Editing John the Baptist (section)

===In the Gospel of John===
The fourth gospel describes John the Baptist as "a man sent from God" who "was not the light", but "came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that through him everyone might believe".<ref>{{bibleverse|John|1:6–8|NKJV}}</ref> John confirms that he is not the Christ nor Elijah nor 'the prophet' when asked by Jewish priests and Pharisees; instead, he described himself as the "voice of one crying in the wilderness".<ref>{{bibleverse|John|1:19–23|NKJV}}, compare {{bibleverse|Isaiah|40:3|NKJV}}</ref>

Upon literary analysis, it is clear that John is the "testifier and confessor ''par excellence''", particularly when compared to figures like [[Nicodemus]].<ref>{{citation|last=Vande Vrede|first=Keith|title=A Contrast Between Nicodemus and John the Baptist in the Gospel of John|volume=57|date=December 2014|pages=715–26|editor-last=Kostenberger|editor-first=Andreas|journal=Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society|issue=4|issn=0360-8808|editor-link=Andreas J. Köstenberger}}</ref>
[[File:Mathis Gothart Grünewald 024.jpg|thumb|[[Matthias Grünewald]], detail of the ''[[Isenheim Altarpiece]]''|upright]]
Jesus's baptism is implied but not depicted. Unlike the other gospels, it is John himself who testifies to seeing "the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove and rest on him". John explicitly announces that Jesus is the one "who baptizes with the Holy Spirit" and John even professes a "belief that he is the Son of God" and "the Lamb of God".

The Gospel of John reports that Jesus' disciples were baptizing and that a debate broke out between some of the disciples of John and another Jew about purification.<ref>{{bibleverse|John|3:22–36}}</ref> In this debate John argued that Jesus "must become greater," while he (John) "must become less."<ref>{{bibleverse|John|3:30}}</ref><ref>Latin [[Vulgate]]:Ioannes|3:30|VULGATE|''illum oportet crescere me autem minui''</ref>

The Gospel of John then points out that Jesus' disciples were baptizing more people than John.<ref>{{bibleverse|John|4:2}}</ref> Later, the Gospel relates that Jesus regarded John as "a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light".<ref>{{bibleverse|John|5:35|ESV}}</ref>