A Verse On Sunday

John 1.15

'John bare witness of him and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spoke, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.'

John the Baptist was clearly a well known local prophet, whilst Jesus was still little known. When it was time for his ministry, Jesus was proclaimed by John the Baptist.
What was so important about the baptism administered by John?
Before we can receive forgiveness we need to repent. Before we can see our Redeemer we need to acknowledge our slavery to sin.
When talking to non Christians, behind all the guff of fairy tales and misconceptions is an unwillingness to admit fault, to acknowledge servitude to sin. They like to think they are 'good', or at least more good than bad. Even Christians often refuse to admit their inherent bent towards sin, and seem to think they start with a clean slate and just made a few wrong choices. Yet this smugness about one's own virtue means that when things go wrong, then the only ones to blame are the Other. Down this road lies dictatorship, torture, death camps - the principalities of this world.
Before we can know Our Lord as our Saviour we need to repent of our sin. John the Baptist was washing away the sins of his followers in preparation for the coming of the Lamb of God, and the Kingdom of Heaven, when a free people, free from sin and superstition, united in love, not domination, revering God, receiving his unending love, would receive grace after grace, and live fully, eternally, in God's presence.