John 1
1
1In the beginning the Word already was.#1:1. In other words, the Word existed from eternity past. The concept of the Word means more than letters making up a word: it is the divine mind, the expression of God, the active aspect of divinity that speaks into existence as in Genesis 1:1. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2From the very beginning he was with God. 3Everything came into being through him; nothing came into being without him. 4In him was life, the life that was the light of everyone. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not extinguished it.#1:5. The word in the original can also mean “overpowered” or “understood.”
6God sent a man named John. 7He came as a witness to explain about the light so that everyone might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light, but he came to witness to the light.
9The true light was coming into the world to give light to everyone. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world didn't know who he was.#1:10. Or “didn't recognize him.” 11He came to his own people, but they didn't accept him.#1:11. Or “He came to his own home but his own people did not welcome him.” 12But to all those who accepted him and trusted in him, he gave the right to become God's children. 13These are the children born not in the usual way, not as the result of human desire or a father's decision, but born of God. 14The Word became human and lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only#1:14. Literally, “only begotten.” This refers to position and uniqueness rather than birth. Son, full of grace and truth.
15John gave his testimony about him, shouting out to the people, “This is the one I was telling you about when I said, ‘The one who is coming after me is more important than me, for before I ever existed he already was.’” 16We have all been recipients of his generous nature, one gracious gift after another. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18While no one has ever seen God, God the one and only, who is close beside the Father, has shown us what God is like.#1:18. Or “has made him known.”
19This is what John publicly stated when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20John declared plainly and clearly without hesitation, “I am not the Messiah.”
21“So then, who are you?” they asked. “Elijah?”
“No, I'm not,” he answered.
“Are you the Prophet?”#1:21. In Jewish thought a special prophet was expected before the End.
“No,” he replied.
22“Well, who are you, then?” they asked. “We have to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23“I am a voice calling in the desert, ‘Make the Lord's way straight!’” he said, using the words of the prophet Isaiah.#1:23. Quoting Isaiah 40:3.
24The priests and Levites#1:24. “Priests and Levites”: implied from verse 19. sent by the Pharisees 25asked him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you're not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”
26John replied, “I baptize with water, but standing among you is someone you don't know. 27He is coming after me, but I am not even worthy to untie his sandals.” 28This all happened in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29The next day John saw Jesus approaching him, and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man who is coming after me is more important than me, for before I ever existed he already was.’ 31I didn't know myself who he was, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.”
32John gave his evidence about him, saying, “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and rest upon him. 33I wouldn't have known him except he who sent me to baptize with water had told me, ‘The one you see the Spirit descend to and rest upon, he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I saw it happen and I declare that this is the Son of God.”
35The next day John was standing there with two of his disciples. 36He saw Jesus passing by, and said, “Look! This is the Lamb of God!” 37When the two disciples heard what he said they went and followed Jesus.
38Jesus turned round and saw them following him. “What are you looking for?” he asked them.
“Rabbi (which means ‘Teacher’), where are you staying?” they asked in reply.
39“Come and see,” he told them. So they went with him and saw where he was staying. It was about four p.m., and they spent the rest of the day with him.
40Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of these two disciples who had heard what John said and followed Jesus. 41He went at once to find his brother Simon and told him, “We've found the Messiah!” (which means “Christ”).#1:41. Both Messiah and Christ mean “the Anointed One.” 42He took him to Jesus. Looking directly at Simon, Jesus said, “You are Simon, son of John. But now you will be called Cephas,” (which means “Peter”).#1:42. Cephas and Peter both mean “rock” or “stone.”
43The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. Jesus found Philip there, and told him, “Follow me.” 44Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town that Andrew and Peter came from.
45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We've found the one that Moses wrote about in the law and that the prophets did too—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46“From Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael wondered.
“Just come and see,” Philip replied.
47As Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said about him, “Look, here's a true Israelite! There's nothing false about him.”
48“How do you know who I am?” Nathanael asked.
“I saw you there under the fig tree, before Philip called you,” Jesus replied.
49“Rabbi, you are the Son of God, the king of Israel!” Nathaniel exclaimed.
50“You believe this just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree?” Jesus replied. “You'll get to see much more than that!” 51Then Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open, and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of man.”#1:51. Referring to Jacob's experience in Genesis 28:12, with the term “Son of man” replacing the word “ladder.”
Currently Selected:
John 1: FBV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
John 1
1
Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word
1In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2He existed in the beginning with God.
3God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4The Word gave life to everything that was created,#1:3-4 Or and nothing that was created was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything.
and his life brought light to everyone.
5The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.#1:5 Or and the darkness has not understood it.
6God sent a man, John the Baptist,#1:6 Greek a man named John. 7to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
10He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
14So the Word became human#1:14a Greek became flesh. and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.#1:14b Or grace and truth; also in 1:17. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
15John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”
16From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.#1:16 Or received the grace of Christ rather than the grace of the law; Greek reads received grace upon grace. 17For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God,#1:18 Some manuscripts read But the one and only Son. is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants#1:19 Greek and Levites. from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?” 20He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”
21“Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”
“No,” he replied.
“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”#1:21 Greek Are you the Prophet? See Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5-6.
“No.”
22“Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”
23John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”#1:23 Isa 40:3.
24Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”
26John told them, “I baptize with#1:26 Or in; also in 1:31, 33. water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. 27Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”
28This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.
Jesus, the Lamb of God
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ 31I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.#1:34 Some manuscripts read the Son of God.”
The First Disciples
35The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” 37When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.
38Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.
40Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. 41Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”#1:41 Messiah (a Hebrew term) and Christ (a Greek term) both mean “anointed one.”).
42Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”#1:42 The names Cephas (from Aramaic) and Peter (from Greek) both mean “rock.”).
43The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” 44Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.
45Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses#1:45 Greek Moses in the law. and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
46“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.
47As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”
48“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”
49Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”
50Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.#1:51 Greek going up and down on the Son of Man; see Gen 28:10-17. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT: