Jesus said, “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light” (John 5:31-35). Let’s remind ourselves of how John witnessed to Jesus. John the Baptist bore witness to Christ by announcing him as the Messiah, pointing him out to his disciples and the crowds, and testifying to Jesus' divine identity as the Son of God. His witness was not about himself; he identified himself as a forerunner, a "voice crying in the wilderness," preparing the way for Jesus and baptising people for repentance in anticipation of the coming of the one who would baptise with the Holy Spirit. He identified Jesus as the Lamb of God. When Jesus came to him for baptism, John publicly declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!". He testified to Jesus' divine identity. John explained that he knew Jesus was the Son of God because the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove and remained on him, just as God had told him. John confessed his own role as being that of a forerunner. When asked by religious leaders, he firmly stated, "I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him". He insisted that his purpose was to point people to Jesus, not to himself. He preached repentance to prepare people for Christ. His ministry of baptising people for repentance was a direct way of preparing them to receive Jesus' message and the kingdom of heaven.