John 1–16

The Word Became Human

1In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.

³All things were made through him. Nothing that has been made was made without him. ⁴Life was in him, and that life was the light for all people. ⁵The light shines in the darkness. But the darkness has not understood it.

⁶A man came who was sent from God. His name was John. ⁷He came to give witness about that light. He gave witness so that all people could believe.

⁸John himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light. ⁹The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

¹⁰The Word was in the world that was made through him. But the world did not recognize him. ¹¹He came to what was his own. But his own people did not accept him.

¹²Some people did accept him. They believed in his name. He gave them the right to become children of God. ¹³To be a child of God has nothing to do with human parents. Children of God are not born because of human choice or because a husband wants them to be born. They are born because of what God does.

¹⁴The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the one and only Son.

He came from the Father. And he was full of grace and truth.

¹⁵John gives witness about him. He cries out and says, “This was the one I was talking about. I said, ‘He who comes after me is more important than I am. He is more important because he existed before I was born.’ ”

¹⁶We have all received one blessing after another. God’s grace is not limited. ¹⁷Moses gave us the law. Jesus Christ has given us grace and truth.

¹⁸No one has ever seen God. But God, the one and only Son, is at the Father’s side. He has shown us what God is like.

John the Baptist Is Not the Christ

¹⁹The Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. John gave witness to them. ²⁰He did not try to hide the truth. He spoke to them openly. He said, “I am not the Christ.”

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

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet we’ve been expecting?” they asked.

“No,” he answered.

²²They asked one last time, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³John replied, using the words of Isaiah the prophet. John said, “I’m the messenger who is calling out in the desert, ‘Make the way for the Lord straight.’ ”

²⁴Some Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵asked him, “If you are not the Christ, why are you baptizing people? Why are you doing that if you aren’t Elijah or the Prophet we’ve been expecting?”

²⁶“I baptize people with water,” John replied. “But One is standing among you whom you do not know. ²⁷He is the One who comes after me. I am not good enough to untie his sandals.”

²⁸This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River. That was where John was baptizing.

Jesus Is the Lamb of God

²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, “Look! The Lamb of God! He takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is the One I was talking about. I said, ‘A man who comes after me is more important than I am. That’s because he existed before I was born.’ ³¹I did not know him. But God wants to make it clear to Israel who this person is. That’s the reason I came baptizing with water.”

³²Then John told them, “I saw the Holy Spirit come down from heaven like a dove. The Spirit remained on Jesus. ³³I would not have known him. But the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and remain on someone. He is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴I have seen it happen. I give witness that this is the Son of God.”

Jesus Chooses the First Disciples

³⁵The next day John was again with two of his disciples. ³⁶He saw Jesus walking by. John said, “Look! The Lamb of God!”

³⁷The two disciples heard him say this. So they followed Jesus.

³⁸Then Jesus turned around and saw them following. He asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Rabbi means Teacher.

³⁹“Come,” he replied. “You will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying. They spent the rest of the day with him. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

⁴⁰Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew was one of the two disciples who heard what John had said. He had also followed Jesus. ⁴¹The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon. He told him, “We have found the Messiah.” Messiah means Christ. ⁴²And he brought Simon to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas.” Cephas means Peter (or rock).

Jesus Chooses Philip and Nathanael

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

⁴⁴Philip was from the town of Bethsaida. So were Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One that Moses wrote about in the Law. The prophets also wrote about him. He is Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

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

“Come and see,” said Philip.

⁴⁷Jesus saw Nathanael approaching. Here is what Jesus said about him. “He is a true Israelite. There is nothing false in him.”

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

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

⁴⁹Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.”

⁵⁰Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”

⁵¹Then he said to the disciples, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You will see heaven open. You will see the angels of God going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”

Jesus Changes Water Into Wine

2On the third day there was a wedding. It took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. ²Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

⁴“Dear woman, why do you bring me into this?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”

⁵His mother said to the servants, “Do what he tells you.”

⁶Six stone water jars stood nearby. The Jews used water from that kind of jar for special washings to make themselves pure. Each jar could hold 20 to 30 gallons.

⁷Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the top.

⁸Then he told them, “Now dip some out. Take it to the person in charge of the dinner.”

They did what he said. ⁹The person in charge tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He didn’t realize where it had come from. But the servants who had brought the water knew.

Then the person in charge called the groom to one side. ¹⁰He said to him, “Everyone brings out the best wine first. They bring out the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink. But you have saved the best until now.”

¹¹That was the first of Jesus’ miraculous signs. He did it at Cana in Galilee. Jesus showed his glory by doing it. And his disciples put their faith in him.

Jesus Clears Out the Temple

¹²After this, Jesus went down to Capernaum. His mother and brothers and disciples went with him. They all stayed there for a few days.

¹³It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. So Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the temple courtyard he found people who were selling cattle, sheep and doves. Others were sitting at tables exchanging money.

¹⁵So Jesus made a whip out of ropes. He chased all the sheep and cattle from the temple area. He scattered the coins of the people exchanging money. And he turned over their tables. ¹⁶He told those who were selling doves, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

¹⁷His disciples remembered what had been written. It says, “My great love for your house will destroy me.”

¹⁸Then the Jews asked him, “What miraculous sign can you show us? Can you prove your authority to do all of this?”

¹⁹Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple. I will raise it up again in three days.”

²⁰The Jews replied, “It has taken 46 years to build this temple. Are you going to raise it up in three days?”

²¹But the temple Jesus had spoken about was his body.

²²His disciples later remembered what he had said. That was after he had been raised from the dead. Then they believed the Scriptures. They also believed the words that Jesus had spoken.

²³Meanwhile, he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast. Many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing. And they believed in his name. ²⁴But Jesus did not fully trust them. He knew what people are like. ²⁵He didn’t need others to tell him what people are like. He already knew what was in the human heart.

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

3There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish rulers. ²He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. We know that God is with you. If he weren’t, you couldn’t do the miraculous signs you are doing.”

³Jesus replied, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one can see God’s kingdom without being born again.”

⁴“How can I be born when I am old?” Nicodemus asked. “I can’t go back inside my mother! I can’t be born a second time!”

⁵Jesus answered, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one can enter God’s kingdom without being born through water and the Holy Spirit. ⁶People give birth to people. But the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷You should not be surprised when I say, ‘You must all be born again.’

⁸“The wind blows where it wants to. You hear the sound it makes. But you can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born through the Spirit.”

⁹“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus. “Don’t you understand these things?

¹¹“What I’m about to tell you is true. We speak about what we know. We give witness to what we have seen. But still you people do not accept our…