John 1

15 John testified [repeatedly] about Him and *1:15 Here John the writer uses the Greek perfect tense ("has cried out"), emphasizing the truth and continuing importance of John the Baptist’s testimony.has cried out [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], "This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me *1:15 Lit has become before (in front of) me, because He was first of me. The Greek is difficult because John the Baptist was making a word-play on the adverbs/adjective "after" (or "behind"), "before," and "first." The playful wording assumes the form of a riddle which, like some of Jesus’ parables, conceals the speaker’s meaning from those who are hostile toward him and have neither the patience nor the spiritual inclination to learn from him.has a higher rank than I and has priority over me, for He existed before me.’ "