ὀπίσω μου, ἔμπροσθέν μου, and πρῶτός μου can each refer to time, place, or rank, which means this can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Here's one understanding:John 1:15 wrote:Ἰωάννης μαρτυρεῖ περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ κέκραγεν λέγων· Οὗτος ἦν ὃν εἶπον· Ὁ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος ἔμπροσθέν μου γέγονεν, ὅτι πρῶτός μου ἦν·
Ὁ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος - the one who is coming after me. John is prophecying of one who is coming here, the present participle ἐρχόμενος might suggest immediacy. I don't think it matters much whether you interpret this as time or place, the meaning is the same, but this phrase does not seem to be about rank.
ἔμπροσθέν μου γέγονεν - has become before me. This phrase might continue the prior time/space analogy, in the sense of "he who follows right behind me has passed me". I'm not sure that time / space / rank are distinct here, the analogy is drawn in time or space, but also does imply rank.
πρῶτός μου ἦν - he was first before me. This might refer back to the beginning, first in time. But I imagine it could also be relative, as in English: George and I walked to the store, I got there first.
Does this understanding seem right? Is there a better way to understand it?