John 1

The Life-Light

1-2 The Word was first, the Word present to God, God present to the Word. The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one.

3-5 Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn't put it out.

6-8 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.

9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing: Every person entering Life he brings into Light. He was in the world, the world was there through him, and yet the world didn't even notice. He came to his own people, but they didn't want him. But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves. These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten.

14 The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

15 John pointed him out and called, "This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word."
16-18 We all live off his generous bounty, gift after gift after gift. We got the basics from Moses, and then this exuberant giving and receiving, This endless knowing and understanding— all this came through Jesus, the Messiah. No one has ever seen God, not so much as a glimpse. This one-of-a-kind God-Expression, who exists at the very heart of the Father, has made him plain as day.

Thunder in the Desert

19-20 When Jews from Jerusalem sent a group of priests and officials to ask John who he was, he was completely honest. He didn't evade the question. He told the plain truth: "I am not the Messiah."

21 They pressed him, "Who, then? Elijah?"
"I am not."
"The Prophet?"
"No."

22 Exasperated, they said, "Who, then? We need an answer for those who sent us. Tell us something—anything!—about yourself."

23 "I'm thunder in the desert: 'Make the road straight for God!' I'm doing what the prophet Isaiah preached."

24-25 Those sent to question him were from the Pharisee party. Now they had a question of their own: "If you're neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?"

26-27 John answered, "I only baptize using water. A person you don't recognize has taken his stand in your midst. He comes after me, but he is not in second place to me. I'm not even worthy to hold his coat for him."

28 These conversations took place in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing at the time.

The God-Revealer

29-31 The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, "Here he is, God's Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I've been talking about, 'the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.' I knew nothing about who he was—only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God."

32-34 John clinched his witness with this: "I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, 'The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' That's exactly what I saw happen, and I'm telling you, there's no question about it: This is the Son of God."

Come, See for Yourself

35-36 The next day John was back at his post with two disciples, who were watching. He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby, and said, "Here he is, God's Passover Lamb."

37-38 The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus. Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, "What are you after?"
They said, "Rabbi" (which means "Teacher"), "where are you staying?"

39 He replied, "Come along and see for yourself."
They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day. It was late afternoon when this happened.

40-42 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John's witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, "We've found the Messiah" (that is, "Christ"). He immediately led him to Jesus.
Jesus took one look up and said, "You're John's son, Simon? From now on your name is Cephas" (or Peter, which means "Rock").

43-44 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. When he got there, he ran across Philip and said, "Come, follow me." (Philip's hometown was Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter.)

45-46 Philip went and found Nathanael and told him, "We've found the One Moses wrote of in the Law, the One preached by the prophets. It's Jesus, Joseph's son, the one from Nazareth!" Nathanael said, "Nazareth? You've got to be kidding."
But Philip said, "Come, see for yourself."

47 When Jesus saw him coming he said, "There's a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body."

48 Nathanael said, "Where did you get that idea? You don't know me."
Jesus answered, "One day, long before Philip called you here, I saw you under the fig tree."

49 Nathanael exclaimed, "Rabbi! You are the Son of God, the King of Israel!"

50-51 Jesus said, "You've become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree? You haven't seen anything yet! Before this is over you're going to see heaven open and God's angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again."

John 1

The Prologue to the Gospel

1 In the beginnings was the Word, and the Word was with God,t and the Word was fully God.ts2 The Wordt was with God in the beginning.3 All things were createdt by him, and apart from him not one thing was createdt that has been created.st4 In him was life,ts and the life was the light of mankind.t

5 And the light shines onts in the darkness,s butt the darkness has not mastered it.t
6 A man came, sent from God, whose name was John.s7 He came as a witnessts to testifyt about the light, so that everyonet might believe through him.8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testifyt about the light.9 The true light, who gives light to everyone,t was coming into the world.ts10 He was in the world, and the world was createdt by him, butt the world did not recognizet him.11 He came to what was his own,t butt his own peoplet did not receive him.s12 But to all who have received him – those who believe in his namet – he has given the right to become God’s children

13 – children not bornt by human parentst or by human desiret or a husband’st decision,t but by God.
14 Nowt the Word became flesht and took up residencets among us. Wet saw his glory – the glory of the one and only,t full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.15 Johns testifiedt about him and shouted out,t “This one was the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am,t because he existed before me.’”16 For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another.ts17 For the law was given through Moses, butt grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen God. The only one,st himself God, who is in closest fellowship witht the Father, has made Godt known.s

The Testimony of John the Baptist

19 Nowt this wast John’ss testimonyts when the Jewish leaderst sents priests and Levites from Jerusalems to ask him, “Who are you?”s20 He confessed – he did not deny but confessed – “I am not the Christ!”ts21 So they asked him, “Then who are you?t Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not!”s “Are you the Prophet?”s He answered, “No!”

22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell ust so that we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 Johnt said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straightsthe way for the Lord,’s as Isaiah the prophet said.”24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.s)s

25 So they asked John,t “Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ,ts nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them,t “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not recognize,t27 who is coming after me. I am not worthyts to untie the strapt of his sandal!”

28 These things happened in Bethanys across the Jordan Rivert where John was baptizing.
29 On the next day Johnt saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of Gods who takes away the sin of the world!30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am,t because he existed before me.’

31 I did not recognizet him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.”s
32 Thent John testified,t “I saw the Spirit descending like a doves from heaven,t and it remained on him.s33 And I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining – this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

34 I have both seen and testified that this man is the Chosen One of God.”s
35 Again the next day Johns was standing theret with two of his disciples.36 Gazing at Jesus as he walked by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”s37 When John’st two disciples heard him say this,t they followed Jesus.s38 Jesus turned around and saw them following and said to them, “What do you want?”t So they said to him, “Rabbi” (which is translated Teacher),s “where are you staying?”

39 Jesust answered,t “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. Now it was about four o’clock in the afternoon.ts

Andrew’s Declaration

40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two disciples who heard what John saidt and followed Jesus.t41 He firsts found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!”s (which is translated Christ).ts

42 Andrew brought Simont to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John.s You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).s

The Calling of More Disciples

43 On the next day Jesust wanted to set out for Galilee.s Het found Philip and saidt to him, “Follow me.”44 (Now Philip was from Bethsaida,s the town oft Andrew and Peter.)45 Philip found Nathanaels and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets alsot wrote about – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

46 Nathanaelt replied,t “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”ss Philip replied,t “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed,t “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”ts48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied,t “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree,s I saw you.”49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the kingt of Israel!”s50 Jesus said to him,t “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”s

51 He continued,t “I tell all of you the solemn trutht – you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”s