The Word Became Flesh

1 aIn the beginning was bthe Word, and cthe Word was with God, and dthe Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 eAll things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 fIn him was life,1 and gthe life was the light of men. 5 hThe light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man isent from God, whose name was jJohn. 7He came as a kwitness, to bear witness about the light, lthat all might believe through him. 8 mHe was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 nThe true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet othe world did not know him. 11 He came to phis own,2 and qhis own people3 rdid not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, swho believed in his name, the gave the right uto become vchildren of God, 13 who wwere born, xnot of blood ynor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And zthe Word abecame flesh and bdwelt among us, cand we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son4 from the Father, full of dgrace and etruth. 15 (fJohn bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, g‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from hhis fullness we have all received, igrace upon grace.5 17 For jthe law was given through Moses; kgrace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 lNo one has ever seen God; mthe only God,6 who is at the Father’s side,7 nhe has made him known.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

19 And this is the otestimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, p“Who are you?” 20 qHe confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? rAre you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you sthe Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am tthe voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight8 the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, u“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, v“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even whe who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Behold, the Lamb of God

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, xthe Lamb of God, who ytakes away the sin zof the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, a‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but bfor this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John cbore witness: d“I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and eit remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but fhe who sent me to baptize gwith water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, hthis is he who baptizes gwith the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son9 of God.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, ithe Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, j“What are you seeking?” And they said to him, k“Rabbi” (which 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, for it was about the tenth hour.10 40 lOne of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus11 was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found mthe Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of nJohn. You shall be called oCephas” (which means pPeter12).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 qThe next day Jesus decided rto go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now sPhilip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found tNathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom uMoses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus vof Nazareth, wthe son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, x“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, yan Israelite indeed, zin whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How ado you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, b“Rabbi, cyou are the Son of God! You are the dKing of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘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,13 you will see eheaven opened, and fthe angels of God ascending and descending on gthe Son of Man.”

Bibliography

Bauckham, Richard. “The Origin of the Ebionites.” In The Image of the Judaeo-Christians in Ancient Jewish and Christian Literature. Edited by Peter J. Tomson, Doris Lambers-Petry. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003.

Boyarin, Daniel. The Jewish Gospels: The Story of the Jewish Christ. New York: New Press, 2012.

Broadhead, Edwin Keith. Jewish Ways of Following Jesus: Redrawing the Religious Map of Antiquity. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010.

Ehrlich, Uri, and Langer, Ruth. “The Earliest Texts of the Birkat Haminim.” Hebrew Union College Annual 76 (2005): 63–112.

Katz, Steven T. “Rabbinic Response to Christianity.” In The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period. Vol. 4 of The Cambridge History of Judaism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Kinzig, Wolfram. “The Nazoraeans.” In Jewish Believers in Jesus: The Early Centuries. Edited by Oskar Skarsaune and Reidar Hvalvik. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2007.

Luomanen, Petri. “Nazarenes.” In A Companion to Second-Century Christian “Heretics”. Edited by Marjanen, Antti and Petri Luomanen. Leiden: Brill, 2008.

Pritz, Ray. Nazarene Jewish Christianity: From the End of the New Testament Period Until Its Disappearance in the Fourth Century. Leiden: Brill, 1988.

Sandmel, Samuel. Judaism and Christian Beginnings. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.

Skarsaune, Oskar. “The Ebionites.” In Jewish Believers in Jesus: The Early Centuries. Edited by Oskar Skarsaune and Reidar Hvalvik. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2007.

Vermes, Geza. Christian Beginnings: From Nazareth to Nicea. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2013.

Wilson, Stephen. Related Strangers: Jews and Christians 70–170 C E. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2006.

Peter Shirokov

Nazareth (Ναζαρέτ, Nazaret; Ναζαρά, Nazara, Ναζαρέθ, Nazareth). A village in Lower Galilee that was Jesus’ childhood home; situated on a ridge 500 meters above sea level.

History of Settlement

Archaeology evidence shows that Nazareth was settled as early as the Middle Bronze Age and continued to be settled through the Iron Age. However, the city is not mentioned in literature prior to the New Testament; likewise, Josephus doesn’t mention it, even though it was located near Japha/Yaphia, a city he fortified during the First Revolt (Josephus, Vita, 230). The site appears to have been uninhabited in the centuries following the Assyrian conquest. Extensive remains have been uncovered from the second century bc, suggesting a significant population increase (possibly resettlement) under the Hasmonean rule. It is unlikely that there was any genealogical continuity between the inhabitants of the Hasmonean period and those of the Iron Age (Reed, Archaeology, 28–31).

The village had a predominantly Jewish population until at least the fourth century ad, and probably until the early seventh century. There is no evidence of any permanent Roman military presence. Inscriptional evidence from Caesarea attests that priests were present in Nazareth following the First Revolt, suggesting that the site was regarded as ritually pure.

It is unclear whether Nazareth held a Christian population in the first three centuries ad. The Jewish movement may have been pushed outside of Palestine in the wake of the First Revolt. Fourth-century sources, Eusebius, Jerome, and Epiphanius depict Nazareth as thoroughly Jewish until the Count Joseph of Tiberius, under the auspices of Constantine, constructed its first church (Epiphanius, Panarion 30.11.10). Recent scholars, however, acknowledging the fluidity of the terms “Jewish” and “Christian” as they pertain to the early centuries following Jesus, have critiqued this account.

In the 1960s, Bagatti combined archaeological discoveries with a critical reading of the ancient sources and argued that a Jewish-Christian community was present immediately following the Christ event. Bagatti claimed that Epiphanius’ report carries the bias common to late ancient (predominantly) Gentile Christianity, that “Nazarenes,” “Ebionites,” or any other Christ-believing group which maintained loyalty to Judaism were not properly “Christians.” Bagatti highlighted Eusebius’ quotations of Julius Africanus (Ecclesiastical History 1.7.14) and Hegesippus (Ecclesiastical History 4.22.4) as evidence that Jesus’ relatives (Bagatti, Excavations, 17–18):

• became Christ-believers while retaining their identity as Jews;

• maintained a family base in Nazareth;

• enjoyed esteemed positions in the Jewish-Christian community in Nazareth.

Bagatti’s Jewish-Christian theory remains influential, though not without criticism (compare Taylor, Christians, 224–65). Marian devotion may have been a characteristic practice of the village’s early Christian population.

From at least the late fourth century ad onward, Nazareth became a site for Christian pilgrimage (see Bagatti, Excavations, 20–25; Taylor, Christians, 226–30). Jewish-Christian relations seem to have been amicable until the seventh century, possibly due to the economic benefits of the pilgrim/tourist trade. However, according to Eutychius (Annales 22), Nazareth’s Jewish population during the Persian conquest of Palestine in ad 614 participated in a persecution of the Christians, for which they were punished with expulsion in ad 629 by the emperor Heraclius.

Islam became the dominant power throughout Palestine in ad 638, but Christian presence was permitted in Nazareth, as is attested by the late-seventh century French Pilgrim, Arculf, who reports about two churches (Adomnan, De Locis Sanctis 2.26). During the period of the Crusades, Nazareth experienced several shifts in control between Christian and Muslim forces. Subsequently, Islamic presence has dominated, though the continued veneration of the Christian holy sites has been tolerated. Today, Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel. Islam is the primary religion, but the city has a significant Christian population (approximately 1/3) representing several traditions.