John 1

The Deity of Christ

1In the beginning ^awas the Word, and the ^bWord was ^cwith God, and the Word was ^dGod. ^2eHe was in the beginning with God.

The Preincarnate Work of Christ

^3fAll things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ^4gIn Him was life, and ^hthe life was the light of men. ⁵And ⁱthe light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not ¹comprehend it.

The Forerunner of Christ

⁶There was a ^jman sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷This man came for a ^kwitness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might ^lbelieve. ⁸He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that ^mLight.

The Rejection of Christ

⁹ⁿThat ²was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and ^othe world did not know Him. ^11pHe came to His ³own, and His ⁴own did not receive Him.

The Acceptance of Christ

¹²But ^qas many as received Him, to them He gave the ⁵right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ^13rwho were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Incarnation of Christ

^14sAnd the Word ^tbecame ^uflesh and dwelt among us, and ^vwe beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ^wfull of grace and truth.

^15xJohn bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ^y‘He who comes after me ⁶is preferred before me, ^zfor He was before me.’ ”

¹⁶⁷And of His ^afullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷For ^bthe law was given through Moses, but ^cgrace and ^dtruth came through Jesus Christ. ^18eNo one has seen God at any time. ^fThe only begotten ⁸Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

John’s Witness to the Priests and Levites

Matt. 3:1–12; Mark 1:2–8; Luke 3:3–16

¹⁹Now this is ^gthe testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

^20hHe confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

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

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you ⁱthe Prophet?”

And he answered, “No.”

²²Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

²³He said: ^j“I am

^k‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

“Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’

as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. ²⁵And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶John answered them, saying, ^l“I baptize with water, ^mbut there stands One among you whom you do not know. ²⁷ⁿIt is He who, coming after me, ⁹is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

²⁸These things were done ^oin ¹Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

John’s Witness at Christ’s Baptism

Matt. 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21, 22

²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! ^pThe Lamb of God ^qwho takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who ²is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ³¹I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, ^rtherefore I came baptizing with water.”

^32sAnd John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. ³³I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, ^tthis is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴And I have seen and testified that this is the ^uSon of God.”

Andrew and Peter Follow Christ

³⁵Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. ³⁶And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, ^v“Behold the Lamb of God!”

³⁷The two disciples heard him speak, and they ^wfollowed Jesus. ³⁸Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”

They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”

³⁹He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).

⁴⁰One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was ^xAndrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the ³Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). ⁴²And he brought him to Jesus.

Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of ⁴Jonah. ^yYou shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, ⁵A Stone).

Philip and Nathanael Follow Christ

⁴³The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found ^zPhilip and said to him, “Follow Me.” ⁴⁴Now ^aPhilip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵Philip found ^bNathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom ^cMoses in the law, and also the ^dprophets, wrote—Jesus ^eof Nazareth, the ^fson of Joseph.”

⁴⁶And Nathanael said to him, ^g“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

⁴⁷Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, ^han Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”

⁴⁸Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

⁴⁹Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, ⁱYou are the Son of God! You are ^jthe King of Israel!”

⁵⁰Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^khereafter ⁶you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”