John 1

Prologue

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.²³He was with God in the beginning.⁴⁵All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.⁶⁷In him was life, and that life was the light of men.⁸⁹That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.¹⁰

¹¹There was a man sent from God whose name was John.¹²¹³He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.¹⁴¹⁵He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.¹⁶¹⁷The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.¹⁸

¹⁹He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him.²⁰²¹He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.²²²³But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,²⁴²⁵who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.²⁶

²⁷The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.²⁸²⁹(John testified concerning him and exclaimed, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘The one coming after me ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’”)³⁰³¹Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness,³²³³for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.³⁴³⁵No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side — he has revealed him.³⁶

John the Baptist’s Testimony

³⁷This was John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”³⁸

³⁹He didn’t deny it but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”⁴⁰

⁴¹“What then?” they asked him. “Are you Elijah?” “I am not,” he said. “Are you the Prophet?” “No,” he answered.⁴²

⁴³“Who are you, then?” they asked. “We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself?”⁴⁴

⁴⁵He said, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord — just as Isaiah the prophet said.”⁴⁶

⁴⁷Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.⁴⁸⁴⁹So they asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you aren’t the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”⁵⁰

⁵¹“I baptize with water,” John answered them. “Someone stands among you, but you don’t know him.⁵²⁵³He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.”⁵⁴⁵⁵All this happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.⁵⁶

The Lamb of God

⁵⁷The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!⁵⁸⁵⁹This is the one I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’⁶⁰⁶¹I didn’t know him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”⁶²⁶³And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he rested on him.⁶⁴⁶⁵I didn’t know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The one you see the Spirit descending and resting on — he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’⁶⁶⁶⁷I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”⁶⁸

⁶⁹The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples.⁷⁰⁷¹When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”⁷²

⁷³The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus.⁷⁴⁷⁵When Jesus turned and noticed them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”⁷⁶

⁷⁷“Come and you’ll see,” he replied. So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.⁷⁸

⁷⁹Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed him.⁸⁰⁸¹He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated “the Christ”),⁸²⁸³and he brought Simon to Jesus. When Jesus saw him, he said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated “Peter”).⁸⁴

Philip and Nathanael

⁸⁵The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and told him, “Follow me.”⁸⁶

⁸⁷Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.⁸⁸⁸⁹Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”⁹⁰

⁹¹“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him. “Come and see,” Philip answered.⁹²

⁹³Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”⁹⁴

⁹⁵“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered.⁹⁶

⁹⁷“Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!”⁹⁸

⁹⁹Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”¹⁰⁰¹⁰¹Then he said, “Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”¹⁰²