He declared, and didn’t deny, but he declared, “I am not the Christ.”
Parallel Translations
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He declared, and didn’t deny, but he declared, “I am not the Christ.”
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And he confessed and denyed not and sayde playnly: I am not Christ.
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And he confessed and denied not, and said plainely, I am not that Christ.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to John 1:20 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 3:11-12 I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.”
- Mark 1:7-8 He preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen. I baptized you in water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.”
- Luke 3:15-17 As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ, John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire, whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
- John 3:28-36 You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. This, my joy, therefore is made full. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies; and no one receives his witness. He who has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 20. And he confessed, and denied not. That is,…
20. And he confessed, and denied not. That is, he confessed openly, and without any ambiguity or hypocrisy. The word confess, in the first instance, means generally, that he stated the fact as it really was. In the second instance, it is repeated in order to express the form of the confession. He replied expressly, that he was not the Christ
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He did acknowledge him, and spake of him plainly…
He did acknowledge him, and spake of him plainly and openly.
This repeating of the one and the selfsame thing, though in divers words, is used much of the Hebrews, and it hath great force: for they used to speak one thing twice, to set it out more certainly and plainly.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed,…
20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
Ver. 20. He confessed and denied not, but confessed] Sincerely and studiously; he put away that honour with both hands earnestly, as knowing the danger of wronging the jealous God in his glory, that is as his wife. All the fat was to be sacrificed to God. It is well observed, that nineteen times doth John use this kind of double affirmation. First, to strengthen our belief. Secondly, to show how sparing he was of an oath. Thirdly, for the greater certainty of the thing.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain And he confessed; he being asked openly and plainly,…
And he confessed; he being asked openly and plainly, professed,
and denied not; and did not dissemble nor halt in his speech. These negatives are in Scripture often added to affirmatives, to exclude all exceptions, Job 5:17; Psa 40:10-12. But confessed: he did not tell them once so, but again and again, because many were musing about it, Luk 3:15.
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I am not the Christ; I am not that great Messiah which God hath promised you, and in the expectation of whom you live, Luk 2:26,38; Lu 19:11; Joh 4:25. The diligence we shall constantly observe in the servants of God in holy writ, to avoid the arrogating of that honour to themselves which is due only to God and Christ; and this, together with John’s steadiness and plainness, doth very well become all professors, but the ministers of the gospel especially.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he confessed, and denied not,.... He freely, and…
And he confessed, and denied not,.... He freely, and without any reserve, declared, and in the plainest and strongest terms professed to the messengers before all the people, that he was not the Messiah; nor did he retract his confession, or draw in his words again, or drop any thing that looked doubtful or suspicious,
but confessed, I am not the Christ: he stood to it, and insisted on it, that he was not that illustrious person; nor had they any reason to entertain such an opinion of him; nor would he have them do so; they might assure themselves he was not Christ.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain I am not the Christ - For many supposed…
I am not the Christ - For many supposed he was.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 20. He confessed, and denied not; but confessed]…
Verse 20. He confessed, and denied not; but confessed] A common mode of Jewish phraseology. John renounces himself, that Jesus may be all in all. Though God had highly honoured him, and favoured him with peculiar influence in the discharge of his work, yet he considered he had nothing but what he had received, and therefore, giving all praise to his benefactor, takes care to direct the attention of the people to him alone from whom he had received his mercies. He who makes use of God's gifts to feed and strengthen his pride and vanity will be sure to be stripped of the goods wherein he trusts, and fall down into the condemnation of the devil. We have nothing but what we have received; we deserve nothing of what we possess; and it is only God's infinite mercy which keeps us in the possession of the blessings which we now enjoy.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain I am not the Christ - This confession proves…
I am not the Christ - This confession proves that John was not an impostor. He had a wide reputation. The nation was expecting that the Messiah was about to come, and multitudes were ready to believe that John was he, Luk 3:15. If John had been an impostor he would have taken advantage of this excited state of public feeling, proclaimed himself to be the Messiah, and formed a large party in his favor. The fact that he did not do it is full proof that he did not intend to impose on people, but came only as the forerunner of Christ; and his example shows that all Christians, and especially all Christian ministers, however much they may be honored and blessed, should be willing to lay all their honors at the feet of Jesus; to keep themselves back and to hold up before the world only the Son of God. To do this is one eminent mark of the true spirit of a minister of the gospel.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain confessed, &c.--that is, While many were ready to hail…
confessed, &c.--that is, While many were ready to hail him as the Christ, he neither gave the slightest ground for such views, nor the least entertainment to them.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 20. Not the Christ—Some of his disciples may, in…
20. Not the Christ—Some of his disciples may, in their pride, have given out that their master was the Messiah himself. This committee cross-examine him, and thus draw out a prompt and explicit denial, which our Evangelist adduces to silence all false claimants in John’s behalf.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 20. confessed, and denied not] Antithetic parallelism, as in…
20. confessed, and denied not] Antithetic parallelism, as in Joh_1:3.
but confessed] Rather, and he confessed, to introduce what he confessed.
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I am not the Christ] ‘I’ is emphatic, implying that some one else not far distant is the Christ. Throughout the section (20–34) John contrasts himself with the Christ by an emphasis on ‘I.’
the Christ] It is to be regretted that our translators have so often omitted the definite article before ‘Christ,’ although it is inserted in the Greek. In the Gospel narratives the article should always be preserved in English as here. Comp. Mat_16:16; Mat_26:63; Mar_8:29; and contrast Mat_24:5; Luk_23:35; Luk_23:39, &c. To us ‘Christ’ is a proper name, but to the Evangelists it is a title, ‘the Christ,’ the Messiah so long expected. See Lightfoot, On Revision, p. 100.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (20) Confessed, and denied not; but confessed.—Comp. for the…
(20) Confessed, and denied not; but confessed.—Comp. for the style, Note on Joh_1:3.
I am not.—The better reading places the pronoun in the most emphatic position: “It is not I who am the Messiah.” He understands their question, then, “Who art thou?” as expressing the general expectation, “Is it thou who art the Messiah?”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 20, 21. (1) He deflates his own position,…
Vers. 20, 21. (1) He deflates his own position, negatively.
And he confessed, and denied not. Perhaps the double form of statement, or rather the introduction of the clause, "he denied not," before the repetition of the confession with its contents, was adopted to, indicate that John might have been tempted to "deny" that he was not the Christ. If he had hesitated at all, he would have denied the real Christ, the Son of God, who had been revealed to him by special means. I for my part very emphaticamnot the Christ. This implies, not only that the supposition over which they are brooding is unfounded, not only that he is not the Christ, but that he knows more, and that he knows another to be the Christ. If this reading of the text is correct, the Baptist, by his negative reply, gave to the priests more than they asked.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain He confessed and denied not
Joh_1:20
He confessed and denied not
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John and Jesus
I.
THE DIGNITY OF TRUTH.
1. It seems easy for John to have confessed and denied not. But here is a people ripe for Christ. They had been expecting Him for four hundred years. Moreover, no sooner did John appear than there was a tendency in the whole nation to recognize him as the Christ. They ask expecting an affirmative. For in John they recognize a born leader, a man which met the traditional conception of what the Messiah was to be. The ball was at his feet; the sceptre within his grasp; the hermit of the desert may to-morrow be a king. One word decides the future, but the hardest temptation--that to power--is resisted.
2. It was not easy for John to resist; is it easy for us? How many are content to appear just as and what they are? There are very few who are not ready to appear more learned, clever, innocent, and better off than we really are, if our fellows will only give us credit for it. How much need there is for absolute truth telling in social life! When a man hates another he generally says what he means; but to speak truth at all times, in the ordinary dealings of life, even though admiring deputations leave us and in spite of neglect and pain, this is difficult.
3. This reality was the secret of Johns power.
(1) He was trained for it in the desert. He had been face to face with God and had learned to pray, think, act for himself without consulting any but his conscience and his God. He had accustomed himself, too, to self-denial and to do without enervating luxuries and dissipating companionships. The desert enters too little into the curriculum of our education.
(2) The evidence of Johns reality was his popularity. This position may seem doubtful, because we often find that a mans popularity is in inverse proportion to his sincerity. Yet men love reality. Johns preaching was direct, personal, frank, hard hitting; and yet the crowd was always there: the homely citizen, the publican, the warrior, the Pharisee, all swept into the vortex of this mans influence, and the reason was Johns reality. At heart the world hates humbug; and it is this religious manliness that we want to-day. The Church has grown afraid of plain speaking, and her apologetic hope I dont intrude the world listens to with disguised contempt and dismisses with easy scorn.
II. THE GRANDEUR OF SELF REPRESSION.
1. This a rare gift in the great scramble of life, where every man sets his heart upon a common prize. Here is a great, powerful, popular man swaying a nation, and yet at the very crisis of victory obliterates himself in favour of another.
2. Thus early in history we are taught that Christ must be all in all. They called John the Baptist; but John dismissed the title. He said, No, there is another baptism in comparison with which mine is nothing. We are not Wesleyans, Baptists, Churchmen--these are ephemeral distinctions which men set up. When the Master comes, all such distinctions die. We are Christians only. And when we begin to decrease into nothingness, when our poor getting on, our thirst for power, is swept out of us and there is left nothing but the desire that Christ shall shine--then there is increase for the Church.
3. Christ and John--how near they stand together; yet how far apart! Christ like John could be stern. It was to Johns murderer that Christ uttered the one purely contemptuous expression that ever passed His lips. John like Christ could be gentle. The most beautiful thing ever said of Christ was said by this stern ascetic. But John was not Jesus; and he confessed it. (W. J. Dawson.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 20–23. Some conjectured that John was the expected Christ;…
20–23. Some conjectured that John was the expected Christ; others that he was Elijah who was first to come (Mal. 4:5); others that he was “that prophet,” the one predicted by Moses (Deut. 18:15); but he declared that he was none of these. When they insisted that he should declare who he was, he quoted Isaiah, and said he was The voice of one crying in the wilderness. See note on Matt. 3:3. His work was preparation for the Lord.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:20 The Jews expected the Messiah (the Hebrew form…
1:20 The Jews expected the Messiah (the Hebrew form of the Greek word Christ) to bring spiritual leadership and political redemption to Israel (see Deut 18:15; see also the Jewish intertestamental book Psalms of Solomon).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.