22 Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing

people. 23 At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there

was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. 24 (This was before

John was thrown into prison.) 25 A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a

certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing. 26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi,

the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the

Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to

us.”

John 3:22-26 (page 814)

27 To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from

heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the

Christ but am sent ahead of him.'

19 Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to

ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ"  21 They asked him, "Then who are

you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." 22

Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" 23 John

replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make

straight the way for the Lord.' "

John 1:19-23

29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who

attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is

now complete.

John 3:29

30 He must become greater; I must become less.

 18 The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was

doing. So John called for two of his disciples, 19 and he sent them to the

Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”  20

John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to

ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for

someone else?’”

Luke 7:18-20