John 1:26

ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰωάννης λέγων, Ἐγὼ βαπτίζω ἐν ὕδατι: μέσος ὑμῶν ἕστηκεν ὃν ὑμεῖς οὐκ οἴδατε

John answered them saying, “I baptize in water. In the midst of you, one has stood who you do not know.  John 1:26.

Most translate μέσος ὑμῶν ἕστηκεν ὃν ὑμεῖς οὐκ οἴδατε: “In the midst of you, one stands who you do not know.  ἕστηκεν is in the perfect tense. In greek this means that the action of this verb was completed in the past, but still has an impact at the time of which it being spoken/written.  So what can this text tell us in greek that the english can’t?  Jesus had already “stood” or made himself ready to do the duty he was sent to do before anyone knew who he was.  In other words, it was set in stone already and the fact that he “ had stood” was still in affect when John spoke it to the people he was baptizing.  It matches the author’s theology perfectly.

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν. πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν. ὃ γέγονεν ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων: καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  This (word) was with God in the beginning.  All things were created though it (the word), and apart from it (the word), not even one thing was created which has been created.  In it (the word) was life, and life was the light of mankind: and the light is shining in the darkness and the darkness doesn’t understand it.