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The Deity of Jesus Christ

(A)In the beginning was (B)the Word, and the Word was (C)with God, and (D)the Word was God. [a]He was in the beginning with God. (E)All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. (F)In Him was life, and the life was (G)the Light of men. (H)And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.

The Witness of John the Baptist

There was a man having been sent from God, whose name was [b](I)John. [c]He came [d](J)as a witness, to bear witness about the Light, (K)so that all might believe through him. [e](L)He was not the Light, but he came to bear witness about the Light.

There was (M)the true Light [f]which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone. 10 He was in the world, and (N)the world [g]was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to what was His [h]own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become (O)children of God, even (P)to those who believe in His name, 13 (Q)who were [i]born, not of [j]blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word Became Flesh

14 And (R)the Word (S)became flesh, and [k](T)dwelt among us, and (U)we beheld His glory, glory as of the [l]only begotten from the Father, full of (V)grace and (W)truth. 15 John *(X)bore witness about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘(Y)He who comes after me [m]has been ahead of me, (Z)for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His (AA)fullness [n]we have all received, and grace [o]upon grace. 17 For (AB)the Law was given through Moses; (AC)grace and (AD)truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 (AE)No one has seen God at any time; (AF)the only begotten God who is (AG)in the bosom of the Father, (AH)He has explained Him.

A Voice in the Wilderness

19 And this is (AI)the witness of John, when (AJ)the [p]Jews sent to him priests and Levites (AK)from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “(AL)I am not the [q]Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you (AM)Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you (AN)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 Therefore, they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am (AO)a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the [r]Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the [s]Christ, nor Elijah, nor (AP)the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, saying, “(AQ)I baptize with water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27 This One is (AR)He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie the (AS)strap of His sandal.” 28 These things took place in Bethany (AT)beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 On the next day, he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, (AU)the Lamb of God who (AV)takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘(AW)After me comes a man who has been [t]ahead of me, (AX)for He existed before me.’ 31 I did not know [u]Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing with water.” 32 And John (AY)bore witness saying, “(AZ)I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He abided on Him. 33 And I did not know [v]Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The One upon whom you see the Spirit descending and abiding on Him, (BA)this is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I myself have seen, and have borne witness that this is (BB)the Son of God.”

Behold, the Lamb of God

35 (BC)On the next day, John again was standing [w]with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, (BD)the Lamb of God!” 37 And the two disciples heard him speak and followed Jesus. 38 And when Jesus turned and noticed them following, He *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “(BE)Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day. It was about the [x]tenth hour. 40 (BF)One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first *found his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the (BG)Messiah” (which translated means [y]Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. When Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of (BH)John; you shall be called (BI)Cephas” (which is translated [z](BJ)Peter).

43 (BK)On the next day, He desired to go into (BL)Galilee, and He *found (BM)Philip. And Jesus *said to him, (BN)Follow Me.” 44 Now (BO)Philip was from (BP)Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 (BQ)Philip *found (BR)Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom (BS)Moses in the Law and also (BT)the Prophets wrote—Jesus of (BU)Nazareth, (BV)the son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “(BW)Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (BX)Philip *said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said about him, “Behold, truly an (BY)Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael *said to Him, “From where do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before (BZ)Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “(CA)Rabbi, You are (CB)the Son of God; You are the (CC)King of Israel.” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see (CD)the heavens opened and (CE)the angels of God ascending and descending on (CF)the Son of Man.”

Footnotes

  1. John 1:2 Lit This one
  2. John 1:6 Gr Joannes, Heb Johanan; so in John
  3. John 1:7 Lit This one
  4. John 1:7 Lit for testimony
  5. John 1:8 Lit That one
  6. John 1:9 Or which enlightens every person coming into the world
  7. John 1:10 Or came into being, cf. John 1:3
  8. John 1:11 Or own things
  9. John 1:13 Or begotten
  10. John 1:13 Lit bloods
  11. John 1:14 Or tabernacled, dwelt temporarily
  12. John 1:14 Or unique, only one of His kind
  13. John 1:15 Or has a higher rank than
  14. John 1:16 Lit we all received
  15. John 1:16 Lit for
  16. John 1:19 Often refers to Jewish leaders in John’s gospel
  17. John 1:20 Messiah
  18. John 1:23 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Is 40:3
  19. John 1:25 Messiah
  20. John 1:30 Or has a higher rank than
  21. John 1:31 As the Messiah
  22. John 1:33 As the Messiah
  23. John 1:35 Lit and
  24. John 1:39 10 a.m.
  25. John 1:41 Gr Christos; lit Anointed One
  26. John 1:42 Gr Petros; lit stone

The Word and Creation

In the beginning, the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. Through him all things were made, and apart from him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life brought light to humanity.[a] And the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.[b]

John’s Witness to the Word

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe because of him. John[c] was not the light, but he came[d] to testify about the light. This[e] was the true light that enlightens every person by his coming into the world.[f] 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him. Yet the world did not recognize him.

Responses to the Word

11 He came to his own creation,[g] yet his own people did not receive him. 12 However, to all who received him, those believing in his name, he gave authority to become God’s children, 13 who were born, not merely in a genetic sense,[h] nor from lust,[i] nor from man’s desire, but from the will of[j] God.

The Word Becomes Human

14 The Word became flesh and lived[k] among us. We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father’s uniquely existing Son,[l] who is full of grace and truth. 15 John told the truth about him when he cried out, “This is the person about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me ranks higher than me, because he existed before me.’” 16 We have all received one gracious gift after another from his abundance,[m] 17 because while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus the Messiah.[n] 18 No one has ever seen God. The uniquely existing God,[o] who is close to the Father’s side, has revealed him.

The Testimony of John the Baptist(A)

19 This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders[p] sent priests and descendants of Levi to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

20 He spoke openly and, remaining true to himself,[q] admitted, “I am not the Messiah.”[r]

21 So they asked him, “Well then, are you Elijah?”

John[s] said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

22 “Who are you?” they asked him. “We must give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 He replied, “I am

‘…a voice crying out in the wilderness,
    “Prepare the Lord’s[t] highway,”’[u]

as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24 Now those men[v] had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why, then, are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah,[w] or Elijah, or the Prophet?”

26 John answered them, “I am baptizing with[x] water, but among you stands a man whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie.” 28 This happened in Bethany[y] on the other side[z] of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 The next day, John[aa] saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks above me, because he existed before me.’ 31 I didn’t recognize him, but I came baptizing with[ab] water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 John also testified, “I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I didn’t recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with[ac] water told me, ‘The person on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining is the one who baptizes with[ad] the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen this and have testified that this is the Son[ae] of God.”

The First Disciples

35 The next day, John was standing there again with two of his disciples. 36 As he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

38 But when Jesus turned around and saw them following, he asked them, “What are you looking for?”

They asked him, “Rabbi,” (which is translated “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 He told them, “Come and see!” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.[af]

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.[ag] 41 The first thing Andrew[ah] did was to find his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Anointed One!”[ai] (which is translated “Messiah”).[aj]

42 He led Simon[ak] to Jesus. Jesus looked at him intently and said, “You are Simon, John’s son.[al] You will be called Cephas!”[am] (which is translated “Peter”).[an]

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathaniel

43 The next day, Jesus decided to go away to Galilee, where he found Philip and told him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.

45 Philip found Nathaniel and told him, “We have found the man about whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote—Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

46 Nathaniel asked him, “From Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?”

Philip told him, “Come and see!”

47 Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him and said about him, “Look, a genuine Israeli, in whom there is no deceit!”

48 Nathaniel asked him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

49 Nathaniel replied to him, “Rabbi,[ao] you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

50 Jesus told him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that.” 51 Then he told him, “Truly, I tell all of you[ap] emphatically, you will see heaven standing open and the angels of God going up and coming down to the Son of Man.”

Footnotes

  1. John 1:4 Lit. was the light of people
  2. John 1:5 Or understood it
  3. John 1:8 Lit. He
  4. John 1:8 The Gk. lacks he came
  5. John 1:9 Lit. He
  6. John 1:9 Or every person who is coming into the world
  7. John 1:11 Or possessions
  8. John 1:13 Lit. not of bloods
  9. John 1:13 Lit. from desire of the flesh
  10. John 1:13 The Gk. lacks the will of
  11. John 1:14 Lit. pitched his tent
  12. John 1:14 The Gk. lacks Son
  13. John 1:16 Lit. received grace for grace
  14. John 1:17 Or Christ
  15. John 1:18 Other mss. read Son
  16. John 1:19 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
  17. John 1:20 Lit. and did not deny
  18. John 1:20 Or Christ
  19. John 1:21 Lit. He
  20. John 1:23 MT source citation reads Lord’s
  21. John 1:23 Cf. Isa 40:3
  22. John 1:24 Lit. Now they
  23. John 1:25 Or Christ
  24. John 1:26 Or in
  25. John 1:28 Other mss. read Bethabara
  26. John 1:28 I.e. the east side
  27. John 1:29 Lit. he
  28. John 1:31 Or in
  29. John 1:33 Or in
  30. John 1:33 Or in
  31. John 1:34 Other mss. read Chosen One
  32. John 1:39 Lit. the tenth hour
  33. John 1:40 Lit. him
  34. John 1:41 Lit. He
  35. John 1:41 The Gk. word messias is a transliteration of the Heb. word for Messiah
  36. John 1:41 Or Christ
  37. John 1:42 Lit. him
  38. John 1:42 Cf. Matthew 16:17
  39. John 1:42 Cephas means rock in Aram.
  40. John 1:42 Peter means rock in Gk.
  41. John 1:49 Rabbi is Heb. for Master and/or Teacher
  42. John 1:51 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.