John 1
1
The Word Became Flesh
1 #
Gen. 1:1; [Col. 1:17; 1 John 1:1; Rev. 1:4, 8, 17; 3:14; 21:6; 22:13] In the beginning was #Rev. 19:13; [Heb. 4:12; 1 John 1:1] the Word, and #1 John 1:2; [ch. 17:5] the Word was with God, and #Phil. 2:6the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3#ver. 10; Ps. 33:6; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4#ch. 5:26; 11:25; 1 John 1:2; 5:11 In him was life,#1:4 Or was not any thing made. That which has been made was life in him and #ch. 8:12; 9:5; 12:46the life was the light of men. 5#[ch. 3:19]The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6There was a man #ver. 33; ch. 3:28; Mal. 3:1 sent from God, whose name was #Matt. 3:1; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:2John. 7He came as a #ch. 3:26; 5:33 witness, to bear witness about the light, #Acts 19:4that all might believe through him. 8#ver. 20He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 #
Isa. 49:6; 1 John 2:8 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet #[ch. 16:3; 1 John 3:1]the world did not know him. 11He came to #Matt. 21:38 his own,#1:11 Greek to his own things; that is, to his own domain, or to his own people and #ch. 13:1 his own people#1:11 People is implied in Greek #ch. 5:43; [ch. 3:11, 32]did not receive him. 12But to all who did receive him, #See 1 John 5:13 who believed in his name, #1 John 5:1 he gave the right #1 John 3:1; [Matt. 5:45] to become #[Gal. 3:26]; See ch. 11:52children of God, 13who #James 1:18; [ch. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:3] were born, #1 Pet. 1:23 not of blood #ch. 3:6nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14And #ver. 1 the Word #Rom. 1:3; 8:3; Gal. 4:4; Phil. 2:7, 8; Col. 1:22; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 4:2; 2 John 7; [ch. 6:51] became flesh and #Rev. 7:15; 21:3 dwelt among us, #ch. 2:11; Luke 9:32; 2 Pet. 1:16, 17; 1 John 1:1; 4:14 and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son#1:14 Or only One, or unique One from the Father, full of #See ver. 7 grace and #[ch. 14:6]truth. 15(#See ver. 7 John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, #ver. 27, 30; See Matt. 3:11‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16For from #Eph. 1:23; 3:19; 4:13; Col. 1:19; 2:9 his fullness we have all received, #[Matt. 25:29]grace upon grace.#1:16 Or grace in place of grace 17For #ch. 7:19; Ex. 20:1 the law was given through Moses; #ver. 14; [Rom. 5:21]grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18#ch. 5:37; 6:46; Ex. 33:20; Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 6:16; 1 John 4:12, 20; [ch. 12:45] No one has ever seen God; #ver. 14; See ch. 3:16 the only God,#1:18 Or the only One, who is God; some manuscripts the only Son who is at the Father’s side,#1:18 Greek in the bosom of the Father #[Matt. 11:27]; See ch. 3:32he has made him known.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19And this is the #ch. 3:26 testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, #[ch. 8:25]“Who are you?” 20#ver. 8; ch. 3:28; Acts 13:25; [Luke 3:15]He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21And they asked him, “What then? #[Matt. 11:14; 16:14] Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you #See Deut. 18:15, 18the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23He said, “I am #Cited from Isa. 40:3; See Matt. 3:3the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight#1:23 Or crying out, ‘In the wilderness make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25They asked him, #Matt. 3:6; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3, 7“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26John answered them, #Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:7, 8; Luke 3:16; Acts 1:5; 13:25“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27even #ver. 15, 30he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Behold, the Lamb of God
29The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, #ver. 36; Ex. 12:3; Isa. 53:7; Acts 8:32; 1 Pet. 1:19; [Gen. 22:8; Rev. 5:6] the Lamb of God, who #1 John 3:5; [Heb. 10:4, 11] takes away the sin #[ch. 3:16, 17; 4:42; 12:47; 1 John 2:2; 4:14]of the world! 30This is he of whom I said, #ver. 15, 27‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31I myself did not know him, but #Luke 1:17, 76, 77for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32And John #See ver. 7 bore witness: #Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22 “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and #[Isa. 11:2; Acts 10:38]it remained on him. 33I myself did not know him, but #ver. 6; Luke 3:2 he who sent me to baptize #[ch. 3:5] with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, #Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; Acts 1:5this is he who baptizes #[ch. 3:5] with the Holy Spirit.’ 34And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son#1:34 Some manuscripts the Chosen One of God.”
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
35The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, #See ver. 29the Lamb of God!” 37The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, #ch. 18:4, 7; 20:15 “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, #ver. 49; ch. 3:2, 26; 6:25; [ch. 20:16; Mark 10:51]“Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.#1:39 That is, about 4 p.m. 40#For ver. 40-42, [Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:2-11]One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus#1:40 Greek him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found #ch. 4:25the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of #ch. 21:15-17 John. You shall be called #1 Cor. 1:12; 3:22 Cephas” (which means #Matt. 16:18Peter#1:42 Cephas and Peter are from the word for rock in Aramaic and Greek, respectively).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 # [ver. 35; ch. 2:1] The next day Jesus decided #[ver. 28]to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44Now #ch. 12:21Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found #ch. 21:2 Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom #See Luke 16:16; 24:27 Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus #See Matt. 2:23 of Nazareth, #ch. 6:42; Luke 3:23the son of Joseph.” 46Nathanael said to him, #[ch. 7:41, 52]“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, #Ps. 73:1; Rom. 9:4, 6 an Israelite indeed, #Ps. 32:2; [Zeph. 3:13; Rev. 14:5]in whom there is no deceit!” 48Nathanael said to him, “How #ch. 2:24, 25do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49Nathanael answered him, #See ver. 38 “Rabbi, #[ch. 6:69; 11:27; 20:28] you are the Son of God! You are the #ch. 12:13; Zeph. 3:15; Matt. 27:11, 42; [Zech. 9:9]King of Israel!” 50Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you,#1:51 The Greek for you is plural; twice in this verse you will see #Ezek. 1:1; Matt. 3:16; Luke 3:21 heaven opened, and #[Gen. 28:12] the angels of God ascending and descending on #See Dan. 7:13the Son of Man.”
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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John 1
1
The Word Became a Human Being
1In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3All things were made through him. Nothing that has been made was made without him. 4Life was in him, and that life was the light for all people. 5The light shines in the darkness. But the darkness has not overcome the light.
6There was a man sent from God. His name was John. 7He came to be a witness about that light. He was a witness so that all people might believe. 8John himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light.
9The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10The Word was in the world. And the world was made through him. But the world did not recognize him. 11He came to what was his own. But his own people did not accept him. 12Some people did accept him and did believe in his name. He gave them the right to become children of God. 13To be a child of God has nothing to do with human parents. Children of God are not born because of human choice or because a husband wants them to be born. They are born because of what God does.
14The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father. And the Word was full of grace and truth.
15John was a witness about the Word. John cried out and said, “This was the one I was talking about. I said, ‘He who comes after me is more important than I am. He is more important because he existed before I was born.’ ” 16God is full of grace. From him we have all received grace in place of the grace already given. 17In the past, God gave us grace through the law of Moses. Now, grace and truth come to us through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. But the One and Only is God and is at the Father’s side. The one at the Father’s side has shown us what God is like.
John the Baptist Says That He Is Not the Messiah
19The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. John spoke the truth to them. 20He did not try to hide the truth. He spoke to them openly. He said, “I am not the Messiah.”
21They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet we’ve been expecting?” they asked.
“No,” he answered.
22They asked one last time, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23John replied, using the words of Isaiah the prophet. John said, “I’m the messenger who is calling out in the desert, ‘Make the way for the Lord straight.’ ” (Isaiah 40:3)
24The Pharisees who had been sent 25asked him, “If you are not the Messiah, why are you baptizing people? Why are you doing that if you aren’t Elijah or the Prophet we’ve been expecting?”
26“I baptize people with water,” John replied. “But someone is standing among you whom you do not know. 27He is the one who comes after me. I am not good enough to untie his sandals.”
28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River. That was where John was baptizing.
What John Says About Jesus
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, “Look! The Lamb of God! He takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I was talking about. I said, ‘A man who comes after me is more important than I am. That’s because he existed before I was born.’ 31I did not know him. But God wants to make it clear to Israel who this person is. That’s the reason I came baptizing with water.”
32Then John told them, “I saw the Holy Spirit come down from heaven like a dove. The Spirit remained on Jesus. 33I myself did not know him. But the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and remain on someone. He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I have seen it happen. I am a witness that this is God’s Chosen One.”
John’s Disciples Follow Jesus
35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36He saw Jesus walking by. John said, “Look! The Lamb of God!”
37The two disciples heard him say this. So they followed Jesus. 38Then Jesus turned around and saw them following. He asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Rabbi means Teacher.
39“Come,” he replied. “You will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying. They spent the rest of the day with him. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
40Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew was one of the two disciples who heard what John had said. He had also followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon. He told him, “We have found the Messiah.” Messiah means Christ. 42And he brought Simon to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas.” Cephas means Peter, or Rock.
Jesus Chooses Philip and Nathanael
43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
44Philip was from the town of Bethsaida. So were Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the Law. The prophets also wrote about him. He is Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47Jesus saw Nathanael approaching. Here is what Jesus said about him. “He is a true Israelite. Nothing about him is false.”
48“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree. I saw you there before Philip called you.”
49Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel.”
50Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51Then he said to the disciples, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You will see heaven open. You will see the angels of God going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”
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