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The everlasting birth of Christ, and how he became man. The testimony of John. The calling of Andrew, Peter, etc.

In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by it, and without it was made nothing that was made. In it was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness comprehended it not.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came as a witness to bear witness of the light, so that all through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of the light that was the true light, who lights all men that come into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and yet the world knew him not.

11 He came among his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them he gave power to be the children of God, in that they believed on his name – 13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor yet of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we saw the glory of it, as the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father, which word was full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of him and cried out, saying, This was he of whom I spoke, who, though he came after me, went before me, because he was before me. 16 And of his fullness we have all received, even grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18 No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.

19 And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? 20 He acknowledged, and did not deny but said plainly, I am not the Christ.

21 And they asked him, What then? Are you Elijah?

And he said, I am not.

Are you a prophet?

And he answered, No.

22 Then said they 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 the voice of a crier in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord! as the prophet Isaiah said.

24 And those who were sent were of the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him and said to him, Why do you baptize then, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor a prophet?

26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, but one is come among you whom you do not know. 27 He it is that comes after me, who was before me, whose shoe latchet I am not worthy to loose.

28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John did baptize.

29 The next day, John saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, after me comes a man who went before me, because he was before me. 31 And I did not know him. But in order that he should be declared to Israel, I have come baptizing with water.

32 And John bore witness, saying, I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and rest upon him. 33 And I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize in water, the same said to me, Upon whom you see the Spirit descend and remain still on him, the same is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. 34 And I saw and bore witness that this is the Son of God.

35 The next day after, John was standing again with two of his disciples. 36 And he saw Jesus as he walked by and said, Behold the Lamb of God! 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and followed Jesus.

38 And Jesus turned about and saw them following and said to them, What are you seeking? They said to him, Rabbi (which means, Teacher), where are you staying? 39 He said to them, Come and see.

They went and saw where he was lodging, and stayed with him that day. For it was about the tenth hour.

40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He found his brother Simon first and said to him, We have found the Messiah! (which translated is, the Anointed). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And Jesus regarded him and said, You are Simon, the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas (which translated is, a rock).

43 The day following, Jesus decided to go into Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, Follow me. 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. 45 And Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write: Jesus, the son of Joseph of Nazareth. 46 And Nathanael said to him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see.

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and said of him, Behold a right Israelite, in whom there is no guile. 48 Nathanael said to him, Where did you know me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. 49 Nathanael answered and said to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel!

50 Jesus answered and said to him, Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, you believe. You will see greater things than these.

51 And he said to him, Truly truly I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending over the Son of man.

道成肉身

太初有道,道与 神同在,道就是 神。 这道太初与 神同在。 万有是借着他造的;凡被造的,没有一样不是借着他造的。 在他里面有生命,(有些抄本第3、4节或译:“万有是借着他造的,没有一样不是借着他造的;凡被造的,都在他里面有生命……”)这生命就是人的光。 光照在黑暗中,黑暗不能胜过光。

有一个人,名叫约翰,是 神所差来的。 他来是要作见证,就是为光作见证,使众人借着他可以相信。 他不是那光,而是要为那光作见证。 那光来到世界,是普照世人的真光。 10 他在世界,世界也是借着他造的,世界却不认识他。 11 他到自己的地方来,自己的人却不接受他。 12 凡接受他的,就是信他名的人,他就赐给他们权利,成为 神的儿女。 13 他们不是从血统生的,不是从肉身的意思生的,也不是从人意生的,而是从 神生的。

14 道成了肉身,住在我们中间,满有恩典和真理。我们见过他的荣光,正是从父而来的独生子的荣光。

15 约翰为他作见证,大声说:“这一位就是我所说的:‘那在我以后来的,位分比我高,因为他本来是在我以前的。’” 16 从他的丰盛里我们都领受了,而且恩上加恩。 17 律法是借着摩西颁布的,恩典和真理却是借着耶稣基督而来的。 18 从来没有人见过 神,只有在父怀里的独生子把他彰显出来。

施洗约翰的见证(A)

19 以下是约翰的见证:犹太人从耶路撒冷派祭司和利未人到约翰那里,问他:“你是谁?” 20 约翰并不否认,坦白地承认说:“我不是基督。” 21 他们又问:“那么你是谁?是以利亚吗?”他说:“我不是。”“是那位先知吗?”他回答:“不是。” 22 于是他们再问:“你是谁?好让我们回复派我们来的人。你说你自己是谁?” 23 他说:“我就是在旷野呼喊者的声音:‘修直主的路!’正如以赛亚先知所说的。” 24 这些人是法利赛人派来的。 25 他们问约翰:“你既然不是基督,不是以利亚,也不是那位先知,那么你为甚么施洗呢?” 26 约翰回答:“我是用水施洗,但有一位站在你们中间,是你们不认识的; 27 他是在我以后来的,我就是给他解鞋带也不配。” 28 这些事发生在约旦河东的伯大尼,约翰施洗的地方。

 神的羊羔

29 第二天,约翰见耶稣迎面而来,就说:“看哪, 神的羊羔,是除去世人的罪孽的! 30 这一位就是我所说的:‘有一个人,是在我以后来的,位分比我高,因为他本来是在我以前的。’ 31 我本来不认识他,但为了要把他显明给以色列人,因此我来用水施洗。” 32 约翰又作见证说:“我曾看见圣灵,好象鸽子从天上降下来,停留在他的身上。 33 我本来不认识他,但那差我来用水施洗的对我说:‘你看见圣灵降下来,停留在谁身上,谁就是用圣灵施洗的。’ 34 我看见了,就作见证说:‘这就是 神的儿子。’”

呼召第一批门徒(B)

35 过了一天,约翰和他的两个门徒又站在那里。 36 约翰看见耶稣走过的时候,就说:“看哪, 神的羊羔!” 37 那两个门徒听见他的话,就跟从了耶稣。 38 耶稣转过身来,看见他们跟着,就问:“你们要甚么?”他们说:“拉比,你在哪里住?”(“拉比”的意思就是“老师”。) 39 他说:“你们来看吧!”于是他们就去看他所住的地方。那一天他们就和耶稣住在一起;那时大约是下午四点钟。 40 听了约翰的话而跟从耶稣的那两个人,一个是西门.彼得的弟弟安得烈。 41 他先找到自己的哥哥西门,告诉他:“我们遇见弥赛亚了!”(“弥赛亚”的意思就是“基督”。) 42 安得烈就带他到耶稣那里。耶稣定睛看着他,说:“你是约翰的儿子西门,你要称为矶法。”(“矶法”翻译出来就是“彼得”。)

呼召腓力和拿但业

43 再过一天,耶稣决定往加利利去;他遇见腓力,就对他说:“来跟从我!” 44 腓力是伯赛大人,与安得烈和彼得同乡。 45 腓力找到拿但业,告诉他:“摩西在律法书上所写的,和众先知所记的那位,我们已经遇见了,他就是约瑟的儿子拿撒勒人耶稣。” 46 拿但业说:“拿撒勒还能出甚么好的吗?”腓力说:“你来看!” 47 耶稣看见拿但业向他走过来,就论到他说:“看哪,这的确是个以色列人,他心里没有诡诈。” 48 拿但业问他:“你怎么认识我呢?”耶稣回答:“腓力还没有招呼你,你在无花果树下的时候,我就看见你了。” 49 拿但业说:“拉比,你是 神的儿子,你是以色列的王!” 50 耶稣说:“因为我告诉你‘我看见你在无花果树下’,你就信了吗?你还要看见比这些更大的事。” 51 又对他说:“我实实在在告诉你们,你们要看见天开了, 神的众使者在人子的身上,上去下来。”

The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word,(A) and the Word was with God,(B) and the Word was God.(C) He was with God in the beginning.(D) Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.(E) In him was life,(F) and that life was the light(G) of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness,(H) and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.(I)

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.(J) He came as a witness to testify(K) concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.(L) He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light(M) that gives light to everyone(N) was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him,(O) the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.(P) 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed(Q) in his name,(R) he gave the right to become children of God(S) 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.(T)

14 The Word became flesh(U) and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,(V) the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace(W) and truth.(X)

15 (John testified(Y) concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”)(Z) 16 Out of his fullness(AA) we have all received grace(AB) in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses;(AC) grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.(AD) 18 No one has ever seen God,(AE) but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b](AF) is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah

19 Now this was John’s(AG) testimony when the Jewish leaders[c](AH) in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”(AI)

21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”(AJ)

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”(AK)

He answered, “No.”

22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness,(AL) ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”[d](AM)

24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 “I baptize with[e] water,”(AN) John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me,(AO) the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”(AP)

28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan,(AQ) where John was baptizing.

John Testifies About Jesus

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God,(AR) who takes away the sin of the world!(AS) 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’(AT) 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.(AU) 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water(AV) told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’(AW) 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”[f](AX)

John’s Disciples Follow Jesus(AY)

35 The next day John(AZ) was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”(BA)

37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi”(BB) (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).(BC) 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called(BD) Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter[g]).(BE)

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,(BF) he said to him, “Follow me.”(BG)

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.(BH) 45 Philip found Nathanael(BI) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,(BJ) and about whom the prophets also wrote(BK)—Jesus of Nazareth,(BL) the son of Joseph.”(BM)

46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”(BN) Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite(BO) in whom there is no deceit.”(BP)

48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

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

49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi,(BQ) you are the Son of God;(BR) you are the king of Israel.”(BS)

50 Jesus said, “You believe[h] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[i] you[j] will see ‘heaven open,(BT) and the angels of God ascending and descending(BU) on’[k] the Son of Man.”(BV)

Footnotes

  1. John 1:5 Or understood
  2. John 1:18 Some manuscripts but the only Son, who
  3. John 1:19 The Greek term traditionally translated the Jews (hoi Ioudaioi) refers here and elsewhere in John’s Gospel to those Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus; also in 5:10, 15, 16; 7:1, 11, 13; 9:22; 18:14, 28, 36; 19:7, 12, 31, 38; 20:19.
  4. John 1:23 Isaiah 40:3
  5. John 1:26 Or in; also in verses 31 and 33 (twice)
  6. John 1:34 See Isaiah 42:1; many manuscripts is the Son of God.
  7. John 1:42 Cephas (Aramaic) and Peter (Greek) both mean rock.
  8. John 1:50 Or Do you believe … ?
  9. John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
  10. John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
  11. John 1:51 Gen. 28:12

The Life-Light

1-2 The Word was first,
    the Word present to God,
    God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
    in readiness for God from day one.

3-5 Everything was created through him;
    nothing—not one thing!—
    came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
    and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
    the darkness couldn’t put it out.

6-8 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.

9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing:
    Every person entering Life
    he brings into Light.
He was in the world,
    the world was there through him,
    and yet the world didn’t even notice.
He came to his own people,
    but they didn’t want him.
But whoever did want him,
    who believed he was who he claimed
    and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves,
    their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
    not blood-begotten,
    not flesh-begotten,
    not sex-begotten.

14 The Word became flesh and blood,
    and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
    the one-of-a-kind glory,
    like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
    true from start to finish.

15 John pointed him out and called, “This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word.”

16-18 We all live off his generous abundance,
    gift after gift after gift.
We got the basics from Moses,
    and then this exuberant giving and receiving,
This endless knowing and understanding—
    all this came through Jesus, the Messiah.
No one has ever seen God,
    not so much as a glimpse.
This one-of-a-kind God-Expression,
    who exists at the very heart of the Father,
    has made him plain as day.

Thunder in the Desert

19-20 When Jews from Jerusalem sent a group of priests and officials to ask John who he was, he was completely honest. He didn’t evade the question. He told the plain truth: “I am not the Messiah.”

21 They pressed him, “Who, then? Elijah?”

“I am not.”

“The Prophet?”

“No.”

22 Exasperated, they said, “Who, then? We need an answer for those who sent us. Tell us something—anything!—about yourself.”

23 “I’m thunder in the desert: ‘Make the road straight for God!’ I’m doing what the prophet Isaiah preached.”

24-25 Those sent to question him were from the Pharisee party. Now they had a question of their own: “If you’re neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?”

26-27 John answered, “I only baptize using water. A person you don’t recognize has taken his stand in your midst. He comes after me, but he is not in second place to me. I’m not even worthy to hold his coat for him.”

28 These conversations took place in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing at the time.

The God-Revealer

29-31 The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I’ve been talking about, ‘the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.’ I knew nothing about who he was—only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God.”

32-34 John clinched his witness with this: “I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ That’s exactly what I saw happen, and I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: This is the Son of God.”

Come, See for Yourself

35-36 The next day John was back at his post with two disciples, who were watching. He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby, and said, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb.”

37-38 The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus. Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, “What are you after?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 He replied, “Come along and see for yourself.”

They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day. It was late afternoon when this happened.

40-42 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, “We’ve found the Messiah” (that is, “Christ”). He immediately led him to Jesus.

Jesus took one look up and said, “You’re John’s son, Simon? From now on your name is Cephas” (or Peter, which means “Rock”).

43-44 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. When he got there, he ran across Philip and said, “Come, follow me.” (Philip’s hometown was Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter.)

45-46 Philip went and found Nathanael and told him, “We’ve found the One Moses wrote of in the Law, the One preached by the prophets. It’s Jesus, Joseph’s son, the one from Nazareth!” Nathanael said, “Nazareth? You’ve got to be kidding.”

But Philip said, “Come, see for yourself.”

47 When Jesus saw him coming he said, “There’s a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body.”

48 Nathanael said, “Where did you get that idea? You don’t know me.”

Jesus answered, “One day, long before Philip called you here, I saw you under the fig tree.”

49 Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi! You are the Son of God, the King of Israel!”

50-51 Jesus said, “You’ve become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree? You haven’t seen anything yet! Before this is over you’re going to see heaven open and God’s angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.”