John 1

1 ¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with our Father, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with our Father. ³All things were made through him, and without him not one thing was made that was made. ⁴In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁶There came a man sent from our Father, whose name was John. ⁷He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, so that all might believe through John's witness. ⁸He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. ⁹The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰He was in the world. The world came into being through him, yet did not know him. ¹¹He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹²But to all who received him, believing in his name, he gave the right to become children of our Father, ^a a v12 Those who receive Jesus are given the right to become children of our Father — restored to the family of the One who sent his Son. ¹³children born not of blood nor of the will of flesh nor of the will of man, but of our Father.

¹⁴The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵John testified about him, crying out, "This is the one I meant: he who comes after me outranks me, since he existed before me." ¹⁶For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen our Father; the one and only Son, close beside the Father, has made him known. ^b b v18 Only the Son who has always lived close to our Father's heart can show us who our Father truly is — every glimpse of the Father comes through Jesus.

Who Are You, John?

¹⁹This is John's testimony, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" ²⁰He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."

²¹So they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" "I am not," he said. "Are you the Prophet?" "No," he answered.

²²So they asked, "Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

²³He said, "I'm the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."

²⁴Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵They asked him, "Why baptize, then, if you're not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"

²⁶John answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, ²⁷even he who comes after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie." ²⁸These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Behold, the Lamb

²⁹The next day, seeing Jesus coming toward him, he said, "Look! The Lamb of our Father—Jesus—who takes away the sin of the world!" ^c c v29 John names Jesus "the Lamb of our Father" because it is the Father who provides the Lamb — the same Father who promised Abraham "God will provide for himself the lamb," now fulfilling that promise in his own Son. ³⁰This is the one I meant: "After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me. ³¹I didn't know him, but I came baptizing with water so he would be revealed to Israel." ³²John testified: "I saw the Holy Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and remain on him." ³³I didn't know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, "The one you see the Holy Spirit come down and stay on — he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. ³⁴And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of our Father." ^d d v34 John's testimony names Jesus the Son of our Father — not just "a son of God" but the eternal Son the Father has loved from before the world began.

Come and See

³⁵The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples, ³⁶and looking at Jesus as he walked by, he said, "Look! The Lamb of our Father!" ³⁷The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

³⁸Jesus turned, saw them following, and asked, "What do you seek?" They said, "Rabbi" (meaning Teacher), "where do you stay?"

³⁹He told them, "Come and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and remained with him that day—about four in the afternoon.

⁴⁰One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. ⁴¹He first found his own brother Simon and told him, "We've found the Messiah" (meaning Christ).

⁴²He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John. You will be called Cephas" (meaning Peter).

⁴³The next day, Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and said, "Follow me."

⁴⁴Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We've found the one Moses wrote of in the Law and the prophets — Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth."

⁴⁶Nathanael said, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip said, "Come and see."

⁴⁷Jesus saw Nathanael approaching and said of him, "Look — a true Israelite, with no deceit in him!"

⁴⁸Nathanael asked him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered, "Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

⁴⁹Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of our Father! You are the King of Israel!"

⁵⁰Jesus answered him, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You'll see greater things than these." ⁵¹He told him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and our Father's angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man." ^e e v51 Jesus echoes Jacob's vision at Bethel (Gen 28:12), where angels moved between heaven and earth on a ladder — now fulfilled in him.