What does John 1:35 mean?
An important lesson from the life of John the Baptist is to maintain a focus on Jesus. In particular, he exemplifies how to redirect attention from our selves towards Christ. The Baptist gained a following because of his preaching. Yet he was more than willing for Christ to get the glory, the popularity, and the attention. As he sees Jesus walk by, John seems to tell two of his own disciples to follow the Messiah (John 1:35–37, 40).Later, the Pharisees try to spark a rivalry between Jesus and John the Baptist (John 3:25–26). The Baptist's view is that Jesus is the real purpose of his mission. So, he's genuinely happy to see people leave his group to follow the Messiah. The Baptist refers to this using wedding terminology: Jesus is the groom, and the Baptist is like his "best man." Seeing the groom's success doesn't make the best man jealous, it makes him happy (John 3:29-30).
John 1:29–42 describes more conversations, these between John the Baptist, his disciples, and Jesus. It includes the moment Jesus recruits His first two disciples. Jesus is identified as "the Lamb of God," and "the Son of God." The Baptist describes his vision of the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, landing on Jesus. This confirms that He is the Messiah. The Baptist seems to tell John and Andrew to go and follow Jesus. They, in turn, introduce Jesus to Peter.
The first chapter of John introduces Jesus as "the Word," from the Greek logos. This chapter clearly describes Jesus as God. After this prologue, the chapter describes Jesus recruiting the first of His disciples, as well as a conversation between John the Baptist and the Pharisees. There are seven names or titles for Christ in this chapter, including "the Son of God," "the Word," and "the King of Israel."
