JOHN
1 The Word of Life
In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. The Word was with
God and was truly God. 2 From the very beginning the Word was with God.
3 And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without
the Word. Everything that was created 4 received its life from him, and his
life gave light to everyone. 5 The light keeps shining in the dark, and
darkness has never put it out.(a)
6 God sent a man named John, 7 who came to to tell about the light and
to lead all people to have faith.
8 John wasn't that light. He came only to tell about the light.
9 The true light that shines on everyone was coming into the
world.
10 The Word was in the world, but no one knew him, though God had made
the world with his Word.
11 He came into his own world, but his own nation did not welcome him.
12 Yet some people accepted him and put their faith in him. So he gave them the
right to be the children of God.
13 They were not God's children by nature or because of any human
desires. God himself was the one who made them his children.
14 The 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. 15 John 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."
16 Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing
after another.(b) 17 The Law was given by Moses, but Jesus Christ brought us
undeserved kindness and truth. 18 No 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.
(a) put it out: Or "understood it." (b) one blessing after another: Or
"one blessing in place of another."
John the Baptist Tells about Jesus
(Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-18; Luke 3:15-17)
19-20 The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and temple helpers
to ask John who he was. He told them plainly, "I am not the Messiah." 21 Then
when they asked him if he were Elijah, he said, "No, I am not!" And when they
asked if he were the Prophet,(c) he also said "No!"
22 Finally, they said, "Who are you then? We have to give an answer to
the ones who sent us. Tell us who you are!" 23 John answered in the words of
the prophet Isaiah, "I am only someone shouting in the desert, 'Get the road
ready for the Lord!' "
24 Some Pharisees had also been sent to John. 25 They asked him, "Why
are you baptising people, if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?
26 John told them, "I use water to baptise people. But here with you is
someone you don't know. 27 Even though I came first, I am not good enough to
untie his sandals." 28 John said this as he was baptising east of the Jordan
River in Bethany. (d)
(c) 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. (d) Bethany: an unknown village
east of the Jordan with the same name as the village near
Jerusalem
The Lamb of God
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said: Here is the
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He 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." 21 I didn't know who he was. But I came to
baptise you with water, so that everyone in Israel would see him.
32 I was there and saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from
heaven. And the Spirit stayed on him. 33 Before this I didn't know who he was.
But the one who sent me to baptise 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 baptise with the Holy Spirit". 34 I saw this happen, and I tell you that
he is the Son of God.
The First Disciples of Jesus
35 The next day John was there again, and two of his followers were
with him. 36 When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, "Here is the Lamb of God!"
37 John's two followers heard him, and they went with Jesus.
38 When Jesus turned and saw them, he asked "What do you want?" They
answered, Rabbi, where do you live?" The Hebrew word "Rabbi" means "Teacher."
39 Jesus replied "come and see"!" It was already about four o'clock in
the afternoon when they went to see him and saw where he lived. So they stayed
on for the rest of the day. 40 One of the two men who had heard John and had
gone with Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41 The 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."
42 Andrew 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."(e)
(e) Peter: The Aramaic name "Cephas" and the Greek name
"Peter" each mean "rock."
Jesus Chooses Philip and Nathanael
43-44 The 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." 45 Philip then found Nathanael and said, "We have found
the one that Moses and the Prophets(f) wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of
Joseph of Nazareth." 46 Nathanael asked, "Can anything good come from
Nazareth?"
Philip answered, "Come and see." 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming
towards him, he said, "Here is a true descendent of our ancestor Israel. And he
is not deceitful."(g) 48 "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered,
"Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."
49 Nathanael said, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of
Israel!"
50 Jesus answered, "Did you believe me just because I said that I saw
you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. 51 I tell you for
certain that you will see heaven open and God's angels going up and coming down
on the Son of Man." (h)
(f) Moses and the Prophets: The Jewish scriptures, that is, the
Old Testament. (g) Israel... not deceitful: Israel (meaning "a man who wrestled
with God" or "a prince of God" was the name the Lord gave to Jacob (meaning
"cheater" or "deceiver"), the famous ancestor of the Jewish people. (h) 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 coming down a ladder from earth to heaven. See Genesis
32.22-32.
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