John 1
1
1 IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. [Isa. 9:6.]
2 He was present originally with God.
3 All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.
4 In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.
5 And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].
6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. [Mal. 3:1.]
7 This man came to witness, that he might testify of the Light, that all men might believe in it [adhere to it, trust it, and rely upon it] through him.
8 He was not the Light himself, but came that he might bear witness regarding the Light.
9 There it was–the true Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illumines every person. [Isa. 49:6.]
10 He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him [did not know Him].
11 He came to that which belonged to Him [to His own–His domain, creation, things, world], and they who were His own did not receive Him and did not welcome Him.
12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name–[Isa. 56:5.]
13 Who owe their birth neither to bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]
14 And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth. [Isa. 40:5.]
15 John testified about Him and cried out, This was He of Whom I said, He Who comes after me has priority over me, for He was before me. [He takes rank above me, for He existed before I did. He has advanced before me, because He is my Chief.]
16 For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.
17 For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ. [Exod. 20:1.]
18 No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known]. [Prov. 8:30.]
19 And this is the testimony of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you?
20 He confessed (admitted the truth) and did not try to conceal it, but acknowledged, I am not the Christ!
21 They asked him, What then? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not! Are you the Prophet? And he answered, No! [Deut. 18:15, 18; Mal. 4:5.]
22 Then they said to him, Who are you? Tell us, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying aloud in the wilderness [the voice of one shouting in the desert], Prepare the way of the Lord [level, straighten out, the path of the Lord], as the prophet Isaiah said. [Isa. 40:3.]
24 The messengers had been sent from the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?
26 John answered them, I [only] baptize in (with) water. Among you there stands One Whom you do not recognize and with Whom you are not acquainted and of Whom you know nothing. [Mal. 3:1.]
27 It is He Who, coming after me, is preferred before me, the string of Whose sandal I am not worthy to unloose.
28 These things occurred in Bethany (Bethabara) across the Jordan [at the Jordan crossing], where John was then baptizing.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said, Look! There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world! [Exod. 12:3; Isa. 53:7.]
30 This is He of Whom I said, After me comes a Man Who has priority over me [Who takes rank above me] because He was before me and existed before I did.
31 And I did not know Him and did not recognize Him [myself]; but it is in order that He should be made manifest and be revealed to Israel [be brought out where we can see Him] that I came baptizing in (with) water.
32 John gave further evidence, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and it dwelt on Him [never to depart].
33 And I did not know Him nor recognize Him, but He Who sent me to baptize in (with) water said to me, Upon Him Whom you shall see the Spirit descend and remain, that One is He Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
34 And I have seen [that happen–I actually did see it] and my testimony is that this is the Son of God!
35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples,
36 And he looked at Jesus as He walked along, and said, Look! There is the Lamb of God!
37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Him.
38 But Jesus turned, and as He saw them following Him, He said to them, What are you looking for? [And what is it you wish?] And they answered Him, Rabbi–which translated is Teacher–where are You staying?
39 He said to them, Come and see. So they went and saw where He was staying, and they remained with Him that day. It was then about the tenth hour (about four o'clock in the afternoon).
40 One of the two who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
41 He first sought out and found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found (discovered) the Messiah!–which translated is the Christ (the Anointed One).
42 Andrew then led (brought) Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon son of John. You shall be called Cephas–which translated is Peter [Stone].
43 The next day Jesus desired and decided to go into Galilee; and He found Philip and said to him, Join Me as My attendant and follow Me.
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the same city as Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip sought and found Nathanael and told him, We have found (discovered) the One Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote about–Jesus from Nazareth, the [legal] son of Joseph!
46 Nathanael answered him, [Nazareth!] Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip replied, Come and see!
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and said concerning him, See! Here is an Israelite indeed [a true descendant of Jacob], in whom there is no guile nor deceit nor falsehood nor duplicity!
48 Nathanael said to Jesus, How do You know me? [How is it that You know these things about me?] Jesus answered him, Before [ever] Philip called you, when you were still under the fig tree, I saw you.
49 Nathanael answered, Teacher, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!
50 Jesus replied, Because I said to you, I saw you beneath the fig tree, do you believe in and rely on and trust in Me? You shall see greater things than this!
51 Then He said to him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you all, you shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man! [Gen. 28:12; Dan. 7:13.]
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John 1: AMPC
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1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
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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