18. He who believes in God’s Son is not judged guilty. He who does not believe has already been judged guilty, because he has not believed in God’s only Son.
19. People are judged by this fact: I am the Light from God that has come into the world. But men did not want light. They wanted darkness because they were doing evil things.
20. Everyone who does evil hates the light. He will not come to the light because it will show all the evil things he has done.
21. But he who follows the true way comes to the light. Then the light will show that the things he has done were done through God.”
22. After this, Jesus and his followers went into the area of Judea. There Jesus stayed with his followers and baptized people.
23. John was also baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were going there to be baptized.
24. (This was before John was put into prison.)
25. Some of John’s followers had an argument with a Jew about religious washing.
26. So they came to John and said, “Teacher, remember the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you spoke about? He is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27. John answered, “A man can get only what God gives him.
28. You yourselves heard me say, ‘I am not the Christ. I am only the one God sent to prepare the way for him.’
29. The bride belongs only to the bridegroom. The friend who helps the bridegroom waits and listens for him. He is glad when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That is the same pleasure I have. And my time of joy is now here.
30. He must become greater. And I must become less important.
31. “The One who comes from above is greater than all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about things on the earth. But the One who comes from heaven is greater than all.
32. He tells what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts what he says.
33. The person who accepts what he says has proven that God is true.