John 1:15 - John testified about Him

1:15

John now tells us that John the Baptist testified about Jesus saying He was the one that John the Baptist talked about, and that Jesus was “before me”, i.e. attesting to the eternal existence of Jesus. This verse is in parentheses in many versions because it is a parenthetical remark, i.e. it interrupts the flow. It does two things. First it stresses that John the Baptist was not interested in people following him, but wanted to direct people to Jesus. Secondly, it stresses that John the Baptist and John were “on the same page”, preparing the way for the section on John the Baptist that would follow. Since John the Baptist was first in terms of age and public ministry, some may have assumed that John the Baptist was the greater. This is why John draws attention to John the Baptist saying that Jesus was before him. John spoke about Jesus, so John is also saying that Jesus is the “word made flesh”.