“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.
“One you do not know” is an incredibly sad commentary. The religious leaders of God’s chosen people should have been the first to recognize the Messiah when He came, and yet He was standing in their very midst and they didn’t recognize Him. Most of them would never know Him and will spend eternity in agonizing torment. To those who are given much, much more is expected. With favor and position comes responsibility.
Jesus was probably standing in that crowd and yet nobody, not even John at that point, recognized Him. This brings up another thought: God is often much closer to us than we know. We can agree with Jacob when he made his statement in (Gen 28:16).
Genesis 28:16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”