John 1:15 : John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.'”
I really appreciate this verse. I like to make parenthetical comments when I write (so I really appreciate this part of John). We kind of get around the use of parenthesis today on the web by using hyperlinks. Here John puts in a comment in the text to make sure that we hear it even though it is in the middle of something else.
This particular comment is about John the Baptist testimony concerning Jesus. It is interesting that he mentions it right after his own testimony about the glory of Jesus he saw. One thing to keep in mind is that according to the law of God, a testimony had to be ratified by two witnesses to be acceptable (Deuteronomy 19:15, 2 Corinthians 13:1). John who writes expressed his testimony in verse 14, and then, in verse 15, John the Baptist’s testimony is presented. There will be more about this testimony on verse 19.
If you read more in the Bible about John the Baptist, you learn that he was Jesus’ relative. It is interesting to note that John was older than Jesus in regard to his birth. (Luke 1:36-45) John states here that “He existed before me.” This is a clear statement that he knew that Jesus existed before He was actually born on earth and was not just a man. This truly is a mystery. I don’t know how a person could have existed before they were born, but here we have it. I also realize that I understand very little about how the spiritual world works. If I consider it a little more, I don’t really comprehend many common physical events that occur in our world such as why the heart starts beating or how seeds germinate.
When we really consider this, we realize that we really understand very little in this great world that God made. This is one of the things that causes me to realize that just because I don’t understand something, doesn’t mean it isn’t real or doesn’t exist. This really is a foolish way to think. I am thankful that God challenges my thinking and causes me to be humble about what I know.
As you can see, in the Bible, even the parenthetical statements are very important and that makes sense since these are the words of God.