he has John the Baptist himself testify of Jesus that ‘he must increase, and I must decrease’. [John 3.30]