John 1
1
In praise of the Word
The Word of life
1In the beginning was the one
who is called the Word.
The Word was with God
and was truly God.
2From the very beginning
the Word was with God.
3And with this Word,
God created all things.
Nothing was made
without the Word.
Everything that was created
4received its life from him,
and his life gave light
to everyone.
5The light keeps shining
in the dark,
and darkness has never
put it out.#1.5 put it out: Or “understood it.”
6God sent a man named John,#Mt 3.1; Mk 1.4; Lk 3.1,2.
7who came to tell
about the light
and to lead all people
to have faith.
8John wasn't that light.
He came only to tell
about the light.
9The true light that shines
on everyone
was coming into the world.
10The Word was in the world,
but no one knew him,
though God had made the world
with his Word.
11He came into his own world,
but his own nation
did not welcome him.
12Yet some people accepted him
and put their faith in him.
So he gave them the right
to be the children of God.
13They were not God's children
by nature or because
of any human desires.
God himself was the one
who made them his children.
14The Word became
a human being
and lived here with us.
We saw his true glory,
the glory of the only Son
of the Father.
From him all the kindness
and all the truth of God
have come down to us.
15John spoke about him and shouted, “This is the one I told you would come! He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.”
16Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing after another.#1.16 one blessing after another: Or “one blessing in place of another.” 17The Law was given by Moses, but Jesus Christ brought us undeserved kindness and truth. 18No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like.
The message of John the Baptist
John the Baptist tells about Jesus
(Matthew 3.1-12; Mark 1.1-8; Luke 3.15-17)
19-20The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and temple helpers to ask John who he was. He told them plainly, “I am not the Messiah.” 21Then when they asked him if he were Elijah, he said, “No, I am not!” And when they asked if he were the Prophet,#1.21 the Prophet: Many of the Jewish people expected God to send them a prophet who would be like Moses, but with even greater power. See Deuteronomy 18.15,18. he also said “No!”#Ml 4.5; Dt 18.15,18.
22Finally, they said, “Who are you then? We have to give an answer to the ones who sent us. Tell us who you are!”
23John answered in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “I am only someone shouting in the desert, ‘Get the road ready for the Lord!’ ”#Is 40.3 (LXX).
24Some Pharisees had also been sent to John. 25They asked him, “Why are you baptizing people, if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?”
26John told them, “I use water to baptize people. But here with you is someone you don't know. 27Even though I came first, I am not good enough to untie his sandals.” 28John said this as he was baptizing east of the River Jordan in Bethany.#1.28 Bethany: An unknown village east of the Jordan with the same name as the village near Jerusalem.
The Lamb of God
29The next day, John saw Jesus coming towards him and said:
Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30He is the one I told you about when I said, “Someone else will come. He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.” 31I didn't know who he was. But I came to baptize you with water, so that everyone in Israel would see him.
32I was there and saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven. And the Spirit stayed on him. 33Before this I didn't know who he was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, “You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. Then you will know that he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” 34I saw this happen, and I tell you that he is the Son of God.
Jesus chooses his first disciples
35The next day, John was there again, and two of his followers were with him. 36When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Here is the Lamb of God!” 37John's two followers heard him, and they went with Jesus.
38When Jesus turned and saw them, he asked, “What do you want?”
They answered, “Rabbi, where do you live?” The Hebrew word “Rabbi” means “Teacher”.
39Jesus replied, “Come and see!” It was already about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him and saw where he lived. So they stayed on for the rest of the day.
40One of the two men who had heard John and had gone with Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, “We have found the Messiah!” The Hebrew word “Messiah” means the same as the Greek word “Christ”.
42Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, “Simon son of John, you will be called Cephas.” This name can be translated as “Peter”.#1.42 Peter: The Aramaic name “Cephas” and the Greek name “Peter” each mean “rock”.
Jesus chooses Philip and Nathanael
43-44The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the home town of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Come with me.”
45Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets#1.45 Moses and the Prophets: The Jewish Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament. wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
46Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip answered, “Come and see.”
47When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn't deceitful.”#1.47 Israel…isn't deceitful: Israel (meaning “a man who wrestled with God” or “a prince of God”) was the name that the Lord gave to Jacob (meaning “cheater” or “deceiver”), the famous ancestor of the Jewish people.
48“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
49Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of Israel!”
50Jesus answered, “Did you believe me just because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. 51I tell you for certain that you will see heaven open and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”#1.51 going up and coming down on the Son of Man: When Jacob (see the note at verse 47) was running from his brother Esau, he had a dream in which he saw angels going up and down on a ladder from earth to heaven. See Genesis 32.22-32.#Gn 28.12.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
John 1
1
Christ Comes to the World
1In the beginning, before the earth was made, the Word#1:1 Word The Greek word is “logos,” meaning any kind of communication. It could be translated “message.” Here, it describes Jesus Christ before he was sent to earth as a human being, which is the way God chose to tell the world about himself. Also in verses 10, 14, 16. was there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was there with God in the beginning. 3Everything was made through him, and nothing was made without him. 4In him there was life, and that life was light for the people of the world. 5The light#1:5 light Meaning Christ, the Word, who brought to the world understanding about God. Also in verse 7. shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not defeated#1:5 defeated Or “understood.” it.
6There was a man named John, who was sent by God. 7He came to tell people about the light. Through him all people could hear about the light and believe. 8John was not the light. But he came to tell people about the light. 9The true light was coming into the world. This is the true light that gives light to all people.
10The Word was already in the world. The world was made through him, but the world did not know him. 11He came to the world that was his own. And his own people did not accept him. 12But some people did accept him. They believed in him, and he gave them the right to become children of God. 13They became God’s children, but not in the way babies are usually born. It was not because of any human desire or plan. They were born from God himself.
14The Word became a man and lived among us. We saw his divine greatness—the greatness that belongs to the only Son of the Father. The Word was full of grace and truth. 15John told people about him. He said loudly, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘The one who is coming after me is greater than I am, because he was living before I was even born.’”
16Yes, the Word was full of grace and truth, and from him we all received one blessing after another.#1:16 one blessing after another Literally, “grace in place of grace.” 17That is, the law was given to us through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. The only Son is the one who has shown us what God is like. He is himself God and is very close to the Father.#1:18 The only Son … Father Or more literally, “The only Son, God, who is very close to the Father, has shown us what he is like.” Some other Greek copies say, “The only Son is very close to the Father and has shown us what he is like.”
John Tells About the Messiah
(Mt. 3:1–12; Mk. 1:1–8; Lk. 3:1–9, 15–17)
19The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent some priests and Levites to John to ask him, “Who are you?” He told them the truth. 20Without any hesitation he said openly and plainly, “I am not the Messiah.”
21They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He answered, “No, I am not Elijah.”
They asked, “Are you the Prophet#1:21 Prophet They probably meant the prophet that God told Moses he would send. See Deut. 18:15-19. Also in verse 25.?”
He answered, “No, I am not the Prophet.”
22Then they said, “Who are you? Tell us about yourself. Give us an answer to tell the people who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23John told them the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am the voice of someone shouting in the desert:
‘Make a straight road ready for the Lord.’” Isaiah 40:3
24These Jews were sent from the Pharisees. 25They said to John, “You say you are not the Messiah. You say you are not Elijah or the Prophet. Then why do you baptize people?”
26John answered, “I baptize people with water. But there is someone here with you that you don’t know. 27He is the one who is coming later. I am not good enough to be the slave who unties the strings on his sandals.”
28These things all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River. This is where John was baptizing people.
Jesus, the Lamb of God
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God. He takes away the sins of the world! 30This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘There is a man coming after me who is greater than I am, because he was living even before I was born.’ 31I did not know who he was. But I came baptizing people with water so that Israel could know that he is the Messiah.#1:31 so that … the Messiah Literally, “so that he might be revealed as the Messiah to Israel.” See “Messiah” in the Word List.”
32-34Then John said this for everyone to hear: “I also did not know who the Messiah was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and rest on a man. He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen this happen. I saw the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove and rest on this man. So this is what I tell people: ‘He is the Son of God.’#1:32-34 He is the Son of God Some very early Greek copies have “He is the chosen one of God.””
The First Followers of Jesus
35The next day John was there again and had two of his followers with him. 36He saw Jesus walking by and said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37The two followers heard him say this, so they followed Jesus. 38Jesus turned and saw the two men following him. He asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” (“Rabbi” means “Teacher.”)
39He answered, “Come with me and you will see.” So the two men went with him. They saw the place where he was staying, and they stayed there with him that day. It was about four o’clock.
40These men followed Jesus after they had heard about him from John. One of them was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41The first thing Andrew did was to go and find his brother Simon. Andrew said to him, “We have found the Messiah.” (“Messiah” means “Christ.”)
42Then Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. You will be called Cephas.” (“Cephas” means “Peter.#1:42 Peter The Greek name “Peter,” like the Aramaic name “Cephas,” means “rock.””)
43The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He met Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44Philip was from the town of Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the man that Moses wrote about in the law. The prophets wrote about him too. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph. He is from Nazareth.”
46But Nathanael said to Philip, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip answered, “Come and see.”
47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said, “This man coming is a true Israelite, one you can trust.#1:47 one you can trust Literally, “in whom is no deceit.” In the Old Testament, Israel’s other name, Jacob, is explained with words that mean “deceit” or “trickery,” for which he was well known. See Gen. 27:35, 36.”
48Nathanael asked, “How do you know me?”
Jesus answered, “I saw you when you were under the fig tree, before Philip told you about me.”
49Then Nathanael said, “Teacher, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.”
50Jesus said to him, “Do you believe this just because I said I saw you under the fig tree? You will see much greater things than that!” 51Then he said, “Believe me when I say that you will all see heaven open. You will see ‘angels of God going up and coming down’#Quote from Gen. 28:12. on the Son of Man.”
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