²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God^(A) is greater than he.”

²⁹ (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John.^{(B) 30} But the Pharisees and the experts in the law^(C) rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)